Chapter 9: Magic

Despite what some people might think regular animals were a negligible threat to people. Wolves had learned over the centuries that avoiding people as much as humanly possible was in their best interests. Elk and other herbivores just wanted to be left alone and were generally harmless unless provoked. Even bears didn’t see people as food and had no interest in trifling with them unless they felt like they were a threat to them or their young. For someone who knew what they were doing even a little bit wild animals posed, at best, a very minor danger all things considered.

Magic beasts were a whole other thing entirely.

Magic was the cornerstone of civilization. From our greatest architectural and engineering wonders, to how we waged war, to how the empire managed coordination and logistics, to even the Divine System itself, magic was an indispensable and intricate part of our world. Yet for all that we relied on its power, magic was without a single shadow of a doubt an inherently dangerous force. Though the empire spent vast amounts of resources in attempting to regulate the ambient magic in the world those efforts were, at best, an inexact undertaking. When the magic from other high magic planes adjacent to ours bled through in high enough concentrations strange phenomena would begin to manifest in our world. These strange happenings could take many forms. Places might warp to where the physical laws of this plane were distorted. Pocket dimensions or even openings to completely different planes could spontaneously appear. Strange and inexplicable things of all kinds could occur, such as one time when I saw several acres of forests where everything within had been turned into into some unidentifiable metal, the rocks and the very earth under our feet included. However the most famous – and dangerous – of these phenomena were the spontaneous appearance of creatures composed entirely out of magic. These dangerous creatures were colloquially known as magic beasts.

For unknown reasons magic beasts were, one and all, intrinsically hostile to intelligent life. Their veried forms were said to be essentially infinite but their reaction to people was always the same. If it knew you were there a magic beast would do everything in it’s power to kill you.

Thankfully there was never enough ambient magic in our plane for some of the truly horrific high level beasts to manifest in our world. Still, what magic beasts did manifest in our world were dangerous enough. Most people would find little comfort in knowing that the bear sized creature with half a dozen bladed limbs trying to rip them apart into little meaty chunks was only a [Level 15].

Thus the serious danger of traveling cross country and away from the empire’s heavily patrolled roads. After all, who knew how many magic beasts were aimlessly wandering around out there in the wilds? Who knew what forms they would take and how they would choose to attack you? Only the very experienced or the very foolish would choose to take such a risk if there were any other options available.

Fortunately I happened to be one of those very experienced people. Still, having to manage three horses and a girl while trying to stay alert for any danger made things just a little bit more complicated.

“Gar,” Cat said with a petulant whine. “I’m seriously about to die here. Can we please, please stop for the night already?”

This was the third time in the last hour Cat had repeated essentially the same line, and truth be told I did feel more than a little bad about it. It was by my reckoning only an hour or two before first light and we had been on the move all night long. Cat was barely able to keep herself awake and on the saddle at this point. The poor thing was not even a [Level 1] and she had been awake since the previous morning. But I didn’t dare stop just anywhere. That was just begging to wake up to find a magic beast tearing out your guts.

“We’ll find a safe place to spend the night soon,” I said, hoping that it was actually true. “Just hold on a little longer Cat. I’ll let you sleep in as much as you like once good stop.”

“You damn well better,” she murmured sleepily.

It took about another half hour before I found a place that I felt would suit our needs. A couple of old and very large trees were pressed up against a cliff face. I grinned tiredly, happy to find such a good spot. We could tie ourselves to the thick branches high up in the trees and the cliff to our back would allow one person on watch to be able to observe all possible vectors of approach. Looking around the base of the trees there were bits and pieces of old detritus that indicated that this place had been used by people before at some point in the past. Something about the area struck me as familiar but after a moment I dismissed the thought as unimportant. It was already way past time for us to stop for the night. If it was important I could figure it out in the morning.

“So this is where we’re stopping?” asked Cat, rubbing at her eyes before looking around.

“That’s right,” I said. “We’re going to have to make like birds and sleep on the trees for tonight. We’ll have to tie ourselves to the tree so we don’t roll over and fall off. Do you think you can manage to climb one of those trees by yourself or do you need help?”

Even though her exhaustion Cat still managed to give me an amused look. “Who do you think you’re talking to? Climbing trees was one of the only things I could do for fun running around in the woods behind our house. Not to brag but I’m pretty dang good at it.”

I looked at her and shrugged. “All right then. Grab a blanket and climb up to any branch at least halfway up. I’ll join you up there in a minute.” After I keep an eye on you in case you slip and fall, I thought without saying it.

To my surprise and to her credit, even exhausted and in the dark Cat had little trouble climbing high up in the tree while showing no fear or hesitation. She waved and grinned at me cheekily from a branch about three quarters of the way up the tree. Amused, I proceeded to grab a few things of my own and easily climbed up after her.

