Battle Mage: The Lost King (Tales of Alus) (3 page)

He was a young king though he had already ruled for five years along with his beautiful queen. The two were regal but like night and day by their contrasting looks. The king was above average in height and blond, while Queen Alyanna was a petite young woman with long dark hair. As with many royal families, they were actually distant cousins. With well over a thousand years in the royal lineage, Alain was in direct line with the immortal king Gerid, while his wife came from the line of the brother Simon and his wife Alyanna, for whom she was named.

That was as much history as the mage had knowledge of since he was a man of war and magic. Some history related to battles was common with the mages as history held the answer to many tactical issues, but who descended from whom in the royal line had never been in his exams. While he stood before the two as one of the top wizards in the tournament, however, even that bit of knowledge escaped his numbed mind.

“I am honored to present Falcon Sebastian Trillon representing Windmeer and Wizard Drovan Relgass of Tolmona with these silver chains for their excellent performance in the tournament. This silver
stone represents the earth element you used so well, Wizard Drovan,” the king stated handing a felt lined, glossy black case to the wizard. A silver chain with a simple stone shape made of silver rested on the black felt.

“For Falcon Sebastian, we had this made especially for you. The falcon’s head, since you used most of the elements and represented your corps alone, we thought it appropriate,” he gestured to the queen who smiled and gave a nod. Sebastian was told that the couple had seen quite a few matches from one of the balconies in the castle over looking the three arenas in the courtyards east of the keep.

Looking at the surprisingly intricate silver falcon head on the silver chain, Sebastian could barely bring his eyes back to his king. Unsure of what to say and if he should say anything, the mage merely bowed his head remaining silent. The moment was handled easily by the king as he simply moved to address the lone woman standing before the assembled crowd.

“Lady Annalicia de Malef Eremia from Malaiy, who took second place, we offer this silver chain with a gold token representing the wind element, which took you to the Heights. My wife thought a mere necklace for such a beautiful wizard wasn’t enough, so she made me include these diamond earrings,” Alain added with a chuckle.

The young woman from Malaiy blushed slightly at the compliment since it came from the king as much as anything. Accepting the small case with her prize, Annalicia’s eyes widened slightly noting the size of the diamonds on the studs. While simple in design, the stones were large enough to be worth a small fortune in gold.

Not allowing the girl to turn down such a generous prize, especially for someone who didn’t win, King Alain gestured and received a dozen horns sounding a heroic anthem. Turning to the final wizard before him, he proclaimed, “Wizard Magnus Trekanus, representing White Hall and the fire wizard school, I proclaim you Winter’s Edge champion!”

The hall erupted with cheers. Many had seen the final duel and knew how well the fire wizard had done. For some, however, there were two blemishes on the champion’s win. First, Sebastian had been forced to retire before their heavily anticipated match, which was actually a rematch, since the two had dueled at White Hall and the fire wizard had lost.

The second blemish came when the mage had used a water spell greater than any other in the tournament. From the bleachers atop the outer wall, Sebastian had called the waters of a lake and two ponds, which were also hundreds of feet from the man when he cast the spell. His effort had not only disrupted the final match, but saved Annalicia who had been in dire straights unseen by the crowd and wizards intended to keep the competitors safe. It had succeeded also thanks to Magnus’s quick thinking and assistance, so at least the champion had saving his fellow competitor on his list of achievements.

Giving a fair bow of his body and head, a largely unpracticed maneuver from a wizard trained so far from the capitol, Magnus received his golden chain with fire emblem also made from gold. A ring laced with diamond and ruby chips was in the box as well. If he didn’t wish to wear a chain around his neck, a wizard could still easily work his spells with a ring and the prize was definitely something that caught Magnus’s eye.

The wizard’s acceptance speech was another interesting piece of work as Magnus proceeded thanking the king and his teachers that had helped him perfect his art. That was it aside from a few pats to his own back and the rest of Sebastian’s table began to frown.

