Pierce was jolted awake as the bed he was lying on shook. He thought he recognised the feeling of being in a moving cart. He opened his eyes, and took his first fever free look around in days. His intuition had been right, he was riding in the back of a covered wagon. It wasn’t bouncing around that much so it must have been on a proper road.

He wasn’t alone, several soldiers in armor were sitting around him. He recognised some of them, Brenda, was a stout blond haired woman with rounder features and a broken nose, she was a hammer and shield specialist. Behind her was Jack, who had a similar build to Brenda, they were line-holder soldiers who were sturdy enough to stand in front of anything that came.

The others he recognised but didn’t know as well, they were more shield and spear pairs, which was to be expected of the Hand of Sol. There was Jeremy, and David, Paul and Michael, and Kala and he thought Danielle, or was it Rianne? Anyway, it didn’t matter right then.

He turned back to Brenda, who had pulled up a waterskin to offer him. He took a sip and found that his throat wasn’t as dry as he expected, she had likely been making him take sips for the whole journey.

So he found his voice, “How long was I out for?”

“Five days, but the healers said you were on the mend, so they decided to load you in here. I think the hope was you’d be back on your feet by the time we got there.”

“Where?”

“Eastmount”,

“I know it, it’s a small mining town, good metal, but miles from the border and miles from the city. Why are we going there?”

Brenda shared a look with Jack.

“Look, we were ordered not to give you too many details, we’re stopping tonight in Meadowvale, Mattias said he’d explain everything then.”

Pierce frowned, that was odd. Brenda and Jack weren’t his closest friends, but they had served together most of their term in the army. He had literally put his life in their hands, and vice versa. What could be so big they couldn’t tell him?

There was an awkward pause in the air, as he tensed, preparing to argue, but then a wave of tiredness came back over him and he laid back down. He couldn’t sleep but he couldn’t fight them either, he just felt spent.

“Look, it’s okay, I’ll talk to him, let’s talk about something else. Did you get much time with your son when we were back?”

Brenda’s face lit up then, happy for the change in topic.

“Yes, Peter does like staying with his grandparents, but he does miss me when we are away, and thankfully he really liked the present I bought him.”

“That’s a relief after how long you spent searching for it.” said Jack with a grin.

He wasn’t wrong Brenda had spent most of her free time on campaigns looking for good gifts for her son, Jacob.

Jack kept teasing her, “What did you go for in the end? Was it the small wooden horse? Or maybe the small wooden elephant? Or wait, I know, it was the small wooden dog!”

“Actually, I’ll have you know, I ended up going for something from the blacksmith, rather than the woodworkers.”

“Wait, let me guess, a small metal horse?”. Brenda punched him on the shoulder at that point.

“Okay okay… I’ll stop”.

Pierce chimed in then, “so what did you actually get him then?”

Brenda blushed a bit, “Well, he actually turned 8 when we were back.”

“Ah,” both Jack and Pierce responded at the same time, starting to understand immediately. The Awakening was as big a day for the parents as it was for the children.

Brenda looked away from them and continued, “Well, I thought, you know, a soldier, it’s not a bad life.” Jack nodded at that, “so I bought him a practice sword, I thought maybe it would help.”

Pierce nodded, “you thought if he had it, it might influence Sol’s decision?”

“Is that so wrong?” she replied.

“No, but it is a mother’s dream, I don’t think what we do changes the decisions that are made for us.”

“Well?” Jack asked with a hint of patience, and Pierce remembered that his own daughter was 7, and he was probably also hoping this sort of preparation might help. “Did it work, what happened at the ceremony?”

“A baker!” Brenda said, throwing up her hands, while Jack almost fell off his bench with laughter. “He went in there, training sword on his belt, and he came out with a bread shaped pin and an apprenticeship to a bakery!” Then she paused, and remembered who she was speaking to. “Ah, sorry Pierce, not that there’s anything wrong with bakers. It’s a good steady job, it’s just not, well it’s not what I know.”

“I understand, don’t worry. My own parents, you’d think they’d be happy with their Grand Mage of Sol,” he added in a tone to make fun of the grandiose title that he had been given, “but actually when I go home they are always talking about how their new apprentices can’t handle the store. Or how a good one will open their own shop rather than waiting to take over after they retire. Sure they are happy for me, and proud of what I have done for Solana, but part of them almost wishes that the staff hadn’t glowed gold for me like it did. Then we’d still be what we were, a baking family, bakers for generations.”

