Millennial Mage

Tala’s metal sunk back into the dimensions of magic, revealing her to be the human she was.

Alat… I don’t actually know what to say, here…

Alat sighed. -Fine. Just speak the words I feed you.-

Thank you.

Tala filled her voice with power so that it would carry even as she spoke softly, calmly, “Peace, travelers. I am a Defender from Alefast and detected your struggle. We are here to help.”

That was… a bit flowery?

-They expect the powerful to be verbose. If you don’t like it, think of your own speech next time.-

Fair enough. Tala felt herself smile, Alat’s antics, yet again, relieving some of her stress.

A collective exhalation rippled through those present as quite a few seemed to actually recognize her from her few recorded clashes, now that she’d given them context in which to place her.

One of the Mages turned and expended her power at the burning wagons, a wave of ice extinguishing the blaze in a moment.

The clearing was still cast in a ruddy light from the burning trees that surrounded the caravan, but none were close enough to be a threat. The forest, as a whole, did not seem in danger of catching fire, so that could be addressed later, if it didn’t sort itself out.

Several guards collapsed from exhaustion and released tension, even as Tala returned her gravity to normal and dropped to the ground.

Her shields were taller than she was, and she drew them in to protect her from behind, like a hinged open circle of defense, leaving her discs to float overhead in a defensive pattern against potential attacks from above.

Rane chuckled, shaking his head. “Well, that’s one way to make an entrance.” He looked at the iron spikes in the ground nearest him. “Do you want us to pull those?”

She shook her head. “No. I can get them when needed, but I think we’ll be giving them a rest for the remainder of the night, and my spikes will make that prospect easier.”

Rane nodded slowly in agreement.

Tala took in the corpses of the wolves, and the injured guards, and gave Rane a careful look. “Are you going to be alright?”

Rane stiffened slightly. He had been taught the importance of taking the defense of others upon himself when he was quite young, and that lesson had cost the lives of a family that he’d been sent to protect. They had died to burn wolves. “I forgot that you knew that story.”

“At least a part of it.”

He looked down, closing his eyes for a moment before nodding and turning his eyes onto her. “I will be alright.” He smiled kindly, then. “Thank you.”

She felt a smile grow across her face in return. “Of course.”

One of the Mage Protectors, not the one with a mageling, had climbed hurriedly down, and was quickly walking their way.

Tala smiled, “Shall we introduce ourselves?”

Rane shrugged. “Sure, but I think our first impressions are already well and truly taken care of.”

She only hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Yeah… I may have gone a bit overboard.”

He chuckled in return. “I think it will be fine.”

Together, they turned and waited patiently in the snow, outside the circle of wagons, as that one Mage Protector quickly strode over their way.

As she waited, she moved her bloodstars outward and upward to keep full watch on the situation.

She could somewhat see when things entered her aura, but it wasn’t the same as true perception. Instead, it was more akin to feeling a needle trailing along the back of her arm. Sure, she knew something was there, but she couldn’t have said exactly where, or exactly what.

Master Akra had said that it could be more detailed, but that was the work of centuries of practice.

She had, of course, started the training, but had yet to see any results, as expected.

Her focus was pulled back when the Mage stopped a few paces away. He bowed deeply to Tala, then to Rane, though he still seemed on edge. “Mistress Tala, Master…?”

“Rane.” Rane offered.

“Master Rane. Thank you for coming to our aid. We have endured four waves of burn wolves. I have never seen them this agitated before, but this seems like the work of several of the large packs working in concert.”

The large packs generally survived off the massive herds of thunder bulls and didn’t come into this smaller plain nestled within the mountains between Bandfast and Alefast, waning.

“We fear that we won’t survive a fifth wave, if they return.”

Tala exchanged a look with Rane, who shrugged. She smiled as she looked back to the Mage. “I apologize, I didn’t get your name.”

“Oh! Cardav, Mistress Tala.”

