"Khan, there are fractures in the focus crystals!" Jarek raced back from the hash of a Disintegrator Nikolai had cobbled together for the fight. As Elya took command of the mundane forces in town, Nikolai rifled through his memories for devices which could be brought forth quickly because his brand new tower lacked offensive capabilities. All the equipment he"d developed during the war was repossessed by the Ministry of War after the bestowal ceremony. There was no arguing with the cold-faced agents of the Ministry. The Emperor had gone out of his way to create a military machine that was resistant to outside interference.Even his own.
Which meant he was back to square one. Without the powerful tools he"d designed, Nikolai had to develop weapons himself but without any visible threat he"d let that particular task slip. After all, who would have believed a slavers ring linked with Dark Magic existed in the town?
"Replace them with the spares." He ordered, sensing the tense excitement which flared from his very core at the sight of magical combat. "Don"t worry about the damage. If they break, they break." Jarek scurried back to the Disintegrator, popped the focusing arrays open and slid the new crystals inside, cursing all the while.
"Watch your language boy." Nikolai admonished, heart heaving as Elya plunged into the depths of the galleon. "What would your mother say if she heard you?"
"The Great Dragon protects." Jarek grinned, wiping greasy hands against his clean shirt. "Listen to the Khan and bring honour to our people."
"That"s what she told you before you left, and I"ve explained countless times to use the rags for cleaning your hands."
"Yes Khan."
"Call me Master! You"re enjoying this too much. It"s a fight to the death down there!"
"You"re also smiling." Jarek rubbed his nose, leaving streaks of black on his face.
Nikolai touched his face, eyebrows twitching at the grin he could feel. Magic did that to him. The exhilaration of wielding such power was intoxicating even if it was used to turn people to dust.
"What are Battle Mages?" He quizzed his apprentice, changing the topic.
"Tricksters." Jarek responded reflexively, throwing him a look that said, "I know what you"re doing but I"ll follow along."
"Exactly." Pleased at his apprentices answer, Nikolai returned to the mirror showing images of the battle. His mind churned as he gazed upon the battlefield. The fighting on the Stella Maris went on below decks and despite his best efforts, the Eye refused to manifest within the galleon itself. Dozens of reasons for the failure existed, from magical interference created by the ship itself to flaws in the underlying spell structure of the magic. It was a proof of concept after all. Noting his concerns on a few slips of paper, Nikolai manipulated the map to expand until only the harbour was shown.
"Bring the Eye around to that line of soldiers defending the docks." He directed Jarek who manned the lens.
Even though everything was going according to plan, the appearance of Battle Mages and the possibility of Dark Magic had him on edge. The cordon held fast, Knights and guard overpowering the screaming thugs charging into their lines. Frowning at the mirror he cast a few spells to sharpen the image, resolving once more to do something about the clarity of the representation.
With a flick of his wrist the view in the mirror shifted past a heavily armoured Alexis to bear down on the attackers. A few tweaks to the spell allowed the Eye to magnify what it saw and Nikolai tried to obtain a better image of them. The glistening silver tattoos that coiled around their necks marked them as Silver Serpents, but there was a dullness to the attackers as they madly charged. Criminals were well known for self-preservation.
Capturing an image of one of the attackers, he slid it onto the map. While the desk was unable to produce a quality representation like the mirror, for this it would be enough.
"What do you notice?" He asked Jarek, keeping one eye on the mirror as he tutored his apprentice. Combat scenarios for Mages were few since most people would surrender in the face of magic.
"They look stupid Khan." The boy mimicked the expression, jaw slightly loose and eyes unfocused.
"I admire your mimicry skills Jarek." He chided drily. "But I meant magically."
The boy observed the image for a few moments, muttering under his breath and tugging at a loose lock of hair. Nikolai smiled at his apprentices behaviour. Jarek only did that when he was thinking hard on a subject, applying all his effort.
"That dullness seems to be caused by a twisting of their mentality. Like powers have been used to warp their perceptions. It doesn"t seem to be an illusion since all of them have the same expression. I can"t tell how it was done though, the image isn"t clear enough." The boy looked up, eyes glittering in antic.i.p.ation.
Nikolai chuckled and nodded, agreeing with Jarek"s a.s.sessment. "Based on what we know, I"m sure this is a form of corruption from Demonic energies. Early stages only but see here along the eyes?" Nikolai traced the image and highlighted the dark streaks that radiated from the thugs pupils. "Rather than a spell, this is more like the base nature of Demons. Their very presence pulls out your emotions and even a half-decent Mage can twist it into something like this."
"How do they do it?" Jarek"s eyes sparkled at the knowledge.
"That"s… something you"ll learn later. You shouldn"t mess with Demonic energies at all if you can avoid it."
Jarek sulked a little, he was a curious boy, always wanting to know more. Much to the chagrin of his parents. His mother had heaved a sigh of relief when Nikolai took him on as an apprentice. Still, throwing an adorable look wouldn"t get him anywhere.
"Here, have a sweet." Well it wouldn"t get him knowledge on Demons, anyway.
"You should be sweet to me too." Chen rasped, tottering into the room, clad in shining black armour.
Jarek gaped at the sight, staring wide-eyed at the golden cape flowing behind him and the silver streamers whipping around the absurdly large lance he lugged across his shoulders.
