The elf came sprinting across the land of the crater, whistling loudly. Lessons were paused, and Marsai met the woman in the sitting room. With a glass of some citrus juice, the messenger related breathlessly, “Madam Marsai, King Taelendreal requests your assistance. A monster horde is approaching the city.”
Marsai sat across from her. The others gathered around the room. Marsai met Vinny’s eye with a glance, and he nodded. She said to the messenger, “I will send these four. They are apprentices here.” She indicated Sas’cha, Wali, Yacob, and Vinny.
The messenger looked at the four skeptically. She soon controlled her response, “I will let the King know. When can we expect their arrival?”
Marsai turned to Wali, “Bind Tag into a crystal and give it to the messenger.”
Wali took a thumb-sized piece of quarts from a pocket. Tag squawked indignantly but went into the crystal. He passed the crystal to the messenger. Marsai said to her, “When you arrive in the city, find a secure room and crush the crystal there. Shortly after, the apprentices will arrive.”
The woman took the crystal and gave a shallow bow to Marsai, “I will go immediately then.” She turned and stepped out of the room. Wali felt his connection with Tag recede swiftly. The messenger was fast.
Marsai looked to the apprentices, “Gather your gear, prepare for battle and return to me in the first basement.” She stood and walked from the room.
“Get moving.” Hansa snapped in her clipped gruff tone. The apprentices got moving. All of them were dressed in the linen pajama-like clothes that Eiko had provided them. They all split up into their respective rooms. Twenty minutes later, they assembled in the first basement of the house.
Wali was in his Colri leathers with Gale, Yacob in Captain Hollis’ hand-me-down armor. Vinny came down in leathers that resembled those the messenger had worn. A green and gray patchwork that reminded Wali of old-school camouflage patterns. Sas’cha was dressed in something new, however. A vest of dark gray leather with silver embroidery and a pair of loose flowing white pants gathered at the ankle. A belt of golden tassels hung around her waist. Each was an item of power and a magical artifact that Marsai had been holding for her old friend. The back of the vest had the face of a black panther roaring stitched into it. Wali thought it was a biker vest at first sight.
There were three rooms in the basement. Two were dry and cold storage spaces; the third room was where they assembled. Two of the mannequins were busy sweeping the floor, cleaning a layer of dust from the silver-inlaid marble floor. A single square of white marble four meters across had been laid in the center of the tile floor. A basic magical circle had been cut into the face of the marble. Silver had been poured into the grooves creating the most basic of magic circles. This style of the circle was the foundation for most of the magical circles used worldwide. Three concentric circles showed on the floor.
Marsai passed Wali a piece of black chalk a moment later. She pointed at the circle and said, “Show me what you have learned. Create the anchor circle on the outer ring, then the projection circle. Once Tag is released, you should be able to create the target circle.
While Wali could teleport himself to anywhere he could see, he needed accurate coordinates for anywhere else. He worked as the anchor for any personal teleportation. If he wanted to bring others with him, he would need to create circles like this one. The outermost “anchor” circle locked in the starting location. The middle circle empowered the teleportation and allowed a gateway to be opened between the two circles. The innermost circle was for the target location. He could determine that through his bond with Tag once Tag was at the place he wished to teleport to. The only other way to anchor a gate was to have a series of circles mirrored on each side. Empowering long-term gates like that was impossible for anyone but the most skilled enchanters specializing in the extremely expensive art of teleportation. As such, very few active teleportation gates existed, and then only between secure locations.
It took Wali over an hour to set the anchor to Marsai’s satisfaction. He had to redraw several rune scripts to draw upon the surrounding area’s mana and then change them to match the mana density correctly. There was a long way to go for mastery, even for a cheater like Wali. The center circle was easier. It was the same every time—a simple linking circle between the anchor and destination.
An hour later, Wali felt Tag get released from the crystal. The elven messenger must have been fast, for Wali had to push mana into his bond with the totem to share its senses. He saw a large marble and gold-decorated throne room. He took a moment to gather his bearings and released the totem, telling it to remain in the location. He took up the chalk again, this time putting the finishing touches on the destination circle. He stepped out of the rings of silver and chalk.
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Marsai told him, “Memorize this sequence. It will be the same to return if you can leave from where you end up. If you have done your job right, that is, and don’t end up in the mountains or another dimension,” She said grimly, stifling a smile. She knew he had done it correctly, but making him question his accuracy was necessary. Not double and triple checking your work had led to many deaths in the magical world.
