“Majesty,” whispers filled the war room as all white-haired furies stood to attention at Diroh’s arrival.
The crimson furies weren’t enthusiastic, although they also acknowledged her presence. That made things somewhat awkward for the mages. Technically, the ice fury remained a novice. A special exception had to be made in order for her to leave the Learning Hall. At the same time, she was Dallion’s apprentice, as well as the only acknowledged symbol of fury royalty.
Despite Alien’s scheming, he had kept his promise to Dallion, bringing her along. Of course, he had also taken all the remaining battle mages from the Academy. The stakes were high, so the archmage didn’t care what happened in imperial territory as long as he managed to score the desired win.
“How may I assist you, battle apprentice?” Diroh addressed him with a cheeky smile, bordering on mockery.
“Mage,” Dallion corrected. “I’m a mage now.”
Her expression screamed “oh!” quickly masked by a slight bow. “Congratulations on the promotion, Mage Dallion,” she added. “So, how may I assist?”
“Battle mage.” A crimson fury flew in through the ceiling, leaving a tunnel behind her. “The archmage has requested your presence.”
“Of course.” Dallion sighed internally. “Let’s go,” he said to Diroh.
“Err, the archmage said…” The crimson fury hesitated. “The invitation is only for you, battle mage.”
“She has to learn at some point. If something happens to me, she’ll be the one to take over.”
Concern emanated from everyone in the room. Word had already spread of Dallion’s latest exploits. Unlike Countess Priscord, the emperor hadn’t been at all concerned with stories about his subjects and hadn’t resorted to limiting echoes. If anything, one might almost say that he encouraged everyone, transforming Dallion into the hero of the day and destroyer of cities. Soldiers, furies, and mages alike saw in him the ray of hope they weren’t able to see in their previous commanders. Having him put all that hope to doubt created a logical dissonance.
Better now than in the heat of battle, he said to himself.
“I understand, sir, but still… the archmage…”
“I’ll be fine here.” Diroh put an end to the impasse. “It’ll give me a chance to learn what’s going on.” She glanced at the war map.
Let her, the armadil shield suggested in Dallion’s realm. She’ll have to do it either way. This way, the archmage will owe you.
You don’t know Alien very well, do you, Dallion replied.
I know people quite well. He’s desperate, so until you complete your task, he’ll give you the world. It’s afterwards that you have to worry.
The observation was spot on. Maybe Vihrogon knew the archmage after all.
Following the crimson fury, Dallion was led directly through the body of the cloud fort to a corridor outside the designated archmage chamber. The concerned expression on the woman’s face made it clear that only the battle mage was allowed to continue from here on.
Again with the bureaucracy, Dallion grumbled to himself. One would have thought that the seriousness of the situation would expedite things, but somehow it had only made them worse, adding new layers of uselessness on top of all the rest.
The whole surface of the door was coated with sea iron, allowing Dallion to knock. Not waiting for an answer, he then opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was far greater than it was supposed to be, designed as a direct copy of the one in the archmage’s home. Even the artifacts on display were the same. If one ignored the illusion, one might think that they had been teleported all the way to the Academy. Sadly, being a mage meant that it was almost impossible to completely ignore illusions.
“We’re heading to meet up with Katka’s group,” the archmage said directly. “Should take us a couple of days. With luck, she’ll be functional by the time we get there.”
Functional… interesting description.
“And the battle mages?” Dallion asked. “The enemy battle mages,” he quickly clarified.
“You tell me,” Alien snapped. “Our scouts are useless. The crimsons are only good at patrolling and our great new mage legion is obsessed with attacking anything in sight, even if they’re bound to lose. And don’t get me started on the normal soldiers. Priscord is great at creating chaos and slowly assimilating territories, but when it comes to massive movements, she doesn’t dare move a finger.”
That only went to show that she was more competent than most Dallion had seen so far. Come to think of it, none of the archdukes were leading armies towards the area. For the most part, they had sent family members and subordinates to deal with things, very much like the emperor. Was there something that they knew which Dallion didn’t? Most likely, yes.
“We need to get to the power-ups,” Dallion said.
“What power-ups?”
“The vortex towers. We don’t need to make use of them, just prevent the Azures from doing so.”
“That’s your great advice? Any level one mage could figure that out. What do you think Katka was doing?”
Apparently, nothing well enough, Dallion thought.
“The first thing we did was send forts to guard the areas.”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
“Where?” Dallion asked.
Alien blinked. The question seemed so illogical that anyone would struggle to take it seriously. If anyone else had asked it, they would have been laughed out of the room. However, the aura of authority granted by the emperor had made him pause.
“Where did you send them to guard?” Dallion repeated the question.
“Just say what you’re thinking! We don’t have time for twenty questions.”
“We occupy the spot directly where the vortexes will appear. Not near, not around, directly above.”
There was a fifty-fifty chance that Alien found the idea. The plan was as reckless as they came, but it was the starting point Dallion needed. As someone who had just boosted his magic trait by fifty in one go, he knew the temptation would be too great for a mage to resist. Even if all the vortexes turned out to be level eight, with so many of them, it would be a lot better than climbing up the standard way.
“We take positions there and let them come to us.”
“Fighting in the vortexes?” The archmage went to the illusion of his desk and sat down. His demeanor was a lot calmer than a moment ago. Dallion would bet that Alien was considering the odds of the vortex getting rid of all his problems in one fell swoop, and what actions he had to take in order to make that happen. “You’re sure?”