“He certainly seems to be giving credit for his success to his teachers, which is fair enough, but shouldn’t he have said something about Sebastian driving him to it?” Serrena complained as she lay her head on her hand braced by an elbow on the table. Turning her head as if on a swivel, her gaze touched on most, but ended on the mage. Lifting her head as her eyes narrowed in annoyance, the wizard added, “If he hadn’t been practicing battle mage casting, we all know he would never have won this. How about acknowledging those teachers?”

Shaking his head, Sebastian patted the air miming that the girl keep her seat as Magnus continued to enjoy his moment in the sun. With the king and queen in attendance and so many there to applaud his win, letting the girl go off half cocked wouldn’t do anyone any favors. “He still won it fair and square. Let him have his moment. It doesn’t really matter what prompted Magnus to study and train the way he did. It only matters that he won and gets recognition for White Hall.”

Jaw half falling open, Serrena appeared dumbfounded by his meekness. Olan was the first to voice what she and Frell appeared ready to loudly dispute, “But you’ve beaten him twice. You’ve proven that a well trained battle mage can beat a wizard, even this champion.” He nearly scoffed at the word champion, but Sebastian refused to let things get out of hand.

“It’s was a grueling tournament and Magnus managed to win, just let the matter drop, guys. If it doesn’t matter to me, then it shouldn’t matter to you either,” the mage stated as he lifted his glass of wine to his lips. He really didn’t care about the recognition. Even going up to receive his trophy for making it to his level was more than the quiet young man really had wanted, but he also knew that such things were expected of him. On the other hand, this was more like the Magnus he had known for the last few years.

Luckily, they had a new distraction as Magnus left the floor to return to his table of friends and adoring fans.

“I hope that you aren’t angry that it wasn’t you up there,” a familiar voice queried with his statement.

Turning with a smile to see his friend Darius, the High Wizard of Eirdhen, Sebastian quickly shook his head. “No, winning was never really the goal. I was just here to prove that battle mages could be more than just  swordsmen with a little bit of magic. Yes, I could have hoped to go out from a loss because someone was better than I rather than having my body give out, but I suppose that I am also undefeated,” he finished with a chuckle.

The wizard wasn’t alone as a gentle touch from a delicate hand was laid upon his left shoulder. It was the side opposite Yara, he also noted.

“I also wished to thank you for saving me during my match, master mage,” the musical voice of the wizard Annalicia said before leaning down to kiss him on the cheek. The surprising gesture left his face feeling warm with embarrassment and a little worried over what Yara might think. “I am told that you performed an almost superhuman spell to save me during the final match and I owe you my life.”

Her perfume remained even as she stood straight once again. Darius chuckled, though Sebastian thought that it was a bit forced, but he added, “I also appreciate that you saved my granddaughter despite my repeated warnings not to overuse your magic. I’m not even sure that I could have pulled that spell off from so far away without help, so I can understand what it must have taken for you to try.”

While Annalicia was almost magical in appearance, her silver blond hair, delicate features and strangely light, flowing clothes of Malaiy cut apparently; her grandfather with his silver hair and more typical robes of a wizard appeared more grounded, almost heavy by comparison. The beauty and grace of the young woman from Malaiy had garnered a large following of fans, probably larger than Magnus had despite being champion. Her near death performance also added to that fanatic love, Sebastian thought. Unfortunately for him, all these entrancing points also made her dangerous amidst the other women in his life.

Yara’s hand gripped his forearm as the healer appeared unsure of what to do in relation to this latest feminine presence showing close attention to Sebastian. First it had been Ashleen, who at least had been noticed as a threat before, but the kiss from Annalicia had been totally unexpected.

Into the tension, Darius smoothly hugged his granddaughter to him as he changed the subject. “I have been discussing some things with some of the leaders here in Hala, and I was hoping to have a moment to talk with you as well, Falcon Sebastian. Perhaps we could meet to discuss a few things that I think might be of interest to you?”