“Well, Master Cardav, we’d be honored to offer our protection for the remainder of the night. That should let you all get some much needed rest.”

Master Cardav nodded, pulling out an Archive slate. “That is an incredibly kind offer, Mistress, and I mean no offense, but would you mind confirming your identity?”

-It is protocol.-

Really?

-Yeah.-

Huh. I suppose that makes sense. I suppose Mistress Odera handled that in the past.

-She did.-

Tala smiled, reaching out and pressing her thumb to the slate before allowing it a look at her magic and aura.

There was a soft chime, and the slate turned green.

Master Cardav visibly relaxed, and the few guards nearby did as well, sheathing weapons that had still been drawn.

-Some wolves are approaching the eastern side…here.- Tala immediately saw where the three were coming from and where she was in relation to them.

Subtle reassurance or the hammer?

-You outweigh the beastie, we can’t do a full crush without burning a ring, but we can get the same effect in a few seconds, with focus. We could be showy, if that’s what you want.-

Tala thought for a moment, then grimaced, causing Master Cardav to hesitate. No. No showing off.

She smiled at the clearly battle-stressed Mage, “My apologies, one moment.”

Tala focused, and when the lead wolf tentatively crossed into her aura, she used her aura to jerk the nearest iron spike out, shifted Flow’s cutting magics to the leading edge of the spike, and drove it up under the wolf’s jaw and into its brain.

The action was so quick, the affected wolf didn’t even have the time to whimper.

The other two wolves—who had been a bit behind—yelped, leaping backward.

The wolves’ yelps were heard through the whole caravan, causing weapons to come free of scabbards and hangers.

Master Cardav’s eyes widened, and he started to turn, but Tala held up her hand, returning her focus to the man before her. “I apologize for the disturbance, but I needed to send a message. I do believe it has been received, though.”

She could feel the entirety of the lead burn wolf’s iron come under her sway as it died by her action, and she pulled it from the thing’s body.

She retracted her iron spike as well, reshaping it and replacing it in its place in the earth.

To be sure the wolves understood the new way of things, she purposely thickened and saturated the external edge of her aura, effectively making a sort of shell. In doing so, she once again leaned on the teachings of Master Akra to so modulate her aura.

The Mages in the caravan sensed something change, but they likely wouldn’t actually know what it was.

Rane cleared his throat. “Master Cardav, how about I meet with you and the other Protectors while Mistress Tala ensures our safety?”

The man nodded emphatically and allowed Rane to lead him away.

Tala almost opened Kit to ask if Terry wanted to hunt some wolves, but then she realized that he’d be disadvantaged against enemies who radiated heat and whose very flesh and blood could burn non-flame aspected enemies.

I really need to improve Terry’s survivability.

-Well, it was implied that him bonding with you could make him immortal, at least as long as you stayed alive.-

Tala frowned for a brief instant. They did say ‘possibly.’ I really don’t want to rely on that, even if it is possible.

-But worth looking into?-

Absolutely.

-Oh… What?-

Tala immediately saw it too, and she launched herself about a quarter of the way around the circumference of the caravan to slide to a stop within her own aura.

As she sent up a plume of snow, she locked eyes with a pair of massive eyes.

A wolf of extreme proportions was crouched in the dark of the trees, a hundred feet back into the woods.

It was not a burn wolf.

It also, somehow, for some reason, didn’t immediately attack Tala.

Tala’s various sights took in the creature’s aura.

Where human auras—and even arcane—were manifestations of their advancement with hints of their specific magic, this beast seemed to have that relationship reversed.

She could see it was a maelstrom of magics, tightly controlled around its physical body, and she thought should detect the smallest hint of a yellow-level advancement… maybe.

On a hunch, she opened her pouch, “Terry.”

He didn’t come out immediately, but something told her that he heard her call and that he was listening.

The ground vibrated, the trees swayed, and snow puffed up as a voice filled the air.

“A human with bite.” There was a deep rumbling growl along with the word ‘bite.’ “How interesting.”

