"Everyone avoided Galicia since the war." Kazimierz remarked as they walked through the ruined streets of the city, Nikolai propped up by two soldiers and being dragged along behind the Anima. His legs refused to work properly, trembling at the slightest weight. Nikolai wasn"t sure if it was caused by Kazimierz" enhanced Stardust but there were few spells capable of such an effect and he"d strained his Sight in an effort to find any magical cause for his infirmity. Unfortunately, if Kazimierz was capable of creating drugs with such accurate effects, Nikolai would have to rely on his good graces if he wanted to avoid any terrible side effects, whatever Kazimierz may claim about the ease of deciphering his formula. There was no way to tell what terrifying things now lurked within his flesh."Did you ever come back to observe the aftermath?" Kazimierz spun around, bringing their small group to a sudden halt.
"No." Nikolai grit his teeth, trying to avoid looking at the broken buildings.
"True, even I wouldn"t have returned if it wasn"t for my nature. The flux lasted for several months, sealing the city tightly until even a soul couldn"t make it through the cracks." Kazimierz sighed deeply, a hiss of purple smoke leaking from behind his mask. "It took me that long to come out on top you know."
"How many of you are there?" Nikolai couldn"t help but ask, fascinated despite his intrinsic revulsion at the Anima. These creatures were supposed to house so many souls they warped existence itself. There was no way for that many beings to actually fit in the form of a human. Even if souls were meant to be weightless and mutable, their very presence would take up some volume in their representation. As far as Nikolai understood the theory, an Anima was a vortex that created a small pocket s.p.a.ce which held its being while the form it presented to the world was simply an extension of its will, capable of infinite change and power. Rather than their power though, it was their almost innate invulnerability that made them so fearsome. It was based on the study of ancient Anima from which Nostrum had created the first Shades, building small tears in s.p.a.ce to house the broken souls of the Mages which fell to his dark experiments.
"Tens of thousands? I never bothered to count once I took charge. There are only a few I need to be wary of after all."
"Wary?"
"Not everyone agrees with my goals." With a dark chuckle Kazimierz turned into a small alley. The narrow path seemed to have survived most of the ravages of the war, upright walls and glittering panes of gla.s.s in sharp contrast to the rest of the city. Nikolai squinted at a few limp flowers sprouting from an uneven mound of dirt piled haphazardly to one side. His breath caught, Sight focused on the faint shimmer of a battered magical shield spinning around the makeshift tomb.
"I felt it appropriate for you to pay your respects before we proceed with our… discussions." The Anima"s voice had taken on a strange rhythm, almost mesmerising, with hints of a strange melody oozing from his every word. Nikolai barely registered what Kazimierz said, mind spinning with thoughts of the ashes he"d scattered over this mound before activating the ma.s.sive war magic that turned Galicia to ruins.
"I think only you saw Nostrum"s attack. Certainly you were the only survivor. I"ve heard it drove him mad when he discovered you"d lived… Well madder." The melody in Kazimierz" voice was clearer, tugging at Nikolai"s thoughts and unbidden, flashes of those desperate days rose to the surface.
["We have to hold the city until the fifth and seventh Legions can reinforce us, so your request is denied Mage Morales." The old General"s gravelly voice grated in Nikolai"s ears, increasing his frustration further.
"I"m not asking you to redeploy your army General, but there are hints of odd magic everywhere in this city and it points to something far larger than just Dark experiments. Nostrum may be mad but he"s not a fool."
"Is there anything but odd magic coming from these Vilinian fiends?" A round of laughter spread across the room at the comment and Nikolai spared a moment to scowl at the Cavalry Commander who"d felt it appropriate to undercut him.
"This has hints of something from before the Reclamation. Fates! All the signs point to Nostrum getting his hands on a functioning Azokarri spell of some sort."
"Well deal with it then Mage." Nikolai frowned, surprised by the Commanders flippant att.i.tude. While he didn"t know the man very well, Nikolai had spent enough time amongst the Western Army to realise the man"s behaviour was completely out of character.
"I am dealing with it… Commander. Even though we can"t be sure what it"s supposed to do we can take certain precautions, but for that I need permission to lead my squad into the surrounding countryside for a few days."
"No sorties are permitted, and that"s final." The General slammed the table.
"But…"
"No buts!" The General roared, fixing Nikolai with a thunderous glare. "That was an order Morales. You"re dismissed."
Stifled, Nikolai could only grit his teeth and salute.
An elderly Mage caught his eye as Nikolai stormed out, gesturing for him to calm down and wait outside. Despite his desire to charge out of the city with his forces, Nikolai lounged in the lobby of the small manor the General co-opted for his headquarters after they captured the city. He didn"t have to wait long before Grand Master Shubukin hobbled out of the dining room turned conference chamber. It was said the Emperor himself had begged the a.s.sistance of the wizened old Mage when word of Nostrum"s atrocities and power reached the ears of the Court. The old Mage was a living legend, tales of his youth spread by bards alongside the myths of the First Emperor.
