The Summoned
The Light Plane: Battlefield of the Heroes.
Norax's tent did a poor job of keeping the light out, but
a suitable enough job keeping his subordinates away. The last thing
he needed right now was his generals, trying not to enrage him by
suggesting that they press the attack - which, of course, is exactly
what they ended up doing.
Oddly enough, Norax hadn't made an example out of any of
them. He wasn't sure why, either - it simply seemed that after he had
dispatched the young summoner he didn't have the will to do much
anything.
That's not how he should feel, either. He should be
enraged at his own actions - he had struggled all this time to bring
his successor to him, and in one act of lost temper, his work had been
undone. Instead, he felt lethargic - like he'd actually accomplished
what he was supposed to do, and now he had no purpose at all.
He didn't want to think of it.... He wanted to sit here,
and contemplate what had happened, what he had done. He just needed
some time. Though his subordinates had so far avoided him, he knew
they were nearby, outside in the camp somewhere. They'd become brave
enough at some point to come in, and ask that he press the attack
against those in the Light Plane. The only reason they hadn't done so
earlier was that they feared him. In fact, that was the only reason
that any of his warriors fought for him - they feared what he might
do.
They didn't know, of course, that he wasn't at all likely
to destroy them at the moment. His temper, as well as his will to
really do anything, had faded as well. It was almost as though he was
becoming his old self... the person he'd lost long ago.
What had changed him? The sword had something to do with
it, he was sure, but he couldn't recall exactly what. His memories
blurred the further back in time he tried to recall.... Perhaps it
was a result of his aging - or perhaps something else.
You have purpose.... a voice in the back of his
mind spoke up.
Did he? He wondered - did he really?
The Light Plane is rightfully ours... we need to take
it.
Yes... yes, that was right. The Light plane was
his, dammit. Darren had possessed better sense than to try to keep
Norax from taking it. Likely LePaige would as well, if not for the
small group of people that seemed to always oppose him. Those lead by
Eastman.
Eastman leads them, true, but it is not he who provides
their power. The traitor sees the future, and guides them toward one
which ends in our defeat.
Norax gnashed his teeth as the thought entered his mind.
Natchek. That aged wizard who had offered his services years before,
only to free Asa and take the man back to the Light Plane. Norax had
know way of knowing that Seeker had been fooling him the entire time.
He would not make the same mistake twice.
Seeker must die. Eastman as well.
Yes. The Seeker would die. Eastman would die more
painfully. Norax stood up and began to pace the length of his tent
irritably. He had spared the young knight before, in the belief that
a slow and lingering death in a foreign land would be a more painful death
for his adversary than simply killing him on the spot. It was one
mistake he regretted, and one which he intended to fix.
The Seeker is not alone - his apprentice lives as
well. Paul, the man who bested our wizard Korenor.
Paul. Yes, it had angered Norax to no end for the wizard to
return empty-handed, and it was that apprentice's fault. He too would
pay.
Even our earlier work is undone. Craft, the man who
stood in the way of our monster - the creation that was to leave Asa
alone and unprotected - has left a legacy. Elayna must die.
Norax slammed his hand down on his planning table. Even
his earlier works had gone unfinished! How dare they mock him like
this!
And the woman who refused to do our bidding - the
summoner that now fights against us. She cannot be our successor, as
she is as aged as we. She can do nothing, yet she defies us! She,
too, must be destroyed!
Norax froze. Rachel. The fog in his mind cleared
suddenly, and he could remember her - before his current life, before
the sword's will had become his own. The woman he loved, the woman he
had sworn to defend at all costs. The woman he still loved. Destroy
her? Norax shook his head violently - why should he do such a thing?
How could he? Rachel was his reason for -
SHE MUST DIE!
Norax recoiled from his thoughts, eyes shutting in pain,
anger flooding his system. She must die. She had betrayed him....
She would pay, like all the others who defied him.
They all would pay.
The Light Plane: LePaige's Castle
Low thunder.
Leo heard and understood it before the scout had even come
down to tell him: Norax's armies were moving.
The former Light Guard captain turned swiftly, looking
over the legions of men, prepared to come forth from the castle gates,
once Rachel's distraction was complete. The plan was a variation on
the earlier successful raid, with one important difference. One which
should take effect in any moment....
The sustained yell of Norax's shouting troops faltered
momentarily, and the scouts reported back what Leo had most wanted to
hear - a fire elemental had taken shape to the northern flank of the
approaching armies. To Norax's troopers, it seemed as though some
kind of reinforcements were on the way. The castle gates opened, and
Leo charged through, his soldiers following in his wake.
