With each word from Kazimierz, Nikolai fell deeper into the spell, his now shaking guards pulling him through the city as Kazimierz tried to dig into his memories. The Anima didn"t seem concerned that his disguise was gone, ignoring the terrified soldiers fortifying the ruins. Nikolai tried to focus on the motley troops to see what they were defending against, but Kazimierz would ask another question and he would respond as another memory was dredged from his mind. While the Anima was focussed on the orb and spell formation Nikolai used during the war, he seemed to be just as intrigued by the events which took place."Where did you go after you"d secured the orb?" Kazimierz had pulled him to the outskirts of the town, intent on scouring the entire city in search of Nikolai"s knowledge. Even though he tried to resist, whenever he was asked a direct question and pa.s.sed through a part of the town which triggered some memory, Nikolai would start explaining as Zebreski"s Mirror activated around him in a flare of light. Normally the spell shouldn"t have had such a long duration or a strong capability to drag out his thoughts, but there were bizarre streams of power coming from Kazimierz that warped the spell beyond recognition. Nikolai tried to focus on anything else but the words spilled from his mouth without hesitation.
"I had to avoid the injured. There was no way to do anything for them and by the time I figured out that even the healers quarters and hospice had been hit, there were greater issues…"
[Nikolai groaned from where he"d been thrown by the backlash of the Flame Strike spell, squeezing his bruised arms as tears came to his eyes.
"Suri thinks Mage Morales needs to use brain more." Suri yanked him to his feet, ignoring his feeble protests and muttered curses. "Tried this already. Your Lancers left many holes." She pointed at dents formed in vague human shapes as if someone had been embedded deep within the cities walls.
The shield was too strong and Nikolai didn"t believe he could crack it even with several days to prepare a large spell. There were only three ways to deal with a shield; overpower it, disrupt the spell focus or Mage, or cast a counterspell that shattered the shields structure. He had no idea where the spell focus was, the magical currents in the city were swirling in chaos with no end in sight and creating counterspells was a time-consuming task, which left only the first option, force. Setting up such a large shield with no other purpose than to kill some Mages and officers wasn"t something Nostrum would do, which meant he didn"t have the luxury of time. Unfortunately he didn"t have the luxury of power either.
"Nikolai! Something"s coming from under the ground!" Chen shot to their side and thrust his spear out with immense force, shattering the earth around them. With a flick of his wrist the lance cut a deep furrow in the land and Chen s.n.a.t.c.hed them up before jumping back to avoid the screaming horrors that burst out in a flurry of claws and angry teeth.]
"I don"t think we ever named those… things." Nikolai mumbled as the vision pa.s.sed.
"Neither did we." Kazimierz" form wavered for a moment, a rainbow of colours pa.s.sing through his form, until a stream of azure spun in his head. "I called them Scurries. Coz they scurry around a lot. Fates they were terrifying though." Kazimierz voice held an odd lilt, reminiscent of the plainsmen of the south. The azure soul, which Nikolai now recognised as being one of the more powerful souls contained within the Anima, vanished after the sentence. The fragmented souls appeared more often now that the Kazimierz" mask was removed, possibly due to the Anima"s connection to Galicia which he"d alluded to earlier.
The Anima flowed through the streets, a chaotic ma.s.s of smoke, all vestiges of its human form shed. Zebreski"s Mirror had taken on a life of its own. The combination of Nikolai"s vivid recall and impact of the war meant everything from small scars in the ruins to major landmarks brought about a vision.
[Nikolai poured energy into the spell, trying to get the wall to rise faster. They"d lost the outskirts quickly, soldiers and citizens shredded by the creatures before even understanding the threat they faced. Without proper command the Army"s response was sluggish, troops mounting defences wherever they stood. A squad of Thunder Lancers on patrol had responded within minutes though, gathering at Nikolai"s beacon and tearing through the lines of snarling humanoid beasts. Furry and half the size of a man, the creatures looked like the scribbles of a child, a mess of misshapen muzzles and incredibly long fangs. A combination of every child"s nightmares. The creatures fled in the face of the Thunder Lancers overwhelming power but the howls from edge of the barrier could only mean even greater numbers would be arriving soon.
Suri had returned with Nikolai"s guards and they formed a loose ring around him as he feverishly worked to staunch the flow of enemies. He needed time to break the barrier, but if they lost too much of the city Nikolai feared a second wave of enemy forces could surround and overwhelm them.
The critical ma.s.s of energy for the spell was reached and Nikolai"s eyes glowed with satisfaction as jagged stone ramparts grew from the earth until they towered over the entire district. Even as the walls rose in place, soldiers were moving through to push back the creatures and relieve the forces left behind.