"We have to deal with Nostrum"s plans in advance Grand Master. You know what the Azokarri are capable of." Nikolai burst out, anxiety clawing at him. Every warped Imperial or Vilinian they came across only deepened his concern.
"Actually, as far as I know, only you and your Master have had the misfortune to deal with Azokarri War Magic." The old Mages voice carried a trace of amus.e.m.e.nt.
"It"s not funny."
"I"m inclined to believe General Suzdal is aware of the threat, but he just can"t afford to do anything about it. The army is spent. The a.s.sault was costly."
"I don"t need a lecture. I was in the Fates cursed vanguard!"
"You need patience. Scout"s reports came in last night that Nostrum is regrouping around his Tower. Our people need a breather as much as he does."
"This is a mistake." Nikolai looked up, wishing he was taller. Glaring up at someone was a fruitless exercise even in the best of times.
"We"ll deal with the consequences." The old man ruffled Nikolai"s hair, chuckling at his weak attempts to get away. "Now go and get your Lancers settled. If there is Dark Magic afoot, we"ll need their help."
Shubukin returned to the conference room and Nikolai stared at the cracked wooden doors for a few moments, lost in thought, before heading into the courtyard. A rhythmic thumping accompanied his exit and Nikolai grinned as Chen marched towards him, his armoured form leaving deep cracks in the pavement. Nikolai slid aside to make room for the bulky Thunder Lancer and they made their way onto the winding streets.
Galicia had taken very little damage in the attack, despite the tremendous loss of life as Imperial forces struggled to break the Vilinian Army. Once Nostrum"s crack troops had been forced to retreat though, the provincial forces had been eager to open the gates and let the Imperial Army in. Nostrum"s experiments had been taking a darker turn by all accounts, only the presence of the terrifying creatures from various demi-planes he"d summoned keeping the populace from rebelling.
Nikolai kept his Sight open as they moved, scanning for any signs of Dark Magic. He"d been attacked by horrifying, twisted creatures to take any chances. They stopped at a small stall, purchasing a few shrivelled fruits from a terrified girl and settled against a wall to talk.
"I take it your request was denied?" Chen"s deep, melodious voice always seemed so strange coming from such a rugged soldier.
"Trampled on." Nikolai grunted.
"I had Suri make the rounds. There are a few officers willing to… a.s.sist us. Out of sight of course."
Nikolai considered it for a moment. It wouldn"t be the first time he"d broken the rules. Although, he preferred bending them rather than outright defiance. If he ignored the General now, much of the faith he"d built up over the last year would vanish like smoke. It wasn"t worth it. Especially, when he didn"t have anything more than a hunch and a few spell fragments to go on.
"No. I think we have to sit quietly for now. We"re also exhausted and need the rest if I"m honest." Nikolai sighed. Now that the possibility of a few days of peace presented itself the desire to go out on a mysterious hunt was dissipating.
"Fair enough. Maybe we can get Suri to cook up some volhborsht." Chen was almost humming in delight at the idea. Nikolai salivated at the thought, vowing to dig out his cauldron and cook up a batch of eggs in accompaniment if they could persuade the tough as nails Captain.
"That wouldn"t be so…" The sudden flare of energy caught Nikolai by surprise and he cried in pain as the world around him vanished amongst a seething ma.s.s of power. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried reaching out with his senses to trace the flow, heart thumping at its destination.
"What in the name of the Ancient G.o.ds is that?" Chen"s voice was barely a whisper, and Nikolai"s eyes snapped open minus his Sight only to gaze in awe at the swirling black ma.s.s that was forming over the Army"s makeshift headquarters. He had no idea what was going on but Nikolai still broke into a dash towards the terrifying magic, the deep thump of Chen"s armour right on his heels.
They hadn"t made it more than a few steps before the spell activated. A black pillar of fire erupting across the sky, like an evil tornado sweeping away all that was in its path. The shock wave as the pillar exploded caught them by surprise, sending Nikolai sprawling to the ground as buildings shattered around him. A shadow covered him and Nikolai saw the rea.s.suring bulk of Chen protecting him from the aftershocks and descending detritus.]
"What…" Nikolai swallowed, his mind churning and gut lurching at the experience. It was like reliving that disastrous moment. A shimmering in the corner of his eye slowly resolved into Kazimierz, his mask removed and smoky form churning in agitation.
"Yesss…" The Anima hissed in pleasure. "Nostrum consumed the headquarters to fuel his barrier, relying on the death of many powerful Mages, yet you survived somehow."
"It was chance." Nikolai replied automatically. He"d been interrogated for days after they made it out, always under suspicion as the only Mage to survive.
