Battle Mage: Forging New Steel (Tales of Alus Book 9) (38 page)

“Hey, Bas, when did you learn this new magic?” Elzen asked riding on his other side with Rilena between them. It felt good having his old friends around him again. While much of his team had moved on, the one benefit of post changes was that eventually you seemed to run into old friends once more.

The younger mage gestured towards his legs though his pants and boots covered the runes. After they had returned in the evening, Rilena and Elzen had removed their boots. The girl’s raising of her pants leg to her knee had made the boy needle her to show more, of course. Sebastian thought that it was more than teasing, however, but hadn’t asked more of them.

“We were given five runes spread over five of us, though two chose the same thing. During training I figured out that those of us with magic could make them do more than say, a soldier without magic. That link led me to figure out how to copy a rune from someone else or transfer my own,” he finished with a shrug.

Rilena frowned and asked, “Why don’t I see any marks on you?”

Realizing that not everyone wanted to be marked with a tattoo or rune, the owl replied, “I used my magic to change the color, so when I wish to conceal them I make them clear.”

The owl pushed his magic to the defensive rune on his arm making the bluish black markings appear. Concentrating, he changed the color to blue, red and orange consecutively before making them disappear once more.

“How do you always make things look so simple?” the girl complained.

“Take off your pants and try it, Rilena,” Elzen laughed at the dark haired mage riding next to him.

“Shut up, Elzen,” she replied with a sigh and never turned her head from speaking to Sebastian.

Realizing that for all of his intentional teasing, Elzen had a point. Without being able to see a rune while they rode, they would need a place for the girl to sit and see if her use of magic worked to erase the visible markings.

He reached out his hand and nodded to Rilena to do the same. His magic copied the oval spot, which could summon things from the ink; and transferred it to her right forearm. “Here, you can practice on this.”

“It’s a big, black spot,” the young woman replied with a frown.

Chuckling at her opinion of the rune, which he didn’t deny; Sebastian informed her, “It can hold items inside the ink. It might even access some other dimension or world like the portals.”

Placing his fingers over his rune, Sebastian called out the black blade from the ink. He drew the blade halfway out before pushing it back into the rune.

Rilena looked a little pale from the demonstration, but to practice she didn’t need to use the rune at all. She simply had it to focus her magic onto creating the change of color for the mark.

“What else can you make these runes do with your magic?” Elzen asked showing some insight that was normally masked by his playful attitude. Since he had known the younger mage for several years at White Hall, Sebastian knew that Elzen was more than just the jokester he often appeared to be. There was a talented battle mage there, who had been raised in position from cadet to falcon in just a pair of trips to the wall. Few made the promotion in less than three trips, though Sebastian’s time at the wall had been full of actions which had promoted him while he was still on his first trip to Windmeer.

Spacing himself from the others a little more, Sebastian pushed his magic into the defensive runes channeling the marks over his head as he raised his arm. The orange markings lifted from his arm creating an umbrella to avoid spooking his horse only a moment before he retracted the shield.

“On the warriors we met, they used these runes all over their bodies as defensive armor. It could resist damage, but like armor it could be overwhelmed and destroyed along with the wearer. I never saw any of them create a shield with the runes, so I believe only magic users can take the runes to a different level.”

Switching to the oval rune, Sebastian made it lift free over his head in a similar way to the first. “I can make this rune large enough to hold weapons or baggage.”

Elzen smacked his forehead and said, “Now that you mention it, you and Ashleen have less gear on your horses than the rest of us. I wasn’t watching you last night, but you must be storing your packs inside of the rune.”

Sebastian nodded, “It comes out safely enough, so why burden the horse?”

Complaining to the owl mage once more, Rilena almost growled, “Again, you make it sound so easy.”

He could only shrug at her complaint and watch as the pretty falcon focused on copying his use of magic on her rune. Elzen and the other mages were quick to ask to be given their own runes to use. Since it was an easy spell to use as long as they could make physical contact, they didn’t even have to stop the horses for Sebastian to transfer an oval to each mage.

Coming to Jeriah, Sebastian gave the mage the rune with mixed feelings. He wouldn’t deny any of those in his corps, but the man wasn’t his favorite.

“Could I get the rune that makes that shield too?” the larger man asked a little more demanding than Sebastian wanted to hear, but it wasn’t a surprise.

Giving the man the defensive rune, he stated, “I wouldn’t do it on the horse or you might spook it and wind up being thrown.”

Jeriah started to frown at being cautioned by the younger mage before he could control his face, “Whatever you say, Owl Sebastian.”

The man’s voice stood on the line of sarcasm; but as the afternoon progressed, Jeriah refrained from practicing on the defense rune. It was, however, one of the first things the mage tried as soon as camp was made at night.

Chapter 21- Gift of Runes

After the camp had been set, Sebastian found himself at the center of everyone’s attention but the mages for once.

Wizard Oltus and Lieutenant Aufrienne led the charge as the mage held his meal on his lap sitting on a raised mound of earth. The battle mage had used his magic to create the seat on the open plain as had many of the others who possessed magic. Instead of being allowed to eat in peace, the two men led a spearhead of both soldiers and wizards.

Oltus wasn’t using his magic, but Sebastian could hear the negotiator he had trained to become as he said, “We noticed that you use a magic that I have not seen before and wondered if it was something that could help others beyond your corps?”

Wanting to sigh as he could feel the warmth of his warmed beans and meat cooked together by the soldiers earlier through the plate, Sebastian nodded placing his fork into the mash of food. “We came across a group of people that we helped along with the Grimnal. As a reward, we were gifted with a handful of runes which their warriors used in battle. The powers are similar to those used by battle mages for the most part, but don’t require any verbal commands to control.”