"If you were my apprentice, then I would." Nikolai turned to the battle, tracking the influx of other gangs. Some of them were surprising, groups he"d believed innocent of the most heinous crimes. The gaps in his understanding of Konstanz"s underworld would have to be corrected after this fight.
The thugs from the other gangs weren"t as mindless, skirting the cordon and trying to pick off members of the guard that slipped out of the defensive line. That was a relief, not to the defenders but in terms of Demonic infiltration at least. It meant the corruption was limited and could be contained swiftly. Whoever controlled the Silver Serpents seemed to feel the same way, calling off the attack and melting back into the slums and red-light district to regroup.
Before Nikolai could relay orders to pursue, a flicker in the distance caught his eye. Turning the lens and tuning the spells he let out a string of curses at the black clouds bleeding from the suspected headquarters of the Silver Serpents.
"What would your mother say if she heard you Khan?" Jarek snickered. The comment drew a m.u.f.fled chuckle from Chen.
"I told you to call me Master." Nikolai replied absent mindedly. "Things are worse than we expected Andrei. It looks like at least a second stage infestation."
Chen groaned and waddled over to the window to gaze at the swirling black vortex that was forming in the town. He sighed and brought the lance down, pointing towards the clouds.
"There"s a reason we discontinued this type of armour Niki."
"I know but we need you now."
"You just don"t want to work yourself." Chen muttered under his breath.
"I heard that. Don"t worry, I"ll provide support." Nikolai soothed his friend. He"d used this style of armour before and knew he was asking for a lot. It was a terribly stressful experience. "I wouldn"t ask if it wasn"t required."
Chen glanced over his shoulder and remarked. "Your cute wife"s come up for air. I think she"s waving at your creepy Eye thing."
Nikolai adjusted the lens quickly, relieved at the sight of Elya signalling completion of her task. Her troops were pouring out of the ship, injured being dragged aside and the unharmed moving to a.s.sist the cordon.
Nikolai cast the spell which projected his voice through the Eye, ensuring it only reached Elya this time. "Trouble at enemy headquarters. Deploying Chen. Meet at point orange." He repeated the message two more times. During testing, his voice would break up whenever it was projected to individuals. He saw her wave in acknowledgment and gather her forces to push into gang territory.
"Jarek get the Disintegrator ready!" Nikolai rotated the lens back to the headquarters and concentrated on the mist shrouded figures that were stumbling out of the black clouds. "Chen, Corrupted are coming out. One volley and you"re in." The armoured soldier waved in acknowledgment and raised his lance.
Nikolai opened his Sight, straining to attune his senses on the Corrupted and chanted, weaving targeting magic. He threw the spell towards the Disintegrator, linking himself to the surrounding energy, letting it flow into the weapon.
The Disintegrator hummed, warming up, drawing all the power he could bring to bear. Waves of sound resonated from the weapon, rising in pitch until it howled with power and strain. The energy Nikolai was pouring in cut off, and the Disintegrator fell silent and pulsed several times, bright flashes of light streaking across the sky towards the Corrupted.
The beams struck true, incinerating a half dozen of the beings.
Black clouds churned at the attack, swirling angrily into the sky, billowing in defiance.
Nikolai grinned even as the focus crystals inside the weapon burst.
A deep thrum echoed throughout the room, shaking the very tower itself. Crackling lightning sparked around Chen"s armoured figure, spraying randomly like a great beast of thunder displaying its might. With an echoing boom he burst into flares of power and slashed across the sky. In the blink of an eye Chen crashed into the street before the headquarters, lance flashing as he tore into the Corrupted.
"Was that a Thunder Lancer?" Jarek breathed, hands trembling as he stared in shock at the window Chen burst out from. "I thought they wore golden armour."
"That"s the new stuff." Nikolai summoned Nezgrom, twirling the weapon single-handedly in figure eights. An old habit. "I only have a few suits of the original sets."
"Can I have one Master?" Jarek pleaded.
"Ask me later." Nikolai laughed at the boy"s expression, already striding out of the tower. "Keep an eye on things and let me know if you spot anything out of the ordinary."
Cold air swept across his face once Nikolai stood outside and he breathed deeply. Sounds of combat filled the air, screams and the clash of steel.
Blood.
Fire.
Magic.
The sense was returning.
Nikolai shivered as hundreds of memories flashed through his mind. He drew deeply from the surrounding energy, filling his own vessel to the brim, humming the same ancient tune he had so many times before. He didn"t even know the name of the song or what the words meant, but it resonated with him ever since he found the strange musical device on one of his Master"s wine hunting tomb raids.
Nezgrom vibrated eagerly, feeding on his power.
With a swing of his staff, wind curled around him, lifting him into the air.
His silence had allowed enemies to pour into the town, almost getting his brand new, amazing fiancée killed. His heart had frozen when she collapsed under the Battle Mages barrage of air blasts. He"d been tempted to respond to the attack with something far more powerful but at least for now he"d behave civilised as Elya requested. His enemies thought him weak, relaxing in the Borderlands far from the Son of Heaven.
His eyes flashed with ancient powers, magic and wind currents twirling around him, almost alive in his presence.
Tearing through the air Nikolai prepared dozens of spells.
He would show his enemies to fear a War Mage.