The Archimage Wars: Wizard of Abal (19 page)

Most of what he had said made an odd
kind of sense, so I accepted him at his word.

Then I said, “But, if you convert
grass or whatever, into meat, doesn’t it break the conservation of
energy idea? It cost you energy to change it, so aren’t you just
now replenishing what you used, not gaining anything when you eat
the food?”

He shrugged, “That would be true if
the amount of energy it cost me to convert the grass was equal to
what I gain from consuming this food, which it isn’t. The energy in
this food far exceeds what it cost me to see it as something
else.”

“
Ah, OK,” I said. “So why
not just eat the grass?”

“
Because it tastes like
gowaar droppings,” Hydan noted with a laugh.

I glanced over at the four bedrolls on
the grass. “Should we change reality back so these bedrolls become
grass again?”

Toji answered patiently, “You could,
but this would cost you some energy. It is simpler to leave them in
their current reality, besides, someone else could come along and
use them later.”

“
Or, we could take them
with us,” I noted, “So we don’t have to believe in new ones
tonight.”

“
That would make sense if
we knew we would need them,” he agreed, “though we will likely
reach a settlement sometime today.”

Hydan suddenly spoke with low caution,
“Quickly, get rid of everything! Something comes!”

At his tone the other two mages didn’t
ask questions, in moments, the bedrolls, the fire, the food,
everything, was back to a simple grass meadow in the
forest.

“
Into the trees!” Hydan
said, leading the way.

We followed and were just into
concealment when I heard the sound of animal snorts and a heavy
pounding which could be felt through the ground.

Then, from around the bend, sixteen
three-legged beasts came into view, each about the size of a water
buffalo. They had hide which was almost plated armor, like a shiny
rhino skin. Their single foreleg was thicker than their two rear
legs, and they would plant it, and then lift their two rear legs
together, pulling them forward and past their thicker front leg.
Then they would bring them down hard, striking the ground. The
large muscles of the hind legs would then propel the creature
forward, while the single front leg bent back at a joint, before
reaching out forward again to start the cycle of the three-legged
gait over again.

There were saddles on the creatures,
and perched upon them were darkly cowled humanoid creatures. They
had the scaled skin of the saeran race, though, where I could see
it on their exposed hands, it was mottled and missing scales in
patches. It was as if the flesh underneath had dried and rotted
away, giving them an emaciated dead fish look. I could only see
their hands, the dark cowls kept their features obscured from the
sun.

They slowed as they came near our
recent camp, and it was almost as if they were sniffing the air,
though there were no sounds from within their hoods.

“
What are those?” I
whispered to Toji, who was crouched to my left.

“
Be very quiet,” he barely
breathed to me, “Those are necromages, the ones I told you about.
They are Morgain’s deadliest creations. I have never seen more than
three together before, but if that many find us at
once…”

He didn’t have to finish his
statement; the rest was obvious from his worried
expression.

The three-legged mounts milled around,
guided by their skeletal handed masters, then one called out in a
high-pitched screech and the whole herd of them picked up to a
gallop again and were off down the road.

I turned, and saw Hydan concentrating
heavily, but a moment later he relaxed and said, “Those things were
STRONG!” he exclaimed, “I could feel their sense sniffing around
the edge of the glamour I had created to conceal our power from
them.” Then he looked at me and added, “You can sense a mage’s
power if they are that close.”

Toji looked concerned as he said, “It
only took one of those necromages to control those three golems
which were after me yesterday. What is Morgain doing sending
sixteen of her most valuable assets down this road, on this day?
That cannot be a coincidence.”

“
They are after us,” I
said, without knowing how I knew.

Toji looked at me, and then at Myrka,
“I have not yet been a big enough thorn to make Morgain come after
me with that much effort, what of you, Tarvos?”

Myrka shrugged, “This is my first trip
to Abal; nor have I had past dealings with this
Morgain.”

