Lyra lowered the spyglass, her smile all teeth as she made out the dark tower. They were almost there.

The fleet's sails filled with magic wind thanks to the mages that had come with the Western Navy, their magic newly gifted by Hickory's 'family'. The man himself hardly seemed bothered by his own task, his glowing eyes the only indication he was doing anything at all.

"Well?" Lyra asked the changeling.

"As expected there are quite a few wards up. Larger than I thought possible."

"Do they stretch to the coast?"

"Some."

Lyra licked her lips. That was a problem. She'd hoped to push straight to the coast, focus on reaching the capital. She peered through the spyglass again, it was supposed to show enchantments but she supposed they were still too far away for anyone but Hickory to see.

"What do they do?" she asked irritably.

"Mitigate magic mainly. Stop illusions, prevent teleportation, scrying, etcetera. The most concerning would be the wind wall."

"Wind wall?"

Hickory nodded. "It is stretching across to the coast. We will be unable to sail into the channel."

They couldn't land farther south either, the mountains too much of a barrier. The channel was the only way to the mainland from the south. "Can you tear it down?"

"Perhaps."

Lyra grit her teeth, her patience with Hickory thin with her goal in sight. "Yes or no, Hickory?" She put enough venom in her voice that even he picked up on it.

"If we are close enough and I am able to concentrate on the task, then yes, I believe I can."

"Good. Do it when I tell you."

Lyra's ship wasn't at the front of the fleet but she wasn't too far behind and they were making rapid pace. She stared through the spyglass agian and after a few moments she smiled. There was a rainbow shimmering through the looking glass, the wards approaching quickly.

The queen signalled the soldier behind her as they neared the first ward. He blew on a large horn and the sound echoed over the waves to the rest of the fleet. Almost forty mages used their new magic at the same time and Lyra watched with a grin as a thick mist rose from the sea's surface, obscuring the ships.

"Now, Hickory."

He stepped forward, planting his foot on the ship's bow and reached both hands out. Through the fog, Lyra could just make out the wood of the ship sprouting and wrapping around Hickory as he grunted, his eyes flashing with magic through the mist. Lyra raised her spyglass and watched with satisfaction as the long wall of magic tore like paper.

By her estimate her first ships would be passing through it in only a moment.

She winced as a bright flash of magic filled the spyglass and she pulled away. At first she thought the flash had left an after image but the lingering glow was the fireball sizzling through the fog. It crashed with a squealing hiss into the sea to the left of her ship.

Screams rang out somewhere on her right as no doubt the next ball of fire hit a target. Lyra clicked the spyglass shut. The battle had truly begun.

Matius fell to the stone gasping, his connection with the rune fading as his vision blurred. To his left, a few of his fellow Wind mages slumped over as well groaning as they all felt the effects of the wall being torn down.

Fernilda had warned them, but still Matius was shocked how easily Hickory had broken through. Images of old stone walls, crumbling beneath the deadly embrace of vines flashed in his mind but Matius shook them away and stumbled over to the nearest mage.

"You alright?"

"F-fine, Third Apprentice."

The initial shock over, Matius centered himself. The magic used had mostly come from the tower, or rather the Arch Mage who was attached to it. Surrounded by hundreds of runes, his pool of magic fueled by generations in turn powered the tower’s hub of defenses. After checking on the other mages, Matius moved to the nearest Fire mage.

The heat of the woman's magic dried his clothes from the mist and as he approached she shouted, "Where to?"

Matius closed his eyes and listened. The wind was swirling around unnaturally, pushed and pulled from its natural course and funneled into sails. He used it as a guide and directed the Fire mage to her target. The blast disappeared into the soupy mist but as it hit a ship, the sail ignited and glowed through the fog like lamp light.

The next blast he directed was resisted, its impact avoided by some mage's shield. Matius's firing partner shouted, "We found a shield!"

Another Azir ran forward and Matius directed him to their target. He recognized the older mage, Jo'luz. He'd been Matius's ward teacher when the Arch Mage had been busy.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Let's see if I can't steal his thunder, eh, Matius?" The man winked a dark eye and spread his fingers out. The air around him shimmered with his own impressive series of wards and he commanded, "Now, my dear."

The Fire mage let loose and then nodded with satisfaction as the glow of fire remained burning as the ship fueled it, the shield dismissed by Jo’luz’s skilled spell.

"Jo'luz!"

Matius's old teacher was summoned to another group and Matius stayed where he was, directing fire until his partner swayed and fainted, completely drained. She was carried away by white-robed assistants and Matius turned to the center of the tower with a frown.

The fog should have been dispelled by now but still hung thick and briny in the air. A flash of movement from above caught Matius's attention and he turned to see the edge of a Avin wing vanishing into the fog.

He gave a half-smile, that was it then. The fog was perfect cover for their Avin allies and with mages like Matius to direct the firepower, it was worth the inconvenience. Not to mention it was surely draining the enemies' magic.

Still, not knowing how far the ships had gone made Matius nervous and he scanned the blue-skinned crowd of his peers until he found a Sight mage he recognized. He jogged up to him and asked, "How many ships have breached the channel?"