I was in the process of gently tying Cat to the tree trunk for the night when she spoke, her voice small and hesitant. “Gar?”

“Yeah?” I replied absentmindedly.

“Just… you’re doing so much for me. With all of this. If there’s anything I can do, well… I mean, I want to help out too. I don’t want to just be useless and have you do everything. I want to help out somehow. I want to help you, too.”

“That’s sweet,” I replied, smiling. “I’m not sure there’s a lot you can do right now. Don’t worry about that kind of thing, though. You’re just a little girl. Let your big brother worry about taking care of everything.”

“O-Oh,” said Cat, sounding disappointed and dissatisfied. “Yeah. All right. Sure.”

“Don’t you fret,” I said, giving her a confident grin. “We’ll beat this thing and come out better for it on the other end. You’ll see.”

Cat smiled back at me but even I could tell it was a little forced.

Soon afterwards, despite a tree branch not being exactly a bed of feathers Cat was out like a light in a matter of moments once she settled in to sleep, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up to her. As for myself I couldn’t go to sleep just yet. Magic beasts of all stripes were usually more active at night. Once the sun rose I would risk getting a few hours of sleep. Until then there was nothing to do but stay up, keep watch, try once more to think up of some plan that wouldn’t end up with me and Cat either dead or imprisoned.

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It was an hour after dawn when I finally tied myself up to the tree and went to sleep. Nightmares that I did not remember upon waking made my rest fitful and unsatisfying. However I must have been more exhausted than I thought.

When I woke up I realized that Catherine’s ropes were untied and the girl herself was gone.

Panic was the first thing that struck me. Had something gotten her? I looked down to the bottom of the tree and saw that all three of our horses were still standing peacefully where I tied them last night. So, it was unlikely anything had grabbed Cat from under my nose and then left the horses completely undisturbed. That just left the possibility that Cat had undone the ropes herself and had gone off wandering on her own. Irritation and worry warred within me as I untied myself and swiftly climbed down to the forest floor. Didn’t she realize how ridiculously unsafe wandering off on her own could be?

No people had passed though this section of forest recently so it was easy to almost immediately find her trail. With a worried frown I began to follow where she had gone. It was thankfully only a couple of minutes walking later that I found her. She was standing at the edge of a clearing in between a pair of trees, looking out towards the open ground. I felt something tight in my chest loosen as I approached her.

“Don’t wander off without letting me know,” I told her, trying not to sound too harsh.

“Sorry,” she said distractedly, her gaze never leaving the clearing in front of her. With a frown I stepped up behind her and took a look at what she was looking at.

My breath caught in my throat. I recognized this place.

It wasn’t just any clearing beyond the tree line but instead a relatively flat wide open field. Such places occurring naturally were rare in rock and forest covered Iskander. This particular field was very memorable because of the battle that took place there. Early during the war the sky barbarians had penetrated deep into the province, raiding and spreading across the countryside like locusts. This field was the site of the first proper battle the legions managed to force the sky barbarians into instead of just endless skirmishing across the province. The battle had been an incredibly bloody charnel field that had raged for two days straight, with neither side securing a clear victory in the end. With the exception of the final battle at Emerald Passes this field had been the site of the bloodiest and most costly battle of the war.

I’d taken an arrow to my left bicep here but had kept on fighting for a full day afterwards anyway. I could practically still smell the smoke and the oppressive stench of dying men. I closed my eyes and bit my lip hard, using the pain to try and keep myself from being swept away by memories.

The Battle of Red Fields. That is what they had started calling this abattoir after the fact. Now years later there were still signs of the battle if you knew where to look. However those signs were largely faded by now. A few more years and nature would reclaim it all, leaving not a trace that anything had happened in this place at all.

A few more deep breaths and the encroaching press of memories gradually receded. I had gone through this place already and survived. I could do this. I was in control.

My mind and emotions were largely back to whatever passed for normal when Cat broke the silence. “There is something out there,” she said, biting her lip. “Something powerful. Something that I need to check out.”

Alarm bells starting going off in my head at her words. “Like you ‘had’ to check out the ruins with the giant ghost inside?” I asked her uneasily.

Cat shook her head. “No, nothing like that. It’s not drawing me in per se. Sort of the difference between a siren luring you to your death or… or smelling something incredibly delicious, I guess. Whatever it is I really think we need to check it out,” she hesitated before continuing. “But…”

“But?”

“Well. I’ve also got the feeling that, well, maybe there’s something dangerous out there, too.”

