Battle Mage: Winter's Edge (31 page)

“You will also rarely see wizards versed in mind controlling magic entered in a tournament. Many of their tricks are outlawed, so if you do have knowledge of those you will need to get a list of what is available from that arsenal.”

Shaking his head, Sebastian replied, “Though I can separate my consciousness from my body, I have never studied that school of magic enough to learn anything, so that shouldn’t be a worry.”

The man frowned a moment at the interruption before nodding in return.

High Wizard Jeriah took over once more as he added, “The rules are fairly simple. Nearly any spell that you can perform solo can be used, but it will be how you use them that will make you a success or just a failed experiment, falcon. I would suggest that you put together a support team and perhaps practice some tactics given those restrictions.”

That was the window that Sebastian had been waiting for and he quickly followed up with a question, “Sir, if I put together a support team, it would really be helpful to have at least one healer along. Unfortunately, aside from myself, there are almost no mages who can heal. Will your guilds be willing to assist a battle mage at least with a healer? I would love to enlist a few training partners, but we will be heading through White Hall on the way as well so they may let me borrow someone.”

His blue eyes pierced Sebastian’s dodging of the exact reason for asking for help within Windmeer. “So you have at least one wizard in mind apparently. Is it a healer or have you enough friends to draw from other guilds as well.”

“Perhaps you could spare Wizard Deyla and her apprentice Yara? I know them from last season’s battles. I would have to see which wizards have remained in Windmeer to know who else I might be able to call on here, but I don’t want to remove anyone that you can’t spare either.” He looked at the leaders of the battle mages and added, “I will probably need a couple falcons to train with as well, if I can’t find much help from the wizards’ guilds.”

Returning his eyes quickly to Jeriah to avoid being disrespectful to the high wizard, he awaited a reply.

The white wizard took a single breath and stated, “I don’t know if we can spare both Deyla and her apprentice. I also would want at least one chaperone to go with a woman, not that I truly fear any indiscretion, Falcon Trillon, but sending a young woman off alone on such a long trip would require proper companionship to ensure her safety none the less. We do protect our own.”

“Of course, sir, that is why I had mentioned both women, but, of course, I defer to your wisdom,” Sebastian replied humbly as he hoped to keep favor with the high wizard. Having such a man as an ally would do a lot for anyone’s career, and though Sebastian wasn’t the most ambitious toward such ends, if it meant getting to take people he wanted along then so be it.

A smile crept onto the high wizard’s lips, even if it failed to soften his eyes, “Well, you certainly seem to have learned some manners at least. I will have words with the healers and see what can be worked out. If you have need of others, wizards Torin and Delfar can probably help find candidates that can be spared to train you.”

Glancing to the ravens, High Wizard Jeriah nodded to the men and stated, “That is pretty much all that we can teach you with just words. If the falcon wishes to spar our way, he can come to the training fields and see how a wizard fights. Otherwise, I think we have said all that we can, gentlemen.”

The mages all thanked the wizards for coming and watched as the robed men left the room.

Liom said quietly, “I think that is about the best we can hope for out of them.” His eyes held on Sebastian and the young man thought that he saw perhaps a look of pride in the elder man’s face. “This is about as close as we get to full access to the wizards’ guilds. When Jeriah said that you can talk to his wizards that was a rarely opened door for us to be sure. I am actually surprised that he would go so far.”

“He is curious,” Stallis confirmed. “Sebastian has made enough of a name for himself and taking this chance to compete against wizards on their home ground proves that he is serious. Jeriah doesn’t know if you’re really competition yet though. If you choose to take them up on sparring in the training areas, you’ll truly be tested, Sebastian. They will want to expose you as a fraud if at all possible.”

The young man in question sighed and nodded affirmation. A sign of good faith on one hand, but if he failed here the mages might never get a chance again.

Chapter 17- The Wizard’s Duel

Explosions and thunder rocked the large courtyard on the north side of Windmeer’s castle. The Winter’s Edge tournament was on the minds of more than just the ravens and Sebastian. Every major keep and castle, whether it anchored a great city or a small village, was looking for at least one wizard to represent them in the competition. The prestige of the winning wizard would also fall upon the castle they stood for, which would be announced both at the tournament and after to all the towns and cities of Southwall.

The battle mage watched as several wizards wearing various colors fought one another or waited to challenge a winner. This was still training for most since, unlike Sebastian who was the only falcon representing his entire corps, there would be more than one wizard who would go to Hala from Windmeer and that had yet to be decided. It was a good learning process for the battle mage as well.

He had been given the privilege to watch the wizards during this training to give him an idea of what he would be facing at Winter’s Edge. Still recovering from his wounds, at least from the energy he had lost from them if not much from the wounds individually, Sebastian could use the excuse to remain an observer at least for a time. It was the tactic that the ravens had recommended, since they were all pretty certain that, if he fought any wizard on their terms without having any idea what he was facing, the mage would lose.

Water sprayed in a mist that nearly crystallized in the cold air by the time it made it through the courtyard to him. A wizard dressed in medium blue had drawn what looked like some monster created from a pool of water kept thawed by other wizards to give him a chance against his opponent dressed in the brown robes of the earth wizards. The monster had crossed roughly forty feet to try and crush a human size stone statue only to be stopped by a hastily raised stone wall.

Both wizards continued to chant as they went from spell to counter spell without a break that Sebastian could see, but certainly felt as their magic seemed to ebb and flow in the duel. A swirl of dust rose into the air dissipating the remains of the water creature in its wake. The earth wizard didn’t settle for just one spell as he added a quick gesture that sent three spikes of stone flying through the air like lances towards his opponent’s statue.