Tala heard Rane’s gasp, and he sprinted her way. Tala didn’t back down, but she also didn’t attack, not yet. “Why have you attacked these humans?”

“I was”—the great wolf growled deeply, almost as if taking the time to choose the right word—“testing these packs. The others of your kind were sufficient to test my weak brethren without breaking the teeth of the packs.”

She raised an eyebrow, “Many wolves died.”

“The weak.” It almost seemed like the wolf shrugged. “The weak always die.”

Rane slid to a stop beside Tala. To her surprise, he gave a shallow bow toward the wolf, “Chosen of Anatalis, greetings. For what reason have you left your Alpha’s northern holds?”

Anatalis? The wolf of myth?

-As the Leshkin are the ‘mythic demons’ of the southern wood?-

Oh… yeah…

The wolf gave a pleased rumble, “Ahh, you know the Alpha.”

“I have not known his scent, but I have heard of his deeds.”

There was a rumbling, rolling growl that shook some of the little remaining snow free from the nearby trees. It took Tala a moment to realize that the sound was laughter. “Had you known his scent, he would know your taste, pup.”

Rane bared his teeth in a purposely rictus smile, “The honor of the Pack has grown sparse, if one such as he would attack a pup.”

Tala was surprised at Rane’s tact, but he clearly had some understanding of what was going on, so she let him take the lead.

The wolf growled, seeming more angry. “You doubt the Pack’s honor?”

He shook his head once. “I merely trust your words.”

The growling cut off, and the wolf tilted its head to one side. “As you say.” The head dipped in what seemed to be an approximation of a bow. “I spoke in haste and without thought. Will you interfere with my trial?”

No apologies, I suppose.

-Well, it admitted fault which is more than I’d have expected.-

That’s fair.

Rane was still focused on the wolf, even if he didn’t directly answer its question, “Does your trial require assaulting this caravan?”

Once again, the wolf paused. Finally, it stood, its eyes rising to nearly half again Tala’s height. “I suppose it does not. No.”

Rane nodded, seemingly carefully keeping his lips over his teeth, “Then we have no need to interfere.”

The wolf chuffed with a softer laugh. “Find me when your fangs are properly sharpened, little pup. Maybe you and your packmate will be a fun challenge.”

Without another rumbling word, the wolf turned and withdrew on huge, silent paws.

Rane leaned over to Tala. “Did you get a good look at its aura?”

Tala felt herself nodding. Alat had been doing her best to analyze what they were seeing throughout the short exchange. “I think… her aura? We’re still parsing what I sensed.”

He nodded. “Good. If we run into her again, she will expect us to recognize her.”

Tala frowned, “She didn’t give us her name.”

He shook his head, smiling, “She won’t have one, not in the way you and I do. Her aura is effectively her name. It is unique, and the only thing that can truly encapsulate a member of The Pack. Aside from the Alpha, they don’t need to refer to each other when apart, so our type of name isn’t useful.”

Tala turned to regard him. “Do you want to explain what this was?”

Rane nodded. “I should start the explanation with the Mages as well. There shouldn’t be further trouble from wolves tonight, but we should keep a careful eye out.”

“Oh, I will.” With the immediate threat seemingly dealt with, her shields and discs returned to their respective holsters and storage locations.

Keep a close eye out?

-Oh, I will.-

A few minutes later, Tala, Rane, the three Mage Protectors, and singular mageling sat in a circle at one of the caravan’s travel tables.

Tala felt a bit nostalgic taking that seat, even more so when Terry flickered to her shoulder from the still open pouch at her waist and head butted her cheek in a way that made her instantly aware that he wanted jerky.

Tala obliged.

Rane cleared his throat, garnering everyone’s attention, “So, your caravan was attacked as part of a test.”

The three Mage Protectors exchanged looks, but it was the mageling, surprisingly, who spoke up, her overawe seemingly helping her overcome the difference in advancement, and any social awkwardness, “Why would wolves want to test us?”

