Battle Mage: Winter's Edge (55 page)

Chapter 30- Lady of the Heights

The morning had opened with a bright sunrise illuminating a clear blue sky. There were no clouds for once, but the cold seemed to bite deeper, especially if one were audacious enough to step into the shadows. Hala seemed to hold an excited energy in the city thanks to the Winter’s Edge tournament that most winter mornings usually could never hope to hold.

With the previous day holding one hundred seventeen matches across ten battle fields, most of the city had seen a few matches at the least and certainly many could hear the percussion of wizards working their war magic. So many good matches and so many wizards making a splash with the onlookers, led to people talking about their favorites over dinner and the following morning they flocked to the arenas in even greater numbers than the day before.

They had heard some of the talk even at their inn during dinner. Four of the six wizards from Eirdhen had passed. Interestingly enough, Sebastian had noted that two wore their hair long and seemed to bear a strong resemblance to the elder of the group. One small difference was having strangely pointed
ears on the younger men to set them apart from their mentor. Were they the elves of Eirdhen that were rumored to be in the tournament?

Whether it was true or not, the four tried to console their friends that had lost, before setting all their minds to the tactics of the next day’s battles. A few of the city folk that came to dinner were talking about the men and their performance in the ring. Though Sebastian hadn’t seen any of their matches, he assumed that they were good ones.

Talk of Collin and his dragon gained the earth wizard extra attention as well as Sebastian’s defeat of the wizard from Alcazar despite being just a mage as well.

They talked of the dragons and gargoyles. The men from Ch’thal in their furs, who also stayed at the inn, had their losses and even the bad luck to have a pair of them draw each other in the first round to knock one out besides. Their dark skins and odd gestures had gained them interest, both good and bad.

A girl from Malaiy had done well in his own arena, the Heights. He had barely caught sight of her the previous day, but her beauty and skillful mastery of wind magic had earned her quite a few admirers.

Last of the main talk was about a faction known as Grey Hall. Unlike the halls of Southwall, little was known about these men other than they were very skilled. Only six had entered and they had yet to have a loss. Sebastian wondered about them also. Men of mystery in the capitol caused worry as well, but unfortunately the mage had his own business to keep. Whatever mystery there was, someone else would have to take care of it. He was sure that the officials had some knowledge of them or they would not have been allowed in the city.

All such worries were put behind him as the mage took to the tower steps. Two matches had gone before his and Wendle’s. Now he had to duel his friend and one of them would end their run very early.

Grinning at Sebastian, Wendle greeted him at the base of the steps. As they walked up and up, the man couldn’t help talking to his opponent, “I’m kind of excited, Bas. Dueling a friend can be pretty fun.

“I’ll give it all I’ve got and no hard feelings for either of us, right? Win or lose we leave any bad feelings in the arena.”

The mage nodded and gave a slight smile. Though he didn’t really want to fight his friend, especially so early in the tournament, he had to remember that it was just a game. The problem for Wendle was that Sebastian wasn’t just fighting for himself. So many falcons’ futures rode on his performance. If he could go far enough, the mage would win respect for those of his kind, those weaker in magic.

While Isstmira’s words hadn’t hurt him, they were the words all mages fought to disprove. Just because their power was less, did not mean they had less value or skill. Their place on the battle field was still in a state of flux after one hundred fifty years. He was the one that had to show the world what a well trained battle mage could do in a wizards’ world.

With a sigh, Sebastian said to his friend while staring out the door to the duel rings, “Don’t hold back. You know that I won’t.”

The other man began to chuckle. “Don’t be so serious, Bas. I won’t hold back, but we can have fun. Can’t we?”

Without answering, the mage took his gear and stepped out onto the high stone wall.

Cheers came up as they spied the brown and black of the falcons on his back. Sebastian was a little surprised by the reaction still. There were too many voices for the handful of friends that had come to his duel. With the morning being so packed, the team had broken up to cover more ground and cheer their friends on as much as they could.

Glancing over to the packed seats on the walls around him, Sebastian waved to the crowd and received an even larger cheer. Trying not to shake his head in incredulity, the mage prepared his items: five wooden shafts, two more made of metal and Bairh’loore ready behind him if he needed it.

He knew that Wendle had seen his trick with the wooden shafts, but if the opening were there it might work again.

The judge of the match announced succinctly. “Wendle Targorad of Kardor versus Falcon Sebastian Trillon of Windmeer.”

His remaining words were nearly drowned out in the cheering from the stands, which was a feat with his magically augmented voice. Knowing the words anyway, both men prepared their defenses.

Wendle erected thick ice walls using water from several buckets brought to the edge of the ring for the wizard. He hadn’t used them the day before, so Sebastian knew that his friend was trying to change up his routine to get an edge. In contrast, the mage threw together his usual mage shields and waited for the next period to begin.

When the twenty seconds given this round ended, the two men began their two man war.

A war of wind was harder to inspire a crowd, but that was how it began. Wendle directed high end winds to batter the mage, who simply ignored it using his air shield spell. Air lances drove through the wind damaging the wizard’s ice walls. Several holes remained where the mage had pierced the ice, but the wizard was unharmed and fighting back still.

Using the wind to drive dozens of ice shards, Sebastian’s mage shields began to be tested. The winds drove the ice at such high speeds that he knew if a man were to be hit by them, they would flay him alive.

Three of the air spears with the wood shafts inside flew towards Wendle testing him, but the wizard met them with winds so strong that the weapons were cast aside landing in the Ponds arena below.