"Maybe it was the Fates, but that"s not important." Kazimierz slid towards him, his movement almost inhuman, his power tightly contained. "Whose graves are these?" The hypnotic voice pulled at Nikolai again and even though he struggled, the memory took over his mind again.
[Nikolai"s hands were splayed open, a powerful stream of frigid air struggling to hold back the flickers of black fire that consumed everything around them. Chen spun his lance in a stuttering figure eight, letting the enchanted weapon deal with the small tongues of flame that remained once Nikolai"s spell pa.s.sed.
Only minutes had pa.s.sed since the black pillar of fire had detonated and a dark shield covered the sky, wavering as chaotic streams of energy slammed into it. There was no doubt in Nikolai"s mind that Nostrum had somehow chained the fire spell to catalyse some sort of formation to create the shield. If the amount of energy he"d seen had fully powered the detonation, the entire city would have been turned to dust. The only thing he didn"t understand was why they"d been trapped.
"I don"t think anything would have survived Nikolai." Chen grunted under the strain of maintaining the steady rhythm of his lance forms.
"There were dozens of powerful Mages in the building. We have to take the chance."
They scrambled over large chunks of ashen rubble, Nikolai"s spell trying to staunch the flames that still burned around the headquarters.
Or where the headquarters should have been.
Only ruins remained.
Despair clawed at Nikolai"s heart as the flames died out. There was no way anyone could have survived the attack after all. The small defensive shield he"d conjured earlier had succ.u.mbed instantly under a lick of black fire, unable to withstand the catastrophic power it held. No matter how powerful a Mage was, the fire would have penetrated their makeshift defences with ease.
A rustling from one side had Chen on the alert, his lance rising to striking position and his body sliding to block any attack from targeting Nikolai.
An arm wreathed in fire rose from the rubble, a glowing orb clutched deep within the flaming fist. Nikolai immediately conjured magically imbued ice to douse the flames while activating the simple levitation spell bound to his military issue wand to send the stones around the arm flying. He worked like a man possessed, trying to save whoever had survived.
Chen gasped as Grand Master Shubukin"s torso was revealed. The lower half of his body had been consumed by the fire as it worked its way into his skin, only the legendary Mages power keeping the flames at bay. Relief flashed across the old man"s face and the orb clattered from his suddenly lifeless grip.
Nikolai fell to his knees as Shubukin"s body was consumed, a small pile of ashes his only remains. A wisp of air gathered them into Nikolai"s pouch for a proper burial later. Imperial War Mages would have their remains interred in the Capital"s mausoleum and it was the responsibility of every War Mage to make sure their comrades bodies were returned.
If even Shubukin had perished, none of the others would have survived and Nikolai shuddered. Now he was the only surviving War Mage in the army. The entire general staff had been summoned for the conference and in the Western Army that included all the War Mages and even several of the more powerful Battle Mages.
Nikolai took a deep breath and searched for the orb Shubukin had dropped. The old Mages final moments made it clear he valued it more than his own life. The orb had almost rolled to his feet, and he gasped at the strange waves of power it was giving off.
With a trembling hand he picked it up.]
"I couldn"t find any of the others and we weren"t sure any of us would survive so I laid Shubukin to rest here." The words spilled from Nikolai"s mouth. Swirls of a familiar spell surrounded him and Nikolai"s lips twitched at the dazed expressions of the guards who carried him.
"Zebreski"s Mirror."
A deep red streak of smoke rose within the Anima, his voice becoming softer and more feminine. "I didn"t think you"d recognise it."
"You were also here?" Nikolai grimaced at the runes surrounding him. Zebreski had been an accomplished Vilinian Illusionist, spending her time touring the world and performing ancient ballads and stories wherever she went. Her most famous spell surrounded him now, reflecting his memories in lifelike detail, making him relive it forcefully. It was generally used for more peaceful purposes, like allowing people to relive their greatest triumphs. It shouldn"t have worked on a Mage though and Nikolai realised the Stardust could be the only cause. It looked like Kazimierz had planned things for a long time. The Mirror took a lot of preparation to be able to affect anyone deeply, but it reflected only the truth. The truth as the target of the spell saw things, anyway. It was like being under the effect of Natalia"s powers.
A hiss of anger from Kazimierz suppressed the red smoke and his form nearly doubled in size as gaseous tendrils leaped from his body to swirl around Nikolai.
"What was the orb?" Kazimierz" entire body seemed ready to burst out of its human form, eagerness echoing from every one of his thousand voices.
Nikolai stared at the bed of flowers in a daze. "That"s what you"re after? It was destroyed during the battle."
"What was it?" Kazmierz" voices boomed throughout the alley, shattering the remaining windows and bringing dust down on them.
"It was a spell focus. The one I used for the formation here."