Battle Mage: Winter's Edge (32 page)

Noting the other people nearest them, Sebastian nodded and allowed the much smaller woman to lead him away from the duels’ field.

The two found a small grove of trees circling a frozen pond with a pair of benches set on either side. During the warmer times of year, the area doubled as a park, but the winter weather had reduced the trees to dark branches topped with snow and ice.

“So do you think that the two of you can help me or can you at least promote Yara to a full wizard so maybe she can?” Sebastian asked the question almost immediately though he held back from pushing his friend as hard as he might a stranger.

Her face told it all, even though Deyla tried to think of what to say with her words. “I’m not sure, Sebastian. It does seem that the high wizard is on your side at least in so far as giving you a chance to fail anyway. Despite his words, the leaders of the healing faction here at Windmeer seem to have other plans. I doubt that they will let me join you with or without Yara.”

That was not the answer the mage was hoping for, but he was not deterred. “I can have the ravens talk to Master Jeriah again. He could certainly push them to let you go.”

Shaking her head, Deyla replied sadly, “We’re too short staffed here right now. After last summer in particular, wizards with healing abilities have become every keep’s priority, since we are rarer than say a fire wizard. You know how rare the healing talent is within the mages for yourself.”

Countering her with a nod, Sebastian turned the conversation towards his second choice, “Then can you push for Yara to be raised. I’ll need at least one healer while I train. There will be more than just me needing attention once I begin training, since I am hoping to pick up a few training partners as well. Just looking at what goes on here, I can see having a healer nearby will be necessary and I can’t heal myself.”

With a drawn out sigh, Deyla finally shrugged stating, “I can try to push for Yara’s promotion. She is talented enough and though she has more to learn, that can be said for any wizard. If the high wizard will push for it as well, then Yara will have to go to White Hall for her testing.”

“It would be on the way to Hala anyway, so she can travel with us. Apparently, I am still supposed to accompany the ambassador at least that far, though the ravens have implied that I should take some time to go home and see my family while I am there also. She could just join as part of the caravan and take any letters she will need to the leaders at White Hall then.”

“I suppose that will have to do,” the woman said giving in to the tenacious battle mage. “So you plan to collect a few wizards to train with as well? How will that work? You certainly can’t just pick up any wizard and expect them to follow a battle mage. No offense intended, but we both know that is how they will look at it.”

He nodded, “I have a few ideas on that actually. There may be a few I can ask to help here, though I may have to try picking up a few apprentices at White Hall if things don’t work out.”

“An apprentice might be willing to join, but you will need permission from their masters also,” Deyla replied still unsure of his suggestions.

With a shrug, Sebastian turned to look in the direction of the training fields where the noise of battle could be heard once more. “Do you really think that it is so crazy for a battle mage to have a chance against a wizard in a duel?”

The change of topic caught the woman off guard, but she collected her thoughts and replied with a sigh, “I know that you were able to beat Magnus in a fighting circle, but these duels are set up with wizard magic in mind. They have the advantage both in the power of their magic and the set up of the field. There will undoubtedly be different fields set up at Winter’s Edge, since they seem to want to raise the duels to a spectator sport and will want variety to entertain the masses. Plus each wizard’s magic will require different materials to use their talents properly.

“If you truly wish me to give you my opinion though, I would have to say that it is unlikely you will be able to get through even one duel with a full wizard.”

His eyes had not returned to the woman from the far off dueling fields though he could not see the actual battles from the grove. The mage nodded, less to confirm her answer than to acknowledge her opinion. Sebastian knew that Deyla was enough of a friend to wish him well, but she truly believed that he would fail. “Maybe I need to get my hands a little dirty before we give up entirely.”

Following the mage back to the small crowds surrounding the dueling fields, Sebastian moved to greet one of the wizards in charge of the area. Despite the fields not truly being part of the wizards’ domain, the need for some organization had prompted the guilds to form a committee to collect the data and form their own version of a try out tournament. They were determined to send a group of wizards with the talent to win and were very serious about the selection process. This was still preliminary training for the full trials, however, so things were still a little lax in respect to wizards showing up to train since things were worked around their winter schedules.

“Mage?” the wizard wore the black and silver clothing of the diplomat guild, which was a name that hardly told of the true magic used by these wizards. Their spells preyed on the mind more often than physically attacked an opponent, but the ability to enhance their appearance and influence people with their words meant they were excellent in the field of diplomacy as well. Such a man being in charge of
the training fields was also more likely due to the fact that few of his guild would wish to fight on the field. Much of their magic was banned from such competitions since it was so hard to combat as well.

“Yes, would there be any wizards willing to train with me on the field today?”

A laugh followed immediately as the man considered the notion, “I didn’t know the falcons admitted suicidal types.”

With a strong air of sarcasm, Sebastian retorted good naturedly, “I don’t think they take any but the suicidal. They arm men to go into battle with a quarter of the power of a full wizard and expect them to come back somehow. That said, then maybe you have someone hoping for an easy match so here I am.”

Good humor remained in the wizard as he shrugged and looked at the list. “Well, we have three without partners. They’ve all fought each other this week, so we try to find new challengers to pair them up with but if no one else shows soon we will have to pair them up again.” Turning to to face some of the closest onlookers, the man asked, “One of you three interested in fighting a falcon for a round?”

Three faces all looked intently first at the wizard and then the mage who dared to try a wizard’s duel. One was the fire wizard that had failed in her fight against the nature wizard. She was apparently none the worse for her battle, despite having lost the challenge, but her face twisted in disdain momentarily as she shook her head at such an idea. The second was a water wizard, who looked a bit thoughtful on the idea, but his indecision left him looking at the third man.

