Lusam: The Dragon Mage Wars Book Three (64 page)

The first massive barrage of magical-missiles that struck his shield claimed the lives of hundreds of Empire magi. The death-pulses were so numerous and frequent, it was impossible to count them all. The undead fell in their thousands on the battlefield, as the connection to their masters ended with their deaths.

The paladins at the north end of the valley were no longer fighting, or even pursuing the undead. Instead, they watched in complete awe, as Lusam single handedly took on not one, but two armies simultaneously. The Empire magi had now massed their entire force of undead around Lusam, and no longer seemed interested in the paladins at all.

Lusam expanded his shield further and further, incorporating more and more of the undead into his web of power. As he did so, the power requirement to maintain the ever growing shield also increased, draining the Empire magi even more quickly than before. He watched, as thousands of lines-of-power winked out of existence, as the Empire magi died above him in greater and greater numbers.

The bombardment on Lusam’s shield suddenly lessened considerably, even though several thousand Empire magi still remained. He suspected their commander had called a ceasefire to try and determine why his men were dying in such large numbers. Even though Lusam had no desire to kill so many people, he knew he could not allow a force of that size to remain within Afaraon. If he did, the death and destruction they would cause would be incredible. Lusam also knew that if he allowed them to leave, they would simply return again in the future, and in even greater numbers to attack Lamuria. But more importantly, if they realised how they had been defeated—by using their own undead-minions against them—the next time might not be such a one-sided battle.

The lines-of-power linking the undead to the Empire magi were like a gigantic glittering spider’s web to Lusam’s mage-sight. Each strand criss-crossed each other as they made their way towards the cliff-tops above. He reached out with his new senses, searching each strand in turn, until he found the one he was looking for; the one that led to their commander. Lusam seized that delicate line-of-power and forced it wide open, then he turned to face the city behind him. He traced a second line-of-power to the city’s power crystal, and used himself to create a new link between the two. Then he began to let the power flow through him, slowly at first, then increasing its flow gradually, so as not to catch the Empire commander unawares and kill him.

Lusam levitated himself high above the height of the cliff-tops, so he could clearly see the Empire army below him. As he increased his power-drain on the Empire commander, he noticed hundreds of new lines-of-power materialise below him—each one linking the Empire commander to another man under his command, as he desperately tried to remain alive by taking their magic through his own Necromatic ring.

Hundreds of men fell where they stood, as they were completely drained of magic by their own commander. Lusam steadily increased the flow of magic, and channelled it all into the city’s power crystal. Lusam watched as hundreds and hundreds of auras winked out of existence below him, each quickly followed by a powerful death-pulse. The undead collapsed in their thousands on the battlefield below, as either their masters died, or they abandoned them to try and save themselves.

But nothing could save them now.

Less than five minutes later, and it was all over. Every Empire magi had been completely drained of their power, and every undead-minion stilled forever on the battlefield below. All, that is, apart from a handful of undead that remained at the opposite end of the valley. Lusam traced their tenuous lines-of-power off into the distance, where he saw two men fleeing in the opposite direction. He reached for the glittering lines-of-power—ready to drain the two remaining magi—but as he did so, they suddenly released their hold over their undead-minions, and the lines-of-power vanished. As Lusam watched them disappear over the crest of a hill, he felt certain he saw at least one other strong aura in the distance, but he couldn’t be sure.

Lusam couldn’t believe the number of corpses that littered the ground below him, both in the valley, and on the cliff-tops. It was a truly apocalyptic scene. Thousands upon thousands as far as the eye could see lay motionless on the ground. The feelings of guilt he felt were indescribable. It felt as if his insides were being torn out by some invisible force. How he could ever reconcile what he had just done—he had no idea. Then Aysha’s light suddenly washed over him, taking him from the depths of despair, to the heights of euphoria in less than a heartbeat.

“
Despair not, my child. Know, what you have done here this day will save countless lives in the future. If you had failed, and the Great Rift to the Netherworld reopened, those men would have still perished, along with everyone else in this world,
” Aysha’s voice said in his mind, her final words fading away to nothing.