I nodded, and added to her statement,
“Nor have I.”

Hydan looked a little apologetic.
“Well, I have, and I may have pissed off the evil bitch, a little,
the last time I was here. But who would have thought she would hold
such a grudge?”

“
Is this the same sorceress
who has been taking revenge on all the mages on this world for the
past thousand years?” Toji asked him.

“
Point taken, maybe Morgain
would hold a grudge,” Hydan said with a wan smile.

I frowned, “What is the difference, if
any, between a necromancer, and a necromage?”

Toji answered, “Everything! A
Necromancer is a living mage who uses the Derkaz to summon souls
and bind them to a corpse so they will do their
bidding.”

“
OK,” I said, "and these
necromages?”

Toji continued, “Well, as far as we
can discern, they are like necrosouls, but they are the souls of a
mage put into a dead body, with their own powers as a mage intact.
Though they are bound to the will of the necromancer, they can
function without the direct control of their
necromancer.”

Hydan spoke, “What we need to find out
is how they are being made!”

Toji answered, “Morgain, or her
husband, Medrod, figured out how to create them, and Morgain is
using them to win the Civil War here on Abal. My House is very
interested in finding out how they are created. Anything which
breaks the status quo is of great concern to us.”

Hydan agreed, “And to all
Houses.”

Toji nodded resolutely, “That was part
of my quest, to discover this secret.”

I considered this, “If she is that
much of a threat, why haven’t the other Houses sent more powerful
mages to take her out; no offense, Toji.”

He bowed, “None taken. I was not sent
by my House; I chose this as my honor quest. I believe my Archimage
is waiting to see if Morgain will show the will, or desire, to
strike beyond her revenge on House Sivaeral.”

I smiled grimly, “Ah, and so,
he…”

Toji interrupted, “She, my Archimage
is Nüwa.”

“…
OK, ‘she’,” I amended,
“is letting Morgain weaken the Sivaeral mages, and leaving her
alone as long as she doesn’t threaten her interests off this
world,” I surmised.

Toji bowed slightly to acknowledge his
agreement with my thoughts, but added, “However, I believe my
Archimage would not be unhappy, at this stage, to see Morgain come
to an end. All of the Archimages are likely growing concerned at
the fall of Abal to a Second.”

I puzzled over this for a moment,
“Then why not put a stop to her? As you said, she is only a
Second.”

Hydan laughed, “Only a Second? Second
does not mean second-rate. A Second is the penultimate mage, and
though it would be difficult, they are capable, in the right
circumstances, of ending an Archimage and their entire line. When
this is done, there will never be another mage of that House, so
trust me when I tell you a Second is powerful indeed. Let me give
you an example, I studied a game played on Earth, called
Chess.”

“
I’m familiar with it,” I
replied.

He nodded, “The most important piece
is the King, for if that falls you lose the game, but the second
most important piece is the Queen. Think of the King as a First,
and the Queen as a Second. The problem with being an Archimage is,
like that King piece, your movements are restricted, for if you
fall into enemy hands, or are killed, your entire line dies, and
your world is without your protection and influence. On the other
hand, a Second, though nearly as powerful, can move freely, leaving
the Archimage to protect their world.”

I shrugged, “But from what you tell
me, Seconds are not as powerful as a First, and aren’t there like
ten Archimages?”

Hydan nodded, “Eight currently left in
the Ring of Ten, and one who was cast out. But this isn’t as simple
as a duel between a Second and a First; Morgain has gathered an
army, and she has backed that with powers and new magic she has
discovered through the Derkaz. You’ll notice the Archimage of
Sivaeral has not been able to stop her here on Abal, at least not
yet.”

“
Why do you think the
Archimage hasn’t dealt with this upstart necromancer, Second or
not? She can’t kill him, or she would be killing herself, right?
She’s a descendant of this Archimage, in his line,” I
noted.