“You’re right,” Brenda nodded, “it’s enough that he has a chance to be happy, and after all, it’s only a year and a day, maybe he will hate it.”

Jack chimed in “Or he’ll burn everything he touches, I’ve seen you cook.”

The conversation dissolved after that into the sort of friendly bickering that people who travel together on long slow journey’s develop to pass the time. Pierce joined in a bit, but found himself growing tired, so he went back to sleep.

He woke as the wagon came to a stop, and then he felt hands lifting up his bed, and carrying out of the wagon and placing it on the ground.

“Alright sleepy,” Brenda called, “here we are, the Minstrel’s rest Tavern in Meadowvale, your mansion awaits!” then she continued a little bit more sympathetically, “reckon you can get up for us?”

Pierce felt a bit stronger after the nap, so he nodded.

“Let me give you a hand then,” and Brenda’s hand, calloused from holding her hammer wrapped around his and she helped him lever himself up onto his feet. He was glad then of two things, first, he had been put to bed in his mage’s robes, so he wasn’t in a brand new town in his underwear, and secondly, that he had his mage’s staff with him to lean on. A mage could lean on his staff without being weak, after all, it was a vital component of arcane magic, and not just there to make sure he didn’t fall over.

Using his staff on his right side and with Brenda supporting his left, he managed to walk his way into the inn, but he was out of breath by the time he was seated on a comfy chair inside.

“Whew, I really did a number on myself”, and Pierce didn’t miss the glance that Brenda and Jack shared, as they went to get food for him from the kitchen.

Settled down with a bowl of hot stew, Piece got his breath back and had a look around.

The majority of soldiers wouldn’t stay in the inn, but the officers and other specialists would. It was partly a privilege, but also practicality, the rest of the soldiers would form a camp with the inn at the base, and it was a good central location to base lookouts and a guard around to protect the specialists and officers inside.

So Pierce began to recognise the people that came into the Inn after he was settled. There was Jamira, the leader of the illusionist group accompanying the army. Hers was the smallest number of specialists. If the army was 500 regular soldiers, as he expected it was, then there would be roughly 2 or 3 illusionists with them. None were at the level of Prism, who was a legend in Solana and was known to be able to summon giant representations of Sol’s heralds by herself, but they could aid the battle in many ways through distractions, traps and ambushes, as well as the occasional attack on the enemy.

Next to enter was Jeffrey, he was the leader of the clerics and the healers that were accompanying them. Normally the army brought a few clerics, maybe 4-5, to cast some holy magic for protection and healing, and then a larger number of regular healers, doctors, nurses and people to patch up scrapes, cuts and more mundane injuries.

Then there was Nathan, he was the only one so far wearing heavy armor, he led the mounted division of the army. Solanian troops were mostly based on foot soldiers fighting in defensive lines, aided by specialists. Nathan’s forces were there to punish enemies who didn’t engage with those lines, or who overcommitted into them. He was the hammer to the shieldwall’s anvil.

The hammer and anvil style was a necessity, because of the sort of fights that Solana often got into. When you were fighting a large demon or a brute, you wanted a big shield to your left, and your right, and someone who could stab the thing without getting hit themselves. They were also undisciplined and could often be corralled into chasing too far, or leaving a flank exposed, perfect for shock troops to exploit.

So Solana relied on the tried and tested shield wall lines, with spears behind them, and cavalry to make it work, but that wasn’t all there was to the fight. Every battle had roles for specialists, or highly talented soldiers. There was always some brute or demon that stood out from the crowd and had to be brought down by someone a bit more powerful than a regular soldier. That was often where Pierce and the other mages, or specially trained weapon masters came in.

Last to enter for now was his old friend, Mattias. Pierce might make fun of Mattias, but he had proven himself in the 10 years that they had been in service together, and he was trusted to command a division of troops by himself. Not a general yet, not a leader of grand armies, but most of Solana’s expeditions were small sorties and groups like this, so the division leaders were a highly trusted position and coveted role for advancement.

Mattias deserved the position, he had a way with people. You could tell he had been speaking to the troops outside, discussing problems with the camp and arranging things. He moved around the room putting this information to good use before he came to speak to Pierce.

Pierce heard him say something about a small disease outbreak that made Jeffery groan and get up to leave the Inn, then he reassured Nathan that he had made sure the kitchen was far enough away from the picket lines his horses were tied to.