Long after Aysha’s voice had faded from his mind, Lusam realised he was still levitating in mid-air, high above the valley floor. Slowly, he turned back towards the city, and was astonished by what he saw there. Thousands of people were now lining the streets, and all were looking directly at him. Not knowing what else to do, he calmly levitated himself back down towards the city’s wall, then onto the street below.

The utter silence of the crowd was truly palpable. Not a single person moved or spoke a word. Not a cough, sneeze or whisper was to he heard from any amongst them. Only the late afternoon breeze made any sounds whatsoever, as it blew gently through the trees that lined the city’s paved streets. Every eye of the crowd was unflinchingly locked onto Lusam, and it made him feel extremely uncomfortable. He couldn’t tell if they pitied him, or feared him. Then he heard the clanging of a metal gate in the distance, followed by a cacophony of excited voices. He was glad of the sudden distraction, as the crowd turned to face the direction from which the noise was coming.

Lusam’s heart jumped in his chest when he saw who it was. Heading up the street towards him were more than a hundred paladins, all led by Renn. Lusam was extremely relieved to see that Renn had survived the battle seemingly unscathed, but the one thing that filled his heart with joy more than anything else, was the incredible sight of Neala. She wasn’t walking with the paladins, she was being carried on their shoulders as they playfully jostled her around between them in celebration. It seemed she had suddenly become very popular amongst the paladins, and Lusam had to admit feeling more than a little jealous by all the attention she was receiving from the men.

As soon as she noticed Lusam watching her in the distance, she squealed and wriggled to be let down, then sprinted up the street towards him. She almost knocked him clean off his feet when she launched herself at him, and enveloped him in a tight hug. Lusam was sure she hadn’t even noticed the massive crowd silently watching their every move only a few paces away, but he wasn’t about to ruin the moment by pointing it out to her.

The voices grew louder as the large group of paladins drew closer to them. Lusam could clearly hear the men recounting their battlefield prowess to one another—as he was sure soldiers often did when a battle had been won—but he could also hear the relief in their voices that it was now over.

“Seven Gods, lad,” Renn swore as he reached them, “how in Aysha’s name did you do that?”

Lusam thought he was referring to the battle, but when he looked over Neala’s shoulder at Renn, he saw him staring up into the sky above the High Temple with his mouth hanging open. Lusam kissed Neala on the forehead and tried to gently break their embrace, but she was having none of it, and held on firmly. Lusam didn’t really need to see what Renn was looking at, and by the ever increasing whispers coming from the crowd, they too had now spotted it.

“It’s a long story, but suffice to say I used the magic from the Empire magi to recharge the city’s power crystal,” Lusam replied quietly.

“The Heart of the City hasn’t been visible like that for over two centuries, lad. It’s just… incredible,” Renn replied in a whisper, never taking his eyes from the glowing object in the sky.

“Neala!” Alexia called out, as she and Hershel pushed their way through the dense crowds towards them. She hadn’t seen her best friend since the battle had first begun, and she had been extremely concerned about Neala’s state of mind regarding her faith in Aysha, and therefore her ability to use her new blessed weapons.

Neala gave Lusam a gentle kiss on the cheek, and whispered into his ear that she loved him, before finally breaking their embrace. She quickly turned towards Alexia’s voice, but stopped mid-stride when she finally noticed the large crowd of people that were taking so much interest in them. Alexia took her by the shoulders at arms length and looked into her eyes.

“Well?” she asked, knowing that Neala would understand exactly what she meant. Neala smiled and nodded her head, as a tear of joy ran down her cheek. She had done it. She had found her faith in Aysha, and knew she would never lose it again, no matter what happened in the future. Alexia pulled her into a friendly hug.

“I knew you could do it Neala… I just knew it,” Alexia whispered through tears of her own. Neither of them had long to dwell on it, as both of them were hauled back onto the shoulders of the celebrating paladins, both now heroes in their own right.