Hydan was very solemn, which was odd
for him, as he answered, “Actually, no, she is a Dokkalfar
sorceress,” he corrected. “If she can kill the Sivaeral Archimage
she will end all Sivaeral mages, forever.”

“
Dokkalfar, but then why is
she here, on Abal?”

“
Now that her Sivaeral
husband is dead, she is, no doubt, here to end the Sivaeral line
and destroy Abal. However, originally she came here for another
reason,” Hydan explained, “As I have mentioned, Morgain Dokkalfar
was the mate of Medrod, the Sivaeral Archimage’s son. When his
father found out about this union he forbade his son from being
with the Dokkalfar sorceress. He couldn’t risk a crossbreed bastard
being born, and an alliance with the Dokkalfar is insane on any
grounds.”

I was puzzled by his statement, “Why
is that?”

“
Let’s just say they want
to end all mage lines, and leave it at that.”

“
Oh,” I said, “Except their
own?”

“
Even their own, though
they plan to go last.”

“
Crap, some kind of
suicidal race?” I noted.

He shrugged, “Something like
that.”

I laughed, “I bet that was one of
those, ‘Look who I brought home for dinner, dad’
moments.”

Hydan nodded, and then continued, “But
Medrod refused to end things with Morgain, and this started a
battle. In the end, it is said the Archimage had to take a direct
hand, for Morgain and Medrod, as two Seconds, were a formidable
power. With no other alternative, the Archimage had to slay his
son.”

I whistled, “So that’s what has
Morgain’s wig in a snarl, the Archimage killed her true
love.”

Hydan nodded, but added, “If a
Dokkalfar mage can love anyone.”

“
Doesn’t it seem extreme
for a father to kill his son because he is dating a girl from the
other side of the tracks?” I asked.

“
I assume your
colloquialism means a sorceress from another House. Medrod and
Morgain were both Seconds but from different Houses. The Sivaeral
Archimage had to stop his son and the Dokkalfar sorceress from
breeding and creating a bastard crossbreed Second. Unions between
mages of separate Houses is allowed, simply because any child born
of such a union is considered a member of the House of the higher
Tier parent. However, unions between two mages of the same Tier and
from the same House is forbidden. A child born from such a union is
called a Bastard. They are hunted by members of other
Houses.”

This was all so strange, and I asked,
“Why are they hunted?”

“
Because they are
considered outcasts, their parents broke the Archimage accords. A
child born from such a union is absolutely taboo. This stems from
the fact that if two Archimages should breed, it would create a new
Archimage Crossbreed Bastard, which is deemed to be against the
Silent Mother’s plan.”

I pondered this, “And so the Sivaeral
Archimage killed his son rather than have them create one of these
Crossbreed Bastards, and that happened about a thousand years
ago?”

“
Yes, this Civil War has
been going on for a long time now,” he agreed.

“
But, is it really a Civil
War now, since the leader of the enemy is a Dokkalfar sorceress?” I
asked.

“
Good point but Medrod
started it, and he recruited a lot of Sivaeral mages by showing
them the ways of the Derkaz. Nowadays, most of her army are
Sivaeral mages and they have added these newly discovered
necromages. Both are using the Derkaz against what is left of the
Sivaeral mages using their natural magic,” Hydan
explained.

Myrka snorted, “This Sivaeral
Archimage and his forces are going to lose against the Derkaz
sorceress and her army of Derkaz mages; it is inevitable. Morgain
will end the Sivaeral line!”

I looked at her and said, “I can’t
allow that.”

She looked at my Glyph, and then
nodded; she understood she was predicting my death if my Archimage
was killed.

Hydan shrugged and said, “They are
certainly losing right now. The remaining Sivaeral mages still
loyal to their Archimage are all holed up in a few strongholds,
while Morgain’s forces roam the countryside, and lay siege to many
of those strongholds. It is pretty grim here on Abal, which is why
most Houses have pulled back any of their mages and left Abal to
its fate.”