The man's eyes glowed silver and he didn't look at Matius as he answered, "About a dozen. The most surprising thing is that they've managed to mostly stay together. We're thinning them out but there are still probably a hundred ships out there."

"How long until they reach the coast?"

"At this pace? Only an hour or so. They're definitely focusing their magic on speed."

Matius gave the mage's shoulder a grateful squeeze and turned to join the growing crowd of Water mages who were preparing to lift a wave in an attempt to split the armada. He was intercepted by a pale Azir mage with blonde hair.

"Matius!" she said, grabbing his arm. "You'd best come with us, we're going to blow back the fog from the front of the attack, give our guys some better aim at the fastest of the ships."

He was pulled into a group of fellow Wind mages. There weren't too many of them, most of their specialty was dedicated to communications. They gave a small cheer as Matius joined them before focusing on the channel. Another Sight mage, a young half-azir with white curls directed them and, with gusto, the group caught the wind and sent it over the thick fog.

Like wiping dust off a mirror, the view of the sea cleared along the front, revealing about two dozen ships. There was a cheer as the nearest Fire mages changed targets, blasting down at the wooden vessels. Many of the attacks were deflected but soon the group was joined by Yu'jana and Jo'luz and the ship's mages were not able to keep their shields up long enough to save their ships.

Yu'jana wiped a long black strand of hair from her face. "They're strong but sloppy. Fernilda must have been right about Lyra and Hickory creating new mages using the fae. If we pace ourselves and play this smart, we'll have them beat."

Matius agreed. "We have them bottlenecked in the channel but when Lyra figures that out, I'm sure she'll change tactics." He frowned into the fog. "Where is she anyway?"

Yu'jana pulled a familiar pendant from her pocket and it glowed as she muttered a spell. Her eyes flashed blue. "Not far from the fogline. Her ship will break through soon."

"Should we attempt a direct attack?"

"I think so. Hickory will engage the Arch Mage, but Fernilda is ready to back him up. Once he's away from Lyra, we'll concentrate our fire."

They both watched, occasionally helping one of the other mages redirect a hit or counter a shield. When Lyra's ship broke through the fog and Hickory joined the fray, things turned quickly.

Three balls of fire sizzled harmlessly as a typhoon sized wave lifted from the sea and swallowed them up. Matius felt the massive gust of wind coming from behind the wave and reached for his magic, splitting the maelstrom as it hit the tower. A few mages fell screaming from the tower at the edge of the blast. Matius slid back five or six feet trying to hold off the worst of it even as other Wind mages joined in.

"Concentrate fire on that ship!" Yu'jana shouted and Matius ran back to the edge just in time to see another wave come crashing into the tower.

It slid off harmlessly but a shift of magic alerted Matius that it'd only been a distraction so Hickory could tear another hole through the tower's wards. Matius felt the innocuous gust of wind carrying the fae and tried to push it back out but it spun out of his grasp like a leaf on the breeze and the man materialized on the top of the tower.

His eyes flashed poisonberry red and his white hair danced wildly as he scanned his new battlefield. Vines sprouted from his footsteps as he walked, creeping along to entangle the mages that frantically ran to and fro to maintain their stations.

"Leave him to the Arch Mage and High Druid. concentrate on the queen's ship." Matius sent the plan blowing past the ears of as many mages as he could find and hoped Hickory didn't pick it up.

If he did, he gave no indication, moving straight for the Arch Mage, a few attacks thrown at him fizzling harmlessly off his wards.

Like bloodhounds picking up a scent, suddenly Hickory's vines curled back, wrapping around the changeling and halting his progress.

"Hickory!" Fernilda shouted. She had a wooden shield and her staff grew into a sharp tip. "Your quarrel is with me."

"Step aside, Druid, I am not here for you."

Matius forced himself to tear his eyes away from the battle within a battle and follow his own advice. He took the blond Azir's hand and with a nod, they both reached out and snatched the wind from Lyra's sails.

Fire blasted the vessel but as it sank Yu'jana shook her head.

"She's moved ships, she's back into the fog. Makers, we should have figured she'd have an escape plan."

"If it was wind walking, we can hold her down," Matius said with determination.

"It's got to be, there's no other way she'd be able to move like that without the changeling."

A shockwave knocked the two apprentices over and they stumbled to their feet glancing back at the duel behind them. Blasts of sizzling and deflected magic shot off from the battle like hot oil. With a nod from Yu'jana, Matius raised both hands and they placed their own shields to protect the mages rimming the tower, still trying to thin the armada's numbers.

The Arch Mage shouted, "Enough of this!"

A bright blue circle appeared in a burst of light and in it the tower rose higher, lifting Hickory and his opponents above the rest of the mages. Matius and Yu'jana dropped their shields giving the now isolated battlefield a worried glance.

Thorns, thick and dark burst out from the edges of the platform, curling around like a cage, further separating Hickory from the rest of the Azir defense. Defying their instincts to join their master, the two apprentices returned their attention to the crowd of mages who looked at them for guidance.

Yu'jana waved a hand. "Keep going! Every ship we sink here is a battalion that never reaches the city!"

The mages burst back into action and Matius stayed with Yu'jana, preparing for the next time Lyra dared raise her head.