Wali smiled at her, confident in his circles. She gave him the go-ahead gesture, and he put the final mark into the outer ring. They all felt the pull as mana was pulled into the circles. The outer ring lit up with a red glow, the black chalk burning away. The middle ring did the same, and a hole was punched in space at the center. An expanding circle of red replaced a black orb of the true void as the inner ring bound the two places in space. Through the ring, they all saw the throne room of the elven city. Sas’cha quickly followed Yacob through the circle. Vinny tentatively stepped through next after he fastened on a cloth mask. As Wali held the power of the process, he felt the drain on his reserves. He nodded at Marsai, who smiled back.
She said, “Good luck, “ as he stepped through. The circle faded as soon as he was on the other side. She took some time and reset the anchor circle in preparation for their return.
--------------------------------
The step through space was instantaneous, accompanied by a painful momentary headache and ear popping as the air pressure changed. They all felt the lack of mana density instantly. They had grown used to the thick mana of the crater, but here in the elven palace, the mana density was at the nominal norm. They stepped from the red portal into a throne room. The elven colors of green, silver, and gold were shown in the banners on the walls and the long carpet down the center of the floor. White marble tiles, alabaster arabesques, and finials decorated the walls and ceiling in addition to the textiles. They had appeared in the center of the long hall. The spot they appeared on was flanked by four silver armored guards with long thin swords drawn and ready to strike.
“Hold!” Shouted the familiar voice of the messenger. “My king, these are the apprentices of the Witch of the Forest. She said they would be along soon, but I had not realized it would be like this.”
“Heh, she never held us in respect.” Said a gruff voice filled with a level of pretentious authority. Wali turned around at the voice, as did the other three. They saw the other end of the room; twenty more guards stood ready between the high golden throne of the elven king. They parted as he waved them away, revealing the messenger kneeling at the base of a short dais.
The king was built similarly to Vinny, a long-limbed but thin figure. He wore a robe of brilliant emerald, trimmed in braided silver and gold. No crown sat on the bald pate of the ancient figure. He was both young and old, magic and the long elven lifespan had propped up the body, but the eyes and age spots spoke a different story. The eyes were silvery and almond-shaped and held a deep and shrewd intelligence. His hand beckoned them forward, rings glittering in the light.
“Please come forward so I may see you.” He said.
The messenger glared at them as they approached and motioned to the floor. The king saw this and said, “They need not kneel before me. They serve another power.”
Wali still bowed with respect, Yacob clumsily following. Sas’cha gave a nod while Vinny did some complex kneel-bow that looked uncomfortable. “At least one of you knows the proper respect.” Snarked the king. “You all look young. What do you think you can do for this situation?”
The haughtiness of the elves was widely known. The long-lived race was one of the oldest in the world and carried the longest contiguous history. Their kingdoms were far apart but were tightly allied. They were one of the few races which still had records from the times when the Demon Lords still reigned.
“You may rise,” said the elven king.
As the four companions stood, the doors at the back of the hall burst open, and an elven knight in silvery plate armor strode in. “M’lord, they are at the redoubts and will be at the barrier soon!” He shouted as he stomped and clanked into the chamber. The knight’s armor was edged in filigreed gold, and a badge of a crescent moon bisected with a sword stood proud on his chest. His silvery hair was bound back, and his white-on-white eyes were serious and grim.
“Perfect timing, Marshall Elimon. Take these four with you to the barrier. They are the help that the Witch of the Forest sent.” The king said sourly.
Marshall Elimon turned and looked at the two humans, an elf and a catkin. He looked them up and down before giving them a wave, “Follow me then.” He spun on his heel and tramped back out.
He led them through a storybook palace of ivory, white, and gold. Red silken curtains, green banners, and polished weapons decorated the walls. When they passed archways and windows, they saw that the palace was high above a sprawling city of white stone and red tile rooftops. The forest itself was separated from the walls by a kilometer. The floor they were on was situated above the high canopy. They looked out over the city toward the northwest. Smoke rose in a column through the treetops in that direction. They could see formations of troops arranging themselves on the fields outside the city, like tiny blocks of ants marching across the ground below. They did not see walls, trenches, or other forms of fortification.
The stairwell down the tower was on the exterior, wrapping steeply around the outside of the central tower of the palace. They reached a platform where another teleportation circle was engraved into the marble floor. The marshall waved them into it, and they all had to pop their ears as they were suddenly at ground level.
As the marshall started moving out of the massive atrium, Wali asked, “What is coming? What do you need us for?”
The marshall glanced back with distaste, “Trolls, an army of them. Led by something out of our worst nightmares.”