“It won’t be my first time, as you know,” Dallion smirked, adding a note of overconfidence in his voice. The music attack was a lot more subtle than any of his previous ones, which was why it actually succeeded.
“How will you be sure you’re at the right one?” Accepting the idea, the archmage focused on the details.
“I don’t have to. As long as portals among all locations are maintained, I can go to the one I’m needed. Or all of them.”
“All of them…” Alien mused.
“Of course, I’ll need Adzrog for that.”
“Absurd!” Alien’s eyes glared with a flash of hatred.
“We need his advice. You might be archmage, but he has a lot more experience. Besides, he built the device that—”
“I brought you your fury. I’m not setting that man free. You’ve no idea what he’s capable of.”
That was starting to sound familiar. Clearly, Alien had a lot of issues with people of power. Dallion made a few attempts to use his empathic ability and trigger some sort of memory fragment, but to no avail. Whatever countermeasure the archmage was using—deliberately or by accident—it was blocking the effect.
“He’s not in a condition to do anything but give advice. What can he do without hands?”
Alien’s frown deepened for a few seconds, then slowly faded away.
“Alright, a compromise,” he said, casting a seven-circle spell. Although he wasn’t regarded as the best mage in the Shimmering Circle, Alien remained quite skilled when it came to original spells.
A small portal appeared above the desk. Several moments later, a golden ring dropped through, landing on the wooden surface.
“You really thought you’re unpredictable, didn’t you?” The confidence in the archmage’s voice had returned. Once again, he was no longer a desperate bureaucrat begging for help, but Dallion’s superior and head of all mages. “The old man will remain in the imperial palace until you fulfill the emperor’s request. Until then, you’ll make use of an echo.”
Just like old times, Vihrogon said.
The ring flew right at Dallion’s face in a deliberate attempt to wound him. Due to his perception trait, though, it seemed as slow as a drunk mosquito. Resisting the temptation to show off, Dallion waited until the object had almost reached his cheek before he caught it.
“Nice reflexes.” Alien said with a crooked smile. “You’ve come a long way since our first meeting in the Drum. Don’t let it get to your head.”
“I know. No one’s invincible.” Dallion put the ring on his left pinky finger. Initially, he braced himself for a realm invasion attempt, but none followed. “Talking about the good old times… why were you in Nerosal? I heard that mages didn’t set foot there voluntarily.”
“It’s not your place to know.”
So, it really was linked to the Star, Dallion thought. There was a time when he believed such information would be enough to have someone banished. Now he knew better. Fortunately, it didn’t matter anymore.
“Anything else, sir?” he asked. “I want to get back to the war room.”
“Go ahead. I’ll just keep an eye on things in case you decide to switch sides.”
“I’ve vowed to fight the Azures months ago…”
“I’m not talking about the Azure federation.” With a flick of the finger, the archmage cast a spell that opened the door. “Best of luck.”
There were no direct tunnels back to the war room. Dallion had to get there the old fashioned way—a reminder on Alien’s part who was in charge. That wasn’t an issue worth bothering about. Of far greater concern was Grym and his battle mage. Both of them had proven to be considerably stronger than anyone gave them credit for. And yet there was something that didn’t make sense.
“Nil?” Dallion said as he made his way through halls and corridors.
I really would prefer Adzorg, dear boy, the echo from the ring said.
I like Nil better. Are you alright?
In a manner of speaking. It will be a few weeks before my hands are all there again, but other than that, I’m safely locked up in one of the emperor’s luxurious cells.
How inclined are you to help?
If you’re asking whether I’m being watched, no need to worry. Neither the emperor nor anyone in the imperial capital considers me a threat.
Of course, now that the timepiece was destroyed, everyone was going to say that.
When you were doing business with the Azures, did they mention what their endgame was?
Dear boy… The echo sighed. Other than the Academy rebellion and Dreud’s betrayal, I wasn’t privy to any actual information. In turn, the Azures weren’t aware of my particular problem, either. We were nothing more than allies through necessity. Why, what’s worrying you?
You told me that they have no chance of defeating the emperor. After seeing him in person, Dallion tended to agree with that conclusion. Archduke Dreud must have known as well. He must have seen the emperor in person, right?
Definitely more than once. The echo laughed. Archdukes are among the few that could go visit the imperial houses at any time.
Well, then how did he think he’d win this? The imperial armies and a few archdukes might have been humiliated, but there’s no way he believes he could win in a one-on-one against the emperor, or one against many, for that matter.
Greed and ambition make people delusional.
What if it’s more than that? What if there is a weapon that could destroy the emperor despite his might?
People have always speculated about the existence of powerful devices from past eras. If that were the case, the owners of such a device would use it to make their demands known, not waste troops for the fun of it.
Dallion’s thoughts kept going back to the colossus. The creature had said that it had been the void that pulled it into the real world. But what if that was a lie? Or rather, what if it was only a partial truth? Even when not fully restored, Adzorg’s timepiece had caused punctures that summoned vortex towers in response. What if there was another device capable of doing the same on a smaller scale? Using it along with the power accumulated by absorbing the vortex towers, Grym could summon an army of colossi to send against the empire and that might prove too much even for a level a hundred and twenty awakened.