Battle Mage: Winter's Edge (40 page)

Sebastian’s attention moved to the second duel. Earth and air waged war as two wizards from their rival schools fought for the pride of their elements. Interestingly enough, the air wizard had raised low earthen walls before him as a defense. They were simply waist high versions of walls similar to his competitor who had raised walls to nearly head height angled towards a nonexistent point in front of him. The earth wizard had left a central point open above the waist so that he could see his opponent to focus his spells. With the dirt and stone being thick, solid walls, the earth wizard couldn’t just wall himself in without leaving the opening as a weakness.

On the opposite side, the air wizard’s earthen embankments were just the lower base of his defense. Sebastian could feel the swirling tornado like winds encompassing the wizard. Dirt from the ground was slowly being pulled up into the tornado as well so the defensive winds were slowly darkening with the debris.

Stone spears lashed out to be spun aside or sucked up into the swirling mass much to the earth wizard’s disappointment. He had tested the strength of the winds before and the same results happened every time.

Sebastian noted the spears cast aside seemed to hit an invisible wall on either side of the wizards. Four more wizards stood in casters’ poses chanting in four corners around each duel. Having four to
contain the individual strength of the two combatants within each zone, he assumed that it was done for more than one reason. First, they kept the spectators safe from harm. Second, they kept each duel separated from each other and, of course third; they kept the courtyard walls from being destroyed by the unrestrained power of wizards releasing war magic on each other.

When the nearer of the two duels suddenly reached its fiery conclusion, the mage found the fourth reason for the four wizards working together. The losing wizard’s defenses failed and a wall of fire washed over the man. What should have killed the wizard was caught on a last defense not his own. A protection shield using the strength of the power of four wizards caught the destructive spell and turned it aside leaving the wizard unharmed for the most part. The man was still exhausted from the duel, but only that and his wounded pride would be the pains he walked away with from the loss.

He now knew how Winter’s Edge could be safely waged within the capitol city’s walls.

“Fireball!” the spell came from Sebastian’s left side drawing panicked stares from those nearest the mage, Yara included.

“Shield,” the falcon responded casually with a gesture of his fingers toward the left but with the grand result of a large, blue cylinder of energy rising from the ground to over two feet above his head and extending nearly ten feet from either side. Such a large defense surrounded both the mage and Yara beside him as well as three other onlookers nearby.

Turning his head to look to the left, Sebastian watched as a large fireball came at the shield but instead of striking the blue energy it circled the cone several times before soaring up into the air. As the fireball shot straight up, it stopped as suddenly as it had changed course. A gentle puff as the ball was magically snuffed was all the more consequence of someone’s practical joke. Unfortunately, Sebastian knew both the voice and the behavior to be that of someone who was once almost an enemy, despite them both being from White Hall and Southwall.

A familiar face wearing the red of a fire wizard smiled at the mage before giving a nod of acknowledgement and crossed the space between them.

“Hello, Magnus,” Sebastian said coolly as the wizard walked up beside him. His former bane of existence wasn’t someone that he had necessarily wished to see in White Hall. The mage hadn’t even known the wizard was here, since all ties had been broken between the two after Sebastian had left Windmeer. Yara’s letters had never bothered to make mention of the man and he had not asked. With all the baggage of their apprentice years behind them, Sebastian had thought after last summer that things were better between them at least to the point of stopping the annoying pranks often practiced at White Hall.

“Sebastian, it is good to see you. Your reflexes seem to have gotten even better since I had last seen you and certainly your use of magic seems to have grown as well. I haven’t seen such a large shield last summer’s battle,” the fire wizard commented casually as he smiled making the comments seem genuine in their compliment.

“Magnus Trekanus, you jerk!” Yara was far less calm as she laid into her former suitor. The fire wizard had never actually acted on any claims he may have thought he had on the girl, but only thanks to the strict rules applying to apprentice wizards. Males were given a certain amount of leniency, but the female wizards, especially healing wizards, were guarded as virgins like they were in a temple. “How could you be so reckless as to send a fireball into a crowd of people? Haven’t you grown up yet? Maybe I should go find Wizard Pheren and ask that he punish you by making you an apprentice again? Maybe a second try at becoming a wizard will help you grow up!”

Blinking at the harsh words, Magnus managed still managed a smile. A tall, good looking young man, blond hair and silver eyes could often sway the girls in his favor, but Yara was no fawning school girl for him to manipulate. For a healer who was one of the gentlest people Sebastian knew, Magnus seemed to find her anger quite easily. “I’m sorry. It was just a joke and I had full control of where the ball would go. Really. Didn’t you see that I made it miss both your shield and everyone between us before I sent it away?”

Crossing her arms in a huff and stamping her foot angrily, the healer retorted, “That doesn’t matter. It was still reckless and I thought that you were done with trying to pick on Sebastian. You know after he saved your life, one would think you might actually be a little grateful.”

Sebastian noted the two young men on either side of the wizard. One dressed in the white and blue of a water apprentice was Linus, one of Magnus’ friends and a former co-tormentor of the mage. The third man wore the red of a fire wizard like Magnus, but he was unfamiliar to Sebastian.

Magnus was starting to lose his smile as Yara continued to berate him in front of a slowly growing crowd. He confessed, “I do appreciate what Bas did for me. I wasn’t pranking him to be a jerk. Honest.

“Didn’t you notice that I called that fireball differently from the other wizards?”

Sebastian hadn’t seen the wizard cast any spell, but his memory suddenly recalled that the spell sounded like a battle mage command. “You called it from a battle mage spell?” he asked trying to discern the element that the wizard was trying to get across.

Clapping his hands together, Magnus grinned, “Exactly!”

“But why?”