***

The late afternoon light faded slowly into darkness as the news of their victory spread throughout the city. It created a strange atmosphere amongst the population of Lamuria, one of great joy and sadness in equal measures. It was estimated that almost a hundred thousand citizens of Afaraon had lost their lives to the Empire invasion; almost five percent of its population. Many of the bodies would never be found, but the ones that now littered the valley floor outside Lamuria would be given the dignity in death they deserved.

The King had ordered his regular troops to prepare funeral pyres for the countless dead, and they were soon joined by every able man and woman willing to help. By the time full darkness fell, an eerie orange glow filled the sky beyond the city walls. Lusam knew it would burn well into the early hours of the following morning, and probably for much longer than that.

The High Priest had requested a private meeting with Lusam later that evening, to thank him for what he had done for Lamuria and the High Temple, and to discover whether or not he intended to stay in the city for the longer term. Lusam guessed what he truly wanted to know, and promised he would add more of his magic to the city’s power crystal later, but not before he had first repaid a debt he already owed. Lusam asked to borrow one of the Power Orbs again, and the High Priest was more than happy to oblige him. He refilled the Power Orb with magic from the city’s power crystal, knowing he would be able to replenish it easily enough over the next few days, then he set off towards the Guardian book room with the High Priest.

Lusam returned the borrowed magic to the entity in Helveel as he had promised he would, and informed it of their victory in Lamuria. Although it didn’t speak directly to him this time, it did radiate several very strong emotions towards him, including satisfaction and pride—which Lusam decided to take as a good sign. He briefly considered trying to communicate directly with the entity again, but quickly decided against it. He told himself that if the entity had wished to communicate with him, it would have already done so. The last thing he wanted to do, was to anger the entity and find himself back within its clutches again, so he decided to leave it be, and simply return to Lamuria. To his credit, the High Priest never asked where Lusam had gone after he vanished through the book pedestal right in front of him, only to reappear several minutes later; something Lusam was very relieved about.

By the time Lusam had returned to Lamuria, King Theodore had already declared seven days of mourning for the dead, which was to be followed by seven days of celebrations for the living. Apparently, Lusam was to be the special guest of honour at a grand banquet celebrating his auspicious victory over the Empire’s army. The banquet would be held at the Royal Palace on the final day of the celebrations, and would be attended by all the noble families of Afaraon, along with many lesser dignitaries. Upon hearing the news, Lusam felt certain he would prefer to face another three Empire armies than what might await him at the Royal Palace. There was also a statue to be commissioned of him, one that would stand for all time in the halls of the High Temple, alongside the other great names in Afaraon’s history.

After the period of mourning had ended, Alexia was finally reunited with Rebekah and Kayden. Ever since the battle had been won, Rebekah and Kayden had been staying with Hershel’s sister, Darcie. Apparently she loved having the children there, and had already offered to look after them on a permanent basis, something the children seemed very keen on too—as long as Alexia promised to visit them regularly, of course.

Both Rebekah and Kayden had already been accepted into the High Temple’s school of magic, due to their teacher’s strong recommendations. Miss Hiroko had been so impressed by their abilities after only a single day in her class that she had gone personally to speak with the High Priest on their behalf.

Renn had been good to his word, and almost as soon as the battle was over he had requisitioned six men to accompany him back to Prystone and its surrounding towns and villages, to search for any possible survivors. None of the men had been happy about missing out on the city’s celebrations, but a promise of a week’s furlough upon their return did much to ease their grumblings. Renn asked Alexia if she would like to join his expedition, but surprisingly she had refused, stating rather cryptically that she had
‘something to do in Lamuria, and would prefer to remain there if he didn’t mind,’
but she refused to elaborate any further on the matter.

Neala and Alexia had both become almost living legends amongst the paladins who had fought alongside them that day. Alexia, for single-handedly holding back an entire army of magi with her bow, and Neala for feats on the battlefield which simply dumbfounded everyone who saw them. Lusam heard various accounts of what Neala had done that day, and had it been anyone else, he would have discounted them quickly. But he had seen Neala fight in the past, and he could only imagine what she would be capable of against the undead with a pair of blessed knives.