Nodding confidently despite not knowing what things might be of interest to him from the High Wizard of Eirdhen, the mage replied, “Of course. Would tomorrow morning after breakfast work for you or would you prefer later?”

The strangeness of talking to a celebrity of the magical world was eating at the back of Sebastian’s consciousness. He was speaking with not only one of the most powerful wizards in the world by both his own personal strength as well as that created by his connections throughout the wizard guilds around the globe, but to a man nearly seven hundred years old and a legend from a war that once defeated the ancient Dark Emperor. While the defeat had been temporary in the grand scale of time, Darius was also someone who might know the creature’s weaknesses. Having a chance to probe such a treasure trove of knowledge would probably be a once in a lifetime experience for one not immortal.

Smiling gently at the mage, Darius nodded back as he answered, “If you think that you will be recovered enough for such an early start, then I would love to have the extra time to talk. Though we use the same inn, perhaps you would join me in a trip to the castle when you are ready? There are a few others that I may need you to speak with after we talk.”

The odd change of locations aside, Sebastian still nodded knowing that he owed this man more than he could repay and a simple walk was the very least that he could offer. Of course, the possibility of getting to see more of the legendary castle, nicknamed Grimnal, was hard to pass up also. 

Annalicia looked ready to stay and compete for Sebastian’s attention, but a combination of Darius and her apparent body guard, a wizard known as Reynolvan, managed to lead her away where her fans began to swarm much to her dismay. He had already managed one save for the day, Sebastian thought, he figured that he would leave this one to her guardians.

“What a forward girl,” Yara remarked with a frown. He thought that he noted a few hidden smiles from their friends as they knew of the quietly blossoming relationship between the two.

Sebastian stood and offered a hand to the healer. “Maybe we should head to the floor before the men start realizing that you are really the one that should be chased after here.”

A frown of skepticism crossed her face, but the young woman allowed herself to be led away, since dancing with her boyfriend was much more enjoyable than risking leaving him to any other women who might desire the lone mage of the tournament. Being so unique had brought Sebastian a lot of attention, both wanted and unwanted.

Once set in their framework, the two began to follow the pattern of the waltz while the musicians played. Yara leaned her head back a moment to look up at him and she asked, “So why am I supposed to be more desirable than the great mage from Windmeer, the only mage to succeed in a tournament of wizards?”

“Have you looked in a mirror lately?” the young man chuckled as his comment reddened her cheeks in surprise and embarrassment. “I am dancing with the prettiest woman here, who is also a wonderful healer. That dress has had men looking at you all night, you know.”

Glancing around half worried, Yara stumbled and would have probably landed on the floor if not for Sebastian’s steadying hold. Again she glanced to his eyes with some gratitude, but also a questioning of his words. “They have not,” the girl disputed his comment on her dress.

Shaking his head with a little chuckle, the mage insisted, “Oh, trust me. Men will notice a beautiful woman. Many try to keep their looks from being noticed for different reasons and others are more open about it. Most men tend to at least try to keep the one looked at from noticing. Maybe it is connected to some urge to hunt while you would work to remain hidden from your prey…”

“I am not some deer to hunt,” the blond complained as she nearly jerked away from her partner as he mused on his own thought. “Men do not act like that, Bas. Real men go up to women and let them know that they’re interested.”

This time the young man laughed louder drawing a few stares since the song they danced was a more austere piece. “I know that I am not necessarily an expert on men and women, since I have spent most of my time studying weapons and magic, but how many men do you know that do that?”

Frowning, Yara quickly replied, “While I may not have wanted his attention, Magnus certainly let both you and I know his intentions towards me.”

With a moment’s thought, Sebastian clarified, “I don’t know that he necessarily claimed that he wanted you so much as he didn’t want me near you. At least Magnus seems to have gotten over our friendship. That alone had him challenging me to a duel. I grant you that, but I think he’s a little more cautious with his intentions you’d believe.”