Rachel slumped back against the wall - she was in the same
archer's tower that Asa had until recently occupied, as a sort of
homage to him - and she was exhausted. Though she had given Leo and
Milhoff her assurance that she could summon a creature at the distance
they required, she hadn't been entirely certain that she could, in
fact, do so. She could, it seemed. She thought so, but she hadn't been
sure. Still, she owed Leo and his company enough to try until she was
utterly exhausted. She smiled ruefully to herself - that seemed to be
the case.
The Seeker slowly closed his eyes and began to
concentrate. Leo and Milhoff's plan was taking shape exactly the way
they wanted it to, which was good. Their soldiers would make inroads
today, but there was a price. Even now, Seeker could feel the threads
of magic beginning to come together near Norax's encampment. Norax's
wizards, who had spent most of the previous battle probing Seeker's
defenses but otherwise remaining very quiet, were gathering together,
and preparing to unleash all their power at once.
Seeker had seen this as well, but he had told nobody. The
only clue to others that something might be wrong was that Seeker
wasn't participating in this battle from the room that he had made his
own. Instead, he stood alone, in the courtyard where Leo's men had
until recently been. There would be the least casualties this
way.
Seeker had the power to resist each of Norax's wizards
individually, but as a group they were far too powerful for him to
counter. He would do the next best thing - he would counter what he
could, and use the remainder of his magic to draw the opposition's
wrath to him. Norax's wizards would exhaust their power, and be of no
consequence for the rest of the battle. And Seeker had already Named
his successor.
It was time.
Paul stood in the wizard's tower, watching the
battlefield. LePaige's wizards were gathered toward the back,
going over their spells to themselves, and generally giving Paul a
respectful berth. They could see the change in him already, though he
himself didn't feel very different. He had a battle to fight, and
that was the extent of his emotions at the moment. Norax had to be
stopped.
He stood as Norax's troops charged, and watched as the
sudden appearance of Rachel's elemental from an unexpected area threw
them into confusion. Leo's men counterattacked, and the attackers
were quickly repelled by LePaige's more heavily trained soldiers.
Paul frowned - this was not what was supposed to happen.
Norax's men were holding back, he could tell. They had fought more
fiercely last time, this time it seemed to be a stalling action
alone.
Concentrating, Paul could feel magic beginning to pool.
There was a small amount concentrating behind him, the result of the
court magicians preparing. But by far the largest was coming directly
from Norax's campground. It appeared the wizards were preparing to
attack, and in force.
Paul mentally prepared a counterspell, though he knew he
was supposed to be helping offensively. An attack of this strength,
he knew, Seeker wouldn't be able to fend off. Perhaps if he
helped....
Paul concentrated toward Seeker and discovered a small,
but potent, focus of magic forming around the aged wizard. It took
the apprentice a moment to realize just what it was.
Paul's eyes snapped open as he spun to the other wizards
in the room. "Get out!" he shouted.
The others looked at him strangely. "GO!!!" he shouted,
turning around. The fact that they had left, and in a hurry,
registered in his mind, but he was far too busy to concentrate on
that. He couldn't let Seeker do what he was planning - the aged man
was far too valuable to the group to allow such a sacrifice. Paul
only had a fraction of a second until Norax's wizards would complete
the spell. For the sake of them all, he had to do what Seeker had
intended to do himself, only better.
It was time.
A white aura enveloped the eleven or so wizards that
comprised Norax's magical offense. Slowly, the aura coalesced and
began to move upward, emanating a low hum as it did so. The spell
that the wizards had crafted was one of the most ancient known. It was
a sphere of pure, unrefined magical power, slowly accelerating toward
the battlements of LePaige's castle. The sphere of white fury grew
and picked up speed, its low hum turning to a howl as it careened over
the castle wall. It wavered, and dived down into the courtyard where
a spindly old man stood, concentrating and waiting.
The aura jerked, as though suddenly pulled off course, and
rocketed upward, growing in luminance to the point where it was
impossible to see.
Moments later, it struck the wizard's tower.
Elayna stood nervously in the infirmary, looking every now
and then toward the bed that Asa had been placed in once he had
returned to them, and before he had been taken again. Her thoughts
were trembling in her head - despite Seeker's words to the contrary, she
feared for the lives of her friends. She didn't have anyone else.
But she could help here, she knew. She could do
something. She would not be helpless.
And perhaps, she would win the respect of Seeker, and
possibly...
An ear-splitting concussion of noise struck her and nearly
knocked her to the floor as the Wizard's tower was obliterated.
Elayna's heart felt as though it had stopped, and she was already
shouting the name of her friend, the friend she knew was lost, before
she had even regained her hearing.
"PAUL!!!!"
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