Lt. Aufrienne asked next, “They used them like you do, like a battle mage?”

Shaking his head, Sebastian clarified, “I asked to learn about them because they were on warriors with no magic. It simulates magic once placed on the soldiers and that is why I hoped to discover the secret of the magic to give to our wizards and mages to place on soldiers who were willing.”

Gesturing towards the men and women in the camp, the lieutenant stated, “I don’t think there are any who aren’t willing, if it would give them an edge in battle against the Dark One’s monsters.”

Sebastian snuck a couple bites finding the chili like concoction still very hot. He swallowed his small amounts of food quickly and nodded. “I can try to pass on the runes to the others, but I think any runes that will be seen by the nomads will have to wait until after our meeting. If they were to see them, they might think that we were there to steal their magic since it is rumored that the warriors the scouts saw had markings like ours.”

The soldier frowned thoughtfully, but with a little disappointment on his face. “What would that leave for us?”

“I can create runes which shield you from harm, strength runes which can be added to the back and legs as well as speed runes. Unfortunately the sense spells, runes for holding weapons, and anything for the arms can’t be hidden with short sleeves by soldiers.”

He looked at Oltus and said, “If you practice, your magic can make the runes seem to disappear. I can place runes on your arms, if your people can figure out how to do that first.”

“If battle mages can figure it out,” the wizard said gesturing to those already gifted with the runes earlier, “I am sure that we can figure it out as well. If not, are you able to remove the runes as easily?” he finished capitulating slightly on the skills inherent in each individual.

Sebastian nodded. He knew how to copy and to erase them, though he had yet to do so to another person. Since his magic could lift the spell ink from the skin, the mage knew that what he could do could also be undone. This was also the opportunity that he had hoped for in Hala, to work with wizards to teach as much as he could about the runes and transfer them to the soldiers. If every wizard could also learn the rune spells, the entire army could be gifted with the beneficial spells in only a month or two.

Sebastian transferred the storage rune onto each of the wizards, since it was the simplest of the runes, to have them work to make it seem to disappear. While he had no problem placing other runes on the wizards, the line of clients went well beyond the half dozen wizards. Almost every soldier wanted to see what the runes could do for them after seeing what Sebastian had done with the magic. He cautioned each one as he placed the strength, speed and protection runes on the soldiers that without magic it would be more reactive and unable to be pushed from their bodies.

Wiping at his forehead, the owl was working his way through the men and women when Elzen asked, “Do you think the ability to copy these runes will be limited by the type of magic a wizard or mage can use?”

The shorter man activated the storage rune making it glow orange before it lifted from his skin. Few of the wizards or mages had managed to master that act in the short time they had the runes. The talent for the magic seemed to be in Elzen also and it made Sebastian think about his question.

“I can see how the runes are tied to a person beyond the physical appearance. Like any foreign intrusion, a healer should be able to wipe it away like a cut. That feeling also lets me know how a rune works on a person, so that lets me know how to copy it from myself to another.

“If healing magic is the key, then any wizard or mage might be able to use the runes; but few will have the talent to create more or transfer them to another subject,” the owl conjectured. Since only he and three others had the runes for more than a few hours, Sebastian could only assume there would be limitations in those who could make more.

The other mage nodded and stood up to stop a female soldier who had received the runes Sebastian could put in place without a nomad seeing them. “Excuse me...,” Elzen began with a disabling smile. The mage had always been good at making friends and liked to do so with pretty women in particular.

“Corporal Felshina,” the woman introduced herself a little guardedly as she had no idea why he was addressing her.

“Felshina, that’s an interesting name,” he said with a nod. “I am a healer like Sebastian. Might I use my talent to see how he placed the runes on you?”

“I’m not taking my clothes off for a little pervert to examine me,” the blonde haired woman stated with a frown and shake of her head making a ponytail flick over her shoulder angrily.

Quickly shaking his head as he kept his smile, Elzen put out his hands before him and said, “I only need to hold your hand. Magic doesn’t need to worry about such things.”

Rilena rolled her eyes at the younger mage and Sebastian noticed the look curiously. Whether she had seen his tendency to be infatuated with pretty women, like Rilena was as well; or if there was something else behind that look, he wasn’t sure.

By the time the owl looked back to Elzen and his prey, the soldier seemed to relax and let him hold her hand in his. Her green eyes revealed a certain amount of distrust remained, but the mage closed his eyes and called on his magic spell, “Heal.”

It was the same word Bas would use to search a person for runes; the owl thought curiously watching the only other mage he knew with the skill. Like his own perusal of the magic in runes, Elzen opened his eyes with a nod and removed the top hand. “Bas,” he called looking slightly up into the soldier’s eyes, “is there a reason that you have to place the runes on them noticeably?”

“What do you mean?” the owl asked without following Elzen’s line of thinking.

Elzen tilted his head and gestured with his free hand to the woman in front of him asking her, “Would mind pulling the neck of your shirt down enough to see the top of your runes?”

Felshina used her free hand to pull the shirt below her collar bone a couple inches only revealing the ink of the runes on her skin nearly up to the base of her neck.

“They don’t have magic to change the color, but you do. This isn’t ink. You could just make the runes the way you want them to be,” the younger mage stated reaching with his forefinger to touch her skin just beneath the collar bone. Her hand left him no room for any funny stuff, so she appeared less worried than at first. “Heal,” he stated and those closest to them watched as Felshina’s runes seemed to disappear.