To Jamira, he just nodded, and she nodded back, there wasn’t much for illusionists to do when they made camp. Then he paused as if he had a thought, and said “I know its been a long day, but there are a lot of children in this town… and we are disrupting them quite a bit today”

Jamira gave him a look, and then sighed. “Fine, tell them to dust off the stage in the town square, I’ll put something together after dark.”

Mattias grinned, “Great, some of the soldiers might even want to watch as well, it’s been a while since the last lightshow.”

Jamira rolled her eyes, but also smiled, keeping the locals happy and showing off was a part of her job she didn’t mind that much.

Then Mattias approached Pierce, and he could see the worry in his old friend’s eyes.

“Hey, glad to see you’re awake, how are you feeling?”

“Remember that time, your sister invited us to that brewery in the 5th district, and we were still there two days later”.

“I remember you throwing up so much you thought your stomach would come out” Mattias shot back.

“Exactly, I feel that empty now. Just like something has sapped the energy right out of me.”

“Ahh, I was afraid you would say that.” Mattias pulled up a chair and sat down across from Pierce, and looked him straight in the eyes.

“Look, I have very strict orders, things are very bad. There are multiple demonic portals that have opened across Solana, and the Brute’s are making a push in from the Savage lands again. We don’t think they are coordinating, thank Sol for that, but the timing couldn’t be worse.”

Pierce nodded, it wasn’t the first rough campaign they had seen in ten years, but it sounded like things were bad.

“That’s why we just have a division to take this portal and protect Eastmount ourselves. They are already under siege but they sent word with a magic message spell. We were sent to come in, break the siege, or at worst, punch through and get in the gates to reinforce the defenders until a larger force can come and relieve us. It depends on what we are facing. I was hoping to use your light wall, and light arrow spells to buy us a window to break through to the town, but… well my orders were clear. If you couldn’t support yourself or you were still tired by the time we reached Meadowvale then I was to leave you behind.”

If he could have, Pierce would have shot to his feet and started yelling.

“Leave me behind! But this is my division, I’ve served with this unit for almost a decade.”

“Yes and you can’t even stand up to yell at me.”

“We are still a day away, you can’t do this to me, I won’t be left behind!”

“You don’t have a choice, and don’t try and pretend you’ll be fit to follow after us. We are fast marching all day tomorrow, and we will be fighting as soon as we arrive.”

“But…” Pierce began to protest again, but Mattias silenced him with a look.

“You know I want nothing more than for you to be at my back raining Sol’s fury down on these demons, but you’re too valuable. So you’ll stay here, and be sent back by wagon in a day or two to get better in the city.”

“Wait wait, even if I’m sick, I can still do magic!” Pierce argued.

“Can you?” Mattias, laid down the challenge and then waited.

Pierce nodded, clearly his friend was giving him this last chance, to prove he could fight. He reached down inside himself to the well of aether that he used for his spells, it had always felt like a warm sunlight in summer, a gift from Sol. He found the well was nearly dry, there were flickers of the light he knew, but they were intangible and he couldn’t grasp them. Still he gathered what he could and tried to make a small light appear in between them. He made a flicker, and heard a fizz, and a little shape like a dragonfly’s tail buzzed around for a second before going out.

Mattias laughed for a second and then stopped when he saw the look on his friend’s face.

“This is what the cleric said, they even took you before the High Cleric, Jonathan himself, he said that it felt like that orb, whatever it was, had drained the aether and the mana out of you, and that, while he was certain it would come back, he couldn’t be sure. They took the orb to study, they think it was some kind of anti-mage trap, you know, put a phrase that would taunt even the most mighty of mages,” he winked at Pierce, reminding his friend for a second he had fallen for this huge trap,” to open it, and then it steals their mana and leaves them defenceless.”

Pierce didn’t think he agreed with that, he couldn’t deny the effects, but he had felt the energy from the orb, and he was positive it was a tool of Sol, not a trap. He said nothing though, now was not the time.

Pierce continued, mistaking Pierce’s silence for sadness, “Look, he said it would come back, I’m sure you’ll be back to your usual light slinging self soon, but you need rest, and you can’t get that when there is a horde of demons charging straight at us. I’m sorry, it won’t be the same without you, I’ll have to adjust my tactics and put Simon in charge of the other mages.”

Pierce grimaced at that, “Simon, really? Is there no one better?” Pierce grinned at him again “Look I know you don’t get along, but he is a decent mage, from a tactical perspective.” Simon and Pierce had been rivals in the mage school, and although Pierce had run rings around him magically, Simon had been the more socially adept and had often corralled his large friend group into not so friendly pranks on the more intelligent boy.