Wearing the brown of earth, the man smiled. “He’s not just your average mage, Talmus. This is the mizard. If he knows the rules, I’ll fight him.”

“I do,” Sebastian nodded to the man as he looked at his eyes. He had not seen this wizard fight, but Sebastian recalled the face from last summer.

“There you go, Collin,” Talmus replied, “and I guess that means you two are up.”

Sebastian looked to the battle fields and realized that one had indeed opened up. There were pieces of wood, a pool of water, stone, snow and ice set to either side of the field ready for the elements hardest to find and necessary to certain casters. Looking back to Collin, Sebastian nodded and gestured toward the field, “If you are ready?”

Collin smiled, “I hope you are ready. If you aren’t, this match may not even work up an appetite for lunch. You never tried this I take it.”

Returning the smile, Sebastian freely admitted, “This will be my first time fighting using a the wizard’s duel rules at least. Fighting wizards and other creatures in the field, which I have plenty of experience with, but I assume this will take a little practice to master.”

His opponent’s eyes held the look of one peering at a child ready to play at being an adult. “If you ever actually master it, that is, since you are still just the strength of a battle mage. I have heard of what you’ve done and I can say that I do respect your achievements, falcon, and I would certainly never have a problem fighting at your side in the field. This, however, is not an easy challenge that you are taking on here. Even full wizards find out quickly if dueling is beyond their abilities.”

“Thank you for your words, Wizard Collin. Truth to tell I have the same worries that you’re mentioning, but it is probably better to find out now rather than later, isn’t it?”

The man chuckled, “True I suppose. You don’t want me to hold back I suppose?”

“It wouldn’t be a good test then would it?”

“Another good point. All right then, Falcon Sebastian, let’s be at this already,” the man smiled as he shook the mage’s hand and walked to his side of the field.

As he walked to the other side of the field, the further of the two walks in fact, Sebastian looked at his resources thinking on what he knew of magic and what he might face with an earth wizard. His corps had a few spells using the earth, but he had never fought against this kind of wizard before though he had worked with a few the previous summer.

Like fire wizards, earth magic was good in a fight. The very nature of their spells meant they would know how to defend. Stone and earth bent to their wills to form walls. The battle mage’s stone skin spell was an offshoot of such magic in fact. Hardened stone and even metals like steel fell under their school and weapons could be made from both. Also as he had seen in the earlier battle, they could move the very earth under your feet. Without good footing, most soldiers would be incapacitated quickly enough by such a wizard.

He had tricks of his own though and Sebastian began to lay out a plan in his mind even as he picked up several shafts of wood most likely intended for nature wizards to use in a trial. They were straight and anywhere from four to five feet long. He took stock of his statue only ten feet from him. It felt both too close and very far away. When spells were crashing into your defenses, it would certainly feel too close, but battle mages used their magic close to themselves for the most part. Their defenses were shields and stone skin, so his very first skill to learn would be finding a way to shield something so very far away.

A third wizard dressed in a researcher’s colors stepped to the edge of their field. He obviously didn’t want to be caught in the path of destruction once the battle commenced so his tentative approach was not unexpected. The man raised his hand looking to both opponents and waited for a nod. Getting confirmation that they were ready, the man dropped his hand and shouted, “Ten seconds begins now!”

An image of an hour glass was cast in the air showing sand disappearing quickly. It was a new spell that if he had time might have intrigued Sebastian’s curiosity to learn, but instead the mage called forth his standard defense. “Shield, shield, shield,” he ordered large ten foot by ten foot barriers in front of
his statue. The first stood thick and tall set in defiance of anything that the earth wizard might throw at it. The second and third angled and came together at a point right behind the first and further protected the statue on either side.

“Shield,” he added one last barrier beneath his feet. The challenge at Windmeer was designed to destroy the statue, but his precaution lay in the way an earth wizard fought. If his spells could disrupt the mage by unsettling his feet without actually attacking Sebastian then Collin could get away with it and help the earth wizard win in the process. The obscuring clouds and storms others had used as offense against the statues had often hidden second attacks and the mage hoped the shield would prevent at least that much.

His defenses set, the mage looked up at the image momentarily to see time left before he could attack. Collin had drawn up a large mound of stone in a bulwark before his statue and half encircling it to either side. He was still chanting and Sebastian assumed with the limited time remaining that it would be his attack.

The time ended and a horn sounded from their side. Collin matched the horn exactly unleashing a flurry of stone spears to test the mage shields.

Sebastian met the spears with new shields appearing halfway between the wizard and his statue. The bold move of intercepting the stone early broke the smaller shields and slowed the shafts letting his main wall deflect the stone with little effect.

“Fireballs,” Sebastian started with a variation on the standard mage spell. Instead of one ball of flame, the mizard launched a spread of eight projectiles which struck the bulwark or fell short kicking up clouds of dust as they exploded.

He could hear laughter. Everyone knew that such small flames would never breach the earth wizard’s defensive wall.

Sebastian used his foot to flick a five foot shaft of wood to his hand which he planted in the ground. “Heal,” he ordered and drew strength up the wooden shaft from the earth. The rush of power set his spell in order with a flurry. His magic flowed into the half dozen wooden shafts one by one to link his power with the wood. It was a new idea that had come to mind as he had watched the earth wizard fight with his strong defenses earlier.

“Air lances,” the mizard encapsulated the half dozen shafts launching them within air spears. The impact with the magic hardened earth could be felt in the ground even through the shield at his feet.