Rane shook his head. “I apologize; I should have been more clear. The test was for the wolves, though I suspect that humanity was being tested as well. We are cycling up into the northern woods, and that always puts pressure on the wolves of the northern forest and plains. The”—he gave Tala a meaningful glance, emphasizing that he was leaving some things out—“leader of those wolves has no enmity for humanity, but he also has no love for us. You should report this when you reach your destination. Please give as much detail as you can. I apologize, but there really isn’t much more that I can tell you.”

The Mages shared more looks, but nodded, giving shallow bows toward Rane and Tala. “Thank you for your assistance.”

Tala smiled. “Of course. You all should rest in order to be at full strength tomorrow.”

They thanked her and bid them goodnight.

Once they were gone, Tala formed an iron spike, and drove it through one of the benches, shattering a working that had been crafted and left behind within the material. It had been subtly done, for a Mage, but it had been incredibly obvious to Tala.

They had been a bit foolish to assume that they could get away with listening in.

Still… She frowned. If she were going to listen in on those more advanced than she, she would do something obvious so that a more subtle attempt would be overlooked.

Tala took a moment to roll iron across the table and surroundings, feeling the subtle pop of three other workings being overcome.

Even after feeling them break, she couldn’t tell exactly where or how they had been hidden.

She shook her head, smiling ruefully. I’m getting a bit too arrogant in my advancement.

-Still, you caught yourself.-

Thanks, Alat.

Tala turned to Rane, whispering so softly he would barely be able to hear. “So?”

He nodded, responding in kind. Though, in his case, it was even more softly as her hearing outstripped his by quite a margin, “Anatalis is believed to be a god-beast, or near enough, though Master Grediv always implied that humanity is unsure what type of advancement he followed. He seems far too wide ranging to be a traditional magical beast-god, not to mention his ability to be peaceful toward humans.”

“And what of his pack?”

“It’s more than just his pack. All wolves are influenced by him. He somehow has a tie to all wolves that makes them less instantly aggressive toward humanity. More than that, his direct pack, which humanity has estimated numbers in the hundreds, is all bound to him somehow. Killing one of them is like killing a magical beast, but they come back at their Alpha’s side rather than on a piece of land. They come back as they were, with full memory of the encounter that killed them, and with no long-lasting harm done.”

“Like the Leshkin?”

“Yes and no. The Leshkin aren’t sapient for the most part. The Pack is. The most we accomplish when we clash with a member of the Pack is to teach them our tricks and strategies before delivering that information directly to their leader.”

Tala grunted. “That’s… huh.”

“We have an agreement with Anatalis. We can build our cities in the forest to our north each cycle, and wolves can hunt throughout human controlled lands, even if not on our farmland or in our cities. All things considered, they get access to—and use of—more land than we do from the deal.”

She cocked her head to one side before nodding. “I wouldn’t have thought about it in that way, but I suppose it makes sense. So, we don’t have another war to worry about?”

“No, that would be in the common mythos and history if so. Everyone has some idea of the Leshkin Wars from history lessons if nothing else. For Anatalis? The mundanes have myths of giant wolves guarding babies in the wilderness, of lending their cousins—dogs—to humanity because they didn’t trust we could watch out for ourselves. Stories like that. In truth, from what Master Grediv implied, I don’t think that we’ve ever truly clashed with the Pack.”

“So…? What of this?” She gestured around her. “Wolves attacked humans. Is this a change?”

Rane shook his head. “Not from the stories Master Grediv told. Anatalis has a fierce belief in culling the weak. There are occasional clashes like this, where his true warriors watch from the shadows, but those skirmishes are to keep the lesser wolves culled of weaklings and to test us; I suspect the latter at least. Master Grediv was always hesitant to confirm that for me.” He smiled. “Though, now, he might be willing to answer more questions. We have two cities under construction in the northern forest, and Alefast, the new one, is complete at its southern edge. The wolves are factors in humanity’s future once again.”