The statues served as stand ins for the wizards themselves so that the practices would require less supervision by the healers of Windmeer. Accidents could still happen, but using the statues as the targets instead of live wizards as the Hala tournament would meant that they didn’t need to set up a group of wizards for the express purpose of saving people from harm. It was Windmeer’s way of saving man power while giving the full experience of a wizard’s duel.

Loud crashes of the three spikes striking a wall of thick ice to save the statue warned observers to be wary. Shrapnel of ice and stone scattered with some spraying towards Sebastian. He called up his mage shield with a single word and it formed in front of his outstretched hand. Roughly ten foot square, the shield served to protect him and a few others standing nearby. It winked back out of sight without any trace as the mage folded his arms and continued to watch the nearest duel.

A small blizzard of ice and snow countered the dust storm snuffing it out as the wizard in blue pushed back at the man in brown. Stone walls stood against deadly hail and daggers of ice raining down from the magic driven blizzard. Sebastian felt a rumble in the earth as the wizard caused the ground to ripple forward in a direct line towards the statue of his opponent ignoring the ice.

Sebastian had to respect both wizards for their skill. Despite having to conjure and chant, the two wizards were keeping up a quick flow of spells. They were almost as fast as the battle mage spells that required a single word and thought to implement. Despite that, the mage noted how quickly the two were tiring from the constant use of their combat magic. Sweat beaded on their foreheads and faces reddened as they exerted themselves looking for the opening that would strike their opponent’s statue a strong blow that would end the match.

He began to wonder how many matches were simply won by endurance rather than an actual spell.

His attention wandered to a similar duel just beyond the nearer one that was beginning to wind down if he was any judge. A young woman with curly, auburn hair wearing fire red robes was pitching fireballs and creating waves of flame to try and stop an older man dressed in the green of a nature wizard. It was a match that drew his eye, because it would seem to favor the fire mage despite her physical size. Petite though she was, the girl had the advantage of fire against nature. One thought of wood as being a main component of their magic, but nature consisted of all things found at hand in truth.

Earthen walls had been erected during the battle to protect the more mature wizard’s statue. The man seemed to be playing defensive letting the girl simply burn herself out trying to break down his walls, but Sebastian noted that he continued to chant and gesture. This was not someone just waiting, but in fact he was preparing his own attack.

“Fight back, Herraln!” the girl in red chided her opponent in annoyance between spells. “If you don’t come up with something better than just moving some dirt in my way, I’ll just have to destroy those walls and take this match from you now.”

Gestures expanded as the fire mage finished with both hands pushing the air towards the walls she sought to destroy. There was no sign of fire from this spell, but Sebastian could feel the movement in the air before two walls exploded from the center. In the cloud of dust created from the explosion, the man called Herraln smiled and knelt down to place his palm against the earth releasing his spell.

Movement around the girl’s statue announced end game before anyone knew it. A large group of vines erupted from the ground lifting the stone target up even as the vines wrapped themselves around the statue. In a matter of seconds, the plants crushed the stone to powder. “Is that better, Serrena?” the man questioned with an arrogant laugh for the girl. He had proven his magic the stronger of the two this round despite the girl having destroyed his first earthen barrier. A second still stood between Serrena and his statue, while hers was gone.

Stamping her foot like a little girl getting ready to throw a tantrum, Serrena turned on her heels to exit the battle circle.

Returning his attention to the nearer competitors, he had been correct about stamina being a factor. The earth wizard looked physically stronger to begin the match and, if that were the way magic were measured, one would have bet the man would outlast the leaner, though slightly younger looking water mage. Both looked drained, but it was the man in the brown robe that sank to his knees drained of magic to the point of noticeably turning pale.

A spear of ice drove through the stone statue toppling it over in a pile of loose stone to further make the point of who had won the match. The water mage, however, looked unable to accept a challenge as his legs shook as he tried to step out of the battle circle. His smile said that he was champion, but the rest of his face said that his win had cost him.

“Sebastian Trillon,” his name held accusation from a familiar voice behind him. Turning the falcon looked on the silver haired mentor of Yara; Wizard Deyla’s green eyes looked at him with annoyance as she explained, “Why am I being asked if I think my apprentice can be raised so that she can go off on some trip to Hala as your healer? You’ve let yourself be talked into this Winter’s Edge nonsense, haven’t you?”

Giving a smile to the woman dressed all in yellow except for her brown boots, her silver hair wasn’t the dull grey of old age, but laced with the warm strands of blond as well. She was older than Sebastian, but still less than thirty years old. While her age was only slightly higher than his, her annoyed look held almost a decade of being a full wizard behind it. “Hello, Deyla,” he greeted his friend. “I guess High Wizard Jeriah was true to his word that he wanted to help after all, though to be honest I was more pushed into this than merely persuaded.”

She shook her head at him and her words told him that she thought him an idiot as much her look. “Are you looking to be slaughtered? I know that you’re gifted with being able to figure out a lot of diverse magic, but these duels take a lot out of a wizard.” Deyla gestured to the two closer men being helped to benches to be fed and given water or even stronger beverages to get their energy back.

Nodding agreement, Sebastian replied, “True, at least some of these battles will take more magic than I think I possess, which leads back to why you are here. I need to see what tactics I can use to even out a wizard’s duel to meet what I can do. That’s why the ravens asked High Wizard Jeriah’s advice, I guess.”

Eyes widening slightly, Deyla revealed why as she said, “Stop throwing his name around like he’s just another wizard, Sebastian.” Other eyes were starting to stare and Sebastian realized that using a high wizard’s name among his people was nearly like calling on a god’s name over and over again. While he certainly wasn’t a god, the man was one of the elite and a battle mage could not just off handedly spout his name apparently. “Maybe we should talk about this where we might have a little more privacy.”