"Suri, I need more soldiers!" Nikolai was already striding in the opposite direction, gauging the barrier and calculating the amount of energy required to break it. The magical beacon he"d raised became a gathering point, soldiers arriving as news of the destruction of the headquarters spread.
Still, it wasn"t enough.
Suri didn"t question him, pointing to a few of the guards wordlessly and sending them scampering in search of the rest of the Army.
In the face of magic everyone relied on Mages.]
"I didn"t know how to take command." Nikolai mumbled, shuddering as the memory pa.s.sed. "Or take responsibility. But compared to the officers who were out of their depth, only I could discover a way to break out."
They walked over a series of fallen fluted columns and Nikolai grimaced as Zebreski"s Mirror lit up. In Galicia only their Emba.s.sy had been constructed in traditional Imperial style.
["Even if you can do something about the "barrier", we have no idea what"s lurking behind it. You said nothing could pa.s.s through. In either direction." A fl.u.s.tered looking Captain slammed the armrests on her chair, eyes constantly darting to stare at the dark barrier.
"So? You suggest we wait?" Her Lieutenant had been arguing with her since they"d arrived at the Emba.s.sy. Normally that sort of insubordination would have been dealt with severely, imprisonment at the least, but they were short on leaders and everyone was taking charge of far greater formations of troops than they"d ever dealt with.
All the officers were equals now.
"At least until our reinforcements arrive. Their attached Mages should be able to handle whatever this is." The idea actually had merit, but Nikolai had a hunch things were going to get worse.
"I doubt Nostrum will let us sit peacefully." Nikolai chimed in and all eyes turned to face him. The officers had voted to put him in charge.
In name at least.
He"d spent the last hour trying to cajole them into preparing an appropriate defence.
"He"s a broken man, Morales." A grizzled sergeant grunted. "We"ve sent him scurrying back to his little tower already. This is just a last gasp. A show of force."
"I won"t say you"re wrong and I"m sure the Empire will be victorious, but I"d rather live to see that day. There"s no way I"ll let myself be captured." Nikolai glared at the officers, satisfied at the ashen expressions and hastily averted eyes. No one wanted to be caught by Nostrum"s cabal of Dark Mages.
"What can you do?"
Nikolai couldn"t tell who"d spoken, but he nodded in encouragement. "I have an idea to crack the barrier, but I need time. We need to be ready to deal with whatever they throw at us in the meantime. Those creatures are sure to come back and there might be something even more dangerous in the wings."
Those who"d faced the creatures in the initial attack grimaced. Nikolai saw grudging acceptance in the eyes of his new subordinates and not willing to let the moment pa.s.s he brought out a map and they planned well into the night, the sound of constant skirmishes in the distance making them sweat far more than the humid air.]
Kazimierz grew increasingly agitated as Nikolai"s visions of the past leaned towards their desperate defence, barely even mentioning the spell focus. The Anima had tried to direct Nikolai"s thoughts but to no avail. As he became used to Zebreski"s Mirror, Nikolai discovered this modified version was even more accurate than the original. While this would normally be an advantage, in this situation when Kazimierz was searching for specific information, without something to trigger the memory, Nikolai would only recall events related to the city itself.
Most of which had been fighting.
As they approached the centre of the city, a dirt stained woman ran up to the Anima, unconcerned by the gaseous cloud Kazimierz had become.
"Milord, we"ve spotted enemy forces coming from the East. There are a few thousand just in the vanguard."
Kazimierz froze, splashes of colour lighting up within his form.
"How far away are they?"
"We estimate they"ll reach the outer wall within a day."
"Go to our… allies and inform them to prepare."
The woman bowed and broke into a run, disappearing behind a mound of rubble.
Kazimierz swelled to twice his size and bore down on Nikolai.
"The time for pleasantries has pa.s.sed Master Morales. I suggest you tell me what I want to know quickly before I have to resort to… harsher measures." Kazimierz released the power of his souls and Nikolai grimaced at the weight that fell on him. He closed his eyes, resisting, a small smile coming to his lips despite the pain.
"What"s so amusing?" Kazimierz restrained his powers once more and swirled around Nikolai in anger.
"If it was a few months ago, I might have been worried." Nikolai looked up as the Anima condensed back to his original size. "But now. Now, my wife will come and tear you apart."
Kazimierz stopped in place, flashes of purple and red ripping through his form. "You"re not married." He said and flowed into a mostly intact building.
Nikolai chuckled as he was dragged behind the Anima, confident that rescue was on its way.