Noting the eyes still watching their conversation, Magnus gestured towards a bench away from prying ears and eyes. “Though some of White Hall know that I have been practicing the battle mage way of casting, perhaps we can discuss it where there’s a little less of a crowd?”

Yara and Sebastian followed Magnus along with the other two wizards beside him. Magnus quickly introduced his friends. “I think you both know Linus well enough,” he said of the apprentice. “Embrell, here is a fellow fire wizard and my dueling partner.”

A quick exchange of hellos led to Magnus revealing, “Embrell and I have been trying to bring in the battle mage way of casting to our duels.”

“Why?” Sebastian asked though he had a pretty good idea.

“Well, after you soundly humiliated me in the battle circle, I first began to realize that for all our strength our magic has a big flaw. It’s based on casting and building up strength unlike the faster, less draining spells of your mages. Then I was there for that battle where you coordinated both the remainder of the falcons and our wizards to turn the enemy when we should have been overwhelmed by their numbers.

“It led me to a couple conclusions. First, if fire wizards are supposed to be combat wizards, then we should look for the best combat spells. A quick, strong, magic shield can turn a fight as easily as a large fire spell depending on the situation. Knowing how to do both, whether it’s the battle mage way of thinking or our original wizard’s training, shouldn’t matter. Second, you personally have instincts that rival the best wizard I’ve ever seen. If only because of what I have seen and heard of the magic you have created and the battles you have won, I knew I should take your mage spells seriously.

“So last fall after you left, I went to my superiors and asked if I could return to White Hall to see what I could learn. We have a common enemy. If mages need to be more like wizards, perhaps the opposite is true as well. Embrell was assigned to train with me and, with Falconi Garrett and Martina for support, we’ve been learning alongside some of the cadets and falcons stationed here.”

The news surprised Sebastian coming from the wizard it did and yet, all of it made sense to him. Just as the mages were learning and improving from the new magic he was discovering from the wizards,
Magnus was right that the wizards could learn from the speed of their spells. “Then I guess we both learned something last summer.”

Half bowing his head, Magnus nodded, “Well, if nothing else, most would consider wizards intelligent enough to learn from their mistakes. Too bad no falcon ever taught us this lesson sooner.”

Embrell began to chuckle and added, “Unfortunately, I think it will take more than just Magnus and a few others to get the message across to the rest of the wizards. Not everyone is embracing the idea. In fact, Winter’s Edge will be our true testing ground. If we fail to show well, I think the elders will scrap the whole idea.”

Magnus smiled a little slyly as he added, “Though maybe if a battle mage wins a few battles at Winter’s Edge, it might not matter what we do. Have I heard correctly that you have joined the duels?”

“I have,” Sebastian affirmed and continued, “I’ve brought a team from Windmeer to help train for it.”

“Excellent then perhaps you would duel me? After all, I do need a chance to get even after the thrashing you gave me in the battle circle last summer, don’t I?” Magnus asked with a grin. The other two wizards with him looked eager to see such a match as well.

It was not a matter to be thought of lightly to Sebastian, however. He knew Magnus was a strong fire wizard and despite only being made a full wizard last fall following the summer’s battles he was capable of doing well in the tournament. The fact that he was beginning to adapt battle mage spells into his skills might give him an even bigger edge than before. Sebastian battled with the curiosity of seeing Magnus’s new skills with wanting to hide his own.

“I’ve only really dueled a few times now. I doubt that it would be the match that you wanted at this point. Give me a few more weeks and perhaps we’ll meet in the tournament.”

Magnus looked disappointed. “Come on, Bas, I really was hoping to see you fight. My spells are still a work in progress as well, so I would think that it will be a fair fight.”

Looking towards the duels still continuing and the onlookers watching every contest closely trying to find weaknesses and strengths to avoid, Sebastian frowned slightly. Giving away what he already could do, might not mean anything in three weeks really. With the training he was planning, the mage might be an entirely different sort of dueler by the time he reached Hala. On the other hand, if he learned very little and could not change his tactics by then, the few advantages he might have could be given away.

“Perhaps we could find a less public area to test what you have learned,” he said cautiously. “Maybe the battle mage courtyard would do?”

Eager to test himself, Magnus nodded and said, “Let’s go!”

As they started to walk towards a small wooden door in the wall to their left, Yara caught his arm and asked, “Are you sure that you want to do this here?”

With a noncommittal shrug, Sebastian replied quietly, “I’m not sure. I am sure that I am being eaten up with curiosity about what Magnus has been learning.”

She frowned worriedly. “If he’s learned everything you know from being a battle mage, then won’t he just be a stronger version of you?”

A little smile played at his lips thinking of that. “Perhaps he will be a stronger version of a battle mage, but I doubt that he has mastered every spell. Even if he has, I know that he hasn’t learned every spell that I have figured out since being a cadet.”

Sighing, the girl followed the men to the mage’s courtyard. Several sets of eyes turned to see who had decided to use the small door in their wall. Only wizards were likely to peek in on their cousins from that door, but upon seeing Sebastian in his falcon’s gear faces brightened noticeably. Weapons were put down and practicing in general shut down at his approach.

Whispering between the young men and women proceeded as Sebastian approached a ranking falcon trainer. “Would it be all right if the fire wizard and I had a practice match here?”

The falcon was decades older than Sebastian. Nearly retired from the service, the mage had to guess, the grey haired man in his brown jacket and black pants had most likely chosen to help train at White Hall rather than fully retire. He still looked fit enough to fight, but the mizard could sense that his energy wasn’t what it once was.

“You need a sword, lad?” the older man asked.

Shaking his head, he stated, “No, we just need that side of the court cleared.” He gestured towards the opposite side of the clearing where only a couple cadets had remained with wooden swords in hand. Sebastian thought they looked to be twelve and wondered how he had become so old so fast.