A horizontal tornado, brown with debris, hammered his frontal shield until it gave way under the assault. Sebastian countered with a ground quake. The thick stones of the wall rose and fell in a wave of power. Ice cracked and Wendle stumbled. In the momentary distraction, the mage sent the two pieces of metal in spears of air across the expanse. Driving through one ice wall, it crumbled but managed to drive both spears into the ground.

Looking relieved to have survived the attack, Wendle recast his wall spell and the broken ice began to reform as a powerful barrier between the two men. Unfortunately, as Sebastian grimly uttered his next spell, the wizard’s defenses would be too late.

“Dance lightning,” he spoke the two words letting the lightning lift from the ground through the wood spear that he held planted to the wall. The bright lights of the twisting lightning made him squint against the blinding trail. It leaped and danced along the wall striking ice and the two metal rods near the wizard’s feet.

Eyes opened wide as he saw the attack coming in that instant, Wendle opened his mouth as the lightning reentered the ground at his feet. A cry went up from the wizard and the watching crowd. No one could believe that a mage had just used such a complicated spell. Even fewer could believe how Wendle was launched into the air by the power of the spell. Landing twenty feet beyond the edge of his battle circle, Sebastian just hoped the power of the three wizards had kept his friend safe.

Hurrying across the wall, stumbling through the broken ice, Sebastian ran over to check on his friend.

Groaning, Wendle looked up at the mage and blinked. After a moment, Sebastian offered the man a hand up as he realized that he was simply stunned.

“You really don’t hold back do you?” the Kardorian chuckled as he stood up with a grunt of effort.

“You’re winner is Falcon Sebastian!”

The crowd cheered as the mage helped the fallen wizard back into the tower.

As the two men made their way into the first room, Sebastian used a last air spell to pull Bairh’loore to his hand. The spell was mostly missed as the crowds began watching the matches still raging below in the Ponds and Royal Gardens. Noise from both matches and cheers from the audiences went ignored as the two men made their way to the food waiting inside the tower. It had been a relatively brief match, but the energy used was still substantial and both of them were hungry.

“I did warn you that I couldn’t hold back, you know,” the mage finally answered his friend as he chewed on a sandwich.

Nodding, Wendle replied, “Your casting speed combined with how strong you make your attacks is quite amazing. I know people talk about your magical strength all the time, but what you actually do with it…” he shook his head in appreciation.

“I’m always surprised by the strength of those blue shields of yours as well. Have I been seeing your team of wizards using them also?”

Sebastian nodded. “They use them in different ways with other walls as they feel more comfortable. Magic can be used in so many different ways. I think people forget that when they talk about a battle mage’s magical strength.”

Yara and Katya entered as they were eating and his sister was the first to greet them. “Good work, Bas, and sorry, Wendle?”

The girl made the second half a question as she was unsure of how the man would take his loss.

Waving the apology off, Wendle smiled. “I can’t be angry losing to a friend, especially when I know I tried my best. Your brother is just a beast in the arena.” His expression changed to curiosity as he mused, “You know, they never talked about what will happen next round.”

One of the men working the serving table overheard the comment and answered, “All winners are to meet at two in the afternoon for a meeting to learn of the next match.” He smiled proving that the apprentice probably knew the answer to the third round and he intimated that as he leaned a little closer and spoke in a lower tone, “I hear that since they had such a large turn out for the tournament, that what they have in store is quite impressive.”

Wendle raised an eyebrow in mild curiosity and asked, “What could be more impressive than these battle arenas that they created? I will say that the tournament planners have come up with some interesting ideas so far and have pushed the idea of wizard’s duels to a new level already.”

The young man shrugged, though Sebastian still thought that he might know the answer to Wendle’s question.

Finding their informant suddenly quite close mouthed, the four began to move their way to the stairs, when a young woman with silver hair came up from below. A small entourage accompanied the young woman. By description, Sebastian thought that it was the wizard from Malaiy that everyone had been talking about earlier.

“Good luck in your duel,” the mage said politely to the girl.

With silver blond hair, almond shaped green eyes and unblemished, alabaster skin, the woman was quite striking. The remainder of her group was tanner including a second wizard. He was first to speak as the woman in her light blue clothing looked at the mage unsmiling.

The male wizard was iron to her silver. With a beard and swept back black hair, his intense hawk eyed stare appeared ready to strike the mage. “The Lady Annalicia de Malef Eremia does not speak to commoners, mage.”

Katya bristled and burst out, “Then she’s pretty stupid, I think!”

Sebastian stared his sister to silence. Feeling the men of Malaiy readying for a fight, he noticed their tanned skins darkening even more at the girl’s outburst. Getting used to the need for diplomacy more and more, the mage simply replied, “Pardon her, though I still wish the lady well. As a competitor, I have heard good things about her so far. Perhaps we will meet in a later round and have a good battle for the people.”

The male wizard looked ready to speak up angrily, but Lady Annalicia answered for herself stopping his words, “I have heard of your battle as well. Apparently, you have won your second challenge just now. I will take your words of encouragement to heart, falcon. Would that Wizard Reynolvan had your fighting spirit, perhaps he would be less grouchy today. You see he lost in the sea yesterday.

“It is sad to say, since Malaiy is known as the Point of Taltan and is bordered by two seas. You would think a water wizard of such a country would last longer in a tournament, especially when they placed him in the sea for his start.

“I wish you well, falcon. Perhaps we shall meet later as you say,” the woman finished managing to both honor Sebastian while politely chastening her own countryman. She had never raised her voice. The tranquility of her demeanor made the mage believe that this woman was indeed highborn, a true lady, and yet Lady Annalicia was also a magic user.

Bowing his head slightly, Sebastian replied quietly, “Thank you, my lady. Good luck once again.”