Pierce again shifted from friend to commander, as he had to do many times during this conversation. “Look, your disagreements should have ended when you enlisted, you’ve served together before, and he is a good mage. So if you have any practical advice for him, or for me in terms of how to use his skills, say so.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Just remember he is better defensively than offensively, but he doesn’t always realise that himself. You need to make sure he sends David to actually cast the offensive magic, and casts the shields himself rather than getting carried away.”

“Okay, thanks I’ll make sure of it.” Mattias nodded, taking the advice to heart. “Now you finish your food, I’ve got them to give you a ground floor room. We’ll all be staying the night if you need anything, and then I’ll arrange for your transport before we leave in the morning.” With that Mattias stood up to go back outside.

Pierce called out and stopped him.

“Mattias, wait, are you sure I can’t come?”

“Yes, only Sol knows what’s waiting for us, but I don’t have room for people who can’t protect themselves. I’m sorry old friend.”

Pierce nodded then, and called out as Mattias left, “Actually, I need some help getting to bed, can you send Brenda back later”.

“Sure” came the reply back through the door.

And then Pierce was alone, cursing his own misfortune. Well, he would tell anyone who asked that it was misfortune, but actually this was all his own doing. His own curiosity, his own arrogance to think that whatever blessing of the “True Arcanum” had been in that box would be super easy for him, the grand magus, Pierce to handle. Instead it had left him crippled and magic-less at a time when his friend’s needed him the most.

He was in a foul mood, and called out to the innkeeper, who had been smartly keeping his head down during the entire previous discussion, to bring him something alcoholic. Brenda found him two beers later, which in his weakened state was enough to make him a bit mad.

“Brenda, great, I need your help.” he called out. The Inn was starting to fill up again with the officers and specialists and Brenda had come to find him again, and help him to bed.

“Yes I know, your majesty, lets get you to bed”. Despite her mocking tone, she lifted him gently and helped carry him into his room.

“You’ll need your rest if you’re going to be well enough for the fight.” she said as she helped him into the bed.

“No I won’t, I’m not coming.” Pierce complained.

“What, but you are our best mage?”

“I’m too sick unfortunately, the clerics have ordered me on bed rest, when I should 100% be going with you! Mattias is insisting I stay here and sleep it off.”

Brenda looked at him confused, “I mean, I know you’re sick and all, you’ve been asleep most of the day and half-delirious, but that doesn’t matter does it?”

“What do you mean?” Pierce replied.

“Well , you’re a mage, surely it doesn’t matter if you’re sick, or you break your toe, or you can’t breathe right, you just point and make a spell happen. I thought it was all in here, not here,” and she pointed to his head and then his chest.

Pierce thought for a second, she didn’t realise he couldn’t cast magic, she just assumed that the state of his body didn’t matter. Pierce didn’t feel good about what came next, but he had to go with them.He was sure when it came down to it, his magic would come back, and they would need him where they were going.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I told Mattias, who cares if I need a nap before the fight as long as I can blast some demons off your back.”

Brenda nodded, “Exactly, and Sol knows you’ve done that plenty of times over the years. You’ve even saved Mattias more times than I can count, I can’t believe he’d leave you behind.”

“Yeah it’s a bit unfair, if only we could do something about it…” Pierce gave Brenda a sly grin.

She realised what he meant immediately, and paused for a second. “Well I don’t know, Mattias is our commander. It could be lots of trouble to go against his orders.”

Pierce felt even worse about what he said next, but he absolutely had to go, he had a bad feeling about this whole situation and the way Mattias had spoken about the incursion, he had to be there to help.

“Yeah I know, but it will be worth it when I pull him out of the fire again. I always pull you out of it too, I always make sure you get home to Peter.”

Name dropping her son made him feel horrible, but it was also true, he had saved them all many times and Peter likely wouldn’t have a living mother if Pierce hadn’t been there with her on the front lines. They both knew that, which made her decision easy really. Yes her officer had made a call, but they could be wrong, and Pierce was one of the smartest people in the unit, he wouldn’t do something dumb like show up to a fight when he couldn’t help.

Pierce imagined all of this logic played out in her head, before she just nodded, and said “Fine, we’ll sneak you back into the wagon in the morning. The officers won’t check it, we are all marching instead so you’ll be in with the supplies we picked up in Meadowvale, might not be as comfy but you’ll get there, and if Mattias asks, you got some help from the locals, not from me!”

“Absolutely Brenda, I wouldn’t say anything less.”