I gave Cat a look of deep skepticism. “I’m not sure I trust that you’re suddenly really ‘feeling’ things. And even if you can, why would we want to risk going out there if you think it’s dangerous?”

Cat shook her head. “I don’t think this is new, not really. Since the… ghost, attacked me, I’ve been feeling things. Like a new sense or something. It’s hard to explain but I… I think that I can feel magic now. Not every little bit of magic but I can definitely feel strong sources of it. Or at least, I think I do.”

That bit of news was alarming in an entirely new and different way. In theory everyone had the ability to manipulate magic. That is why every intelligent being was able to use the System. In practice however only the people with the inborn ability to actually perceive magic could be mages, people who could learn to wield magic independent of the Divine System. However I didn’t think the ability of a mage to perceive magic worked quite like this. And I had certainly never heard of someone gaining the ability to perceive magic after being [Cursed] by a ghost.

“So this magic thing you think is out there in the field,” I said slowly, for now working on the assumption that Cat’s idea of what was going on actually had merit. “What do you think it is?”

“I don’t know,” said Cat, sounding frustrated. “But it’s by far the strongest thing I’ve ever felt.” She turned to look at me. “I don’t know what it is, but I know we can’t afford to pass it up.”

I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling torn. It couldn’t hurt to check it out. Certainly that is what I would have done if the feeling wasn’t also accompanied by Cat’s nebulous feelings of ‘danger’. Risking her was not something I was keen on doing. “Any chance you can point it out to me and I can go try grab it while you wait here?” I asked. “Or preferably wait up a tree?”

“No,” said Cat, shaking her head. “I don’t trust this new sense from this far. And I think it’s probably buried, too. I don’t think I’ll be able to exactly pinpoint it unless I’m a lot closer.”

I paused to consider that. “And this ‘danger’ that you mentioned,” I said slowly. “Are you certain it is different from the powerful source of magic you say you’re feeling?”

“Absolutely. The two things couldn’t feel more different.”

I hummed thoughtfully at that. “Does this second thing feel like magic too?”

Cat nodded without hesitating. “Yes. It’s super weak, or at least super weak compared to the other thing I’m feeling. But it’s definitely still magic.”

“Completely made up of magic? Like a magic beast?”

Cat grimaced. “Maybe. Probably. I actually don’t know.”

“Well, that’s just great,” I said dryly.

“It gets worse actually,” Cat added helpfully. “Because it feels so weak it feels like it’s sort of being masked by the much stronger magic signature. So I’m not sure I could tell you where it is exactly other than the general area.”

I gave Cat an unhappy look. “You’re not doing a great job of convincing me to go out there, you know.”

“And you’re not listening to me,” said Cat, her expression turning genuinely angry. “Whatever magic thing is out there is absurdly strong. Ridiculously strong. Even if it isn’t something we can use ourselves anything with magic that strong we could sell for a fortune. And we need it. I don’t care what you say, brother. I know that in the situation we are in we’re going to need every single edge and advantage that we can get.”

I looked at her determined face for a few moments making a loud sound of frustration. Turning my back to her I walked away a few paces and had to mightily resist the urge to punch a tree. Because she was right. Barring the cult suddenly deciding to give up going after Cat there was no long term solution I could think of that would keep her permanently out of their hands. And those religious prophecy types were fanatics. Something about the idea of a prophecy seemed to make men throw out all common sense and obsess single pointedly on whatever it was that some dusty old scripture or tome said was supposed to come true. The odds that they would give up before this situation was resolved one way or the other were fantastically low. After all, their sham of a religion somehow thought that a strange [Curse] meant that Cat was somehow going to end the world. It was so absurd it boggled belief, but men rarely needed much encouragement to believe in absurdities. If I was going to keep Cat safe from a powerful group of fanatics that was that determined to do her harm, I was going to need something more. Some kind of ace. Some kind of game changer. Something other than just running and hoping for the best. Because if we did that in the end all that we would achieve was being caught tired.

Maybe some rare super powerful magic item could be the thing that made all the difference.

When I turned back to her Cat was looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer to any Gods or ancestors who would listen, and laid out the plan. “All right,” I began. “We are going to go out there, and you are going to stay right next to me the whole time. If anything events hints at danger you run. No compromise, no hesitating. You run. Is that clear?”

The pleasure and sudden excitement in her face and posture were somewhat concerning, but at least she nodded her agreement and seemed to mean it. I drew my sword, making Cat’s eyes widen a bit at the sight. The pins and needles from the [Uncommon] weapon instantly started up my arm and into my torso. I did my best to ignore the feeling. If there was a magic beast out there I wanted my weapon in hand instead of at my hip.

“Well then,” I said, my expression all business now. “Let’s get this over with, shall we?”