With the plan agreed, Brenda left the room quickly, to avoid giving even the hint of an extended conspiracy. Pierce breathed a sigh of relief when she left, he was so glad this had worked and he wouldn’t be left behind while Mattias ran off to do something stupid without him. Part of him was also certain that it was an overreaction, and he swore he could feel his magic coming back to him.

“By the time we have to fight I’ll be ready”, he said to reassure himself, and then to make that promise come true, he went to sleep.

Brenda woke him the next morning, she was holding a white sack and Jack was with her. He managed to get out of bed by himself, and he genuinely did feel an energy coming back to him that had been missing yesterday. Both the soldiers noticed too and it further reinforced Brenda’s conviction that she was doing the right thing.

“It’s good we waited a bit, Mattias stuck his head in, but you were still asleep.” Mattias had stuck his head in, and also left a letter addressed to him on his nightstand. Though it read, “Pierce, Open if the worst happens, Mattias”. Ahh, it was one of those letters. Pierce wouldn’t read it, that was completely against the agreement soldiers had, so he put it in his pocket and then let himself and his staff be loaded into the sack.

He felt himself being carried and then he was slung into the back of a wagon onto some bales of hay. Then Brenda said a bit too loud to be an accident “I’ll just load the last crate or two onto the wagon and then it’s good to go.” Pierce heard something large being slid into place, and then he undid the top of the sack and extracted himself.

He was in a small hollowed out area in between hay bales and some fresh produce. Brenda was a practical sort, and you could tell she had kids because she didn’t blush over the basic needs of the body. He had a bag of supplies, some paper, and even a bucket. He knew what the bucket was for but he hoped to himself they would be where they were going before he needed it.

All in all, it was quite a cosy area, there was even a pillow and a blanket that he could lie down on, which is exactly what he did. His energy had gotten him through this initial journey, but it had faded a little bit, so he stretched out and went back to sleep.

He awoke to the sound of shouting, and the wagon being taken off road and upwards. It seemed that the army was headed uphill to gain a vantage point or some high ground, he had no way of knowing. The wagon hit a rock, and he almost got crushed by a wayward hay bale that rolled off towards him, but thankfully it settled before it could do any damage.

The wagon jolted to a stop, and Pierce waited trying to hear what was going on. He heard marching feet, and a sergeant calling for lines to be formed. That meant there was a potential danger nearby, rather than just making camp in a friendly location. Had they arrived at Eastmount already?

It seemed like an age went by with the sounds of marching feet and people setting up camp. Then he heard running feet, and then supplies were being unloaded. He was wary at first until Brenda poked her head through a gap in the crates.

“Good, you’re still alive in there. Look, we are going to get you out, there’s a tent you can go to, but I’m going to warn you, things look bad out here.” With that warning, she moved the last crate needed and reached in to help pull him out. They moved quickly, keeping an eye out for Mattias and other officers. Brenda led him to a tent near the edge of the camp, but as they came around a corner he could see off the top of the hill and he froze in shock.

He knew there would be demons, but he hadn’t expected this. They were on a hill, the last rise the road had to climb over before it came to Eastmount. The town itself was on the last hill at the edge of a rolling countryside and after the hill the town was on the ground wound itself down into into a broad plain, so it rose above the surrounding countryside. Keep going through the plain and you’d hit Volcor, but it was a long way through farmlands and empty savannah to reach the other side. Its position on the edge of a defensible region, close to the edge of the borderlands between Solana and Volcor meant the town had walls, there were fires all over them now.

The plains below the city were filled with demons. They were heaving and moving so he couldn’t count but he’d have to guess there were at least 5,000, they were outnumbered 10 to 1.

They hadn’t taken the town yet though. It seemed that much, like the soldiers they had only just arrived, though whatever portal had brought them here had closed behind them. In a matter of time they would encircle the town and begin to tear down its walls.

“Hey! Don’t just stand there, we’ll get caught.” Brenda whispered loudly at him, as she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the tent.

“Look, just stay in here, I’ll keep you informed of what’s going on, just get ready for a fight.”

With that she left, and it wasn’t bad advice. If he knew Mattias he wasn’t about to sit back and watch a town be slaughtered, so there would definitely be fighting, and he had to be able to help.

He tried to cast a simple spell, but like it had with Mattias, it sparked and fizzed out quickly. He felt inside himself and his aether well still felt depleted, despite the fact that he now felt rested and much more capable of moving around.

So he sat down on a cushion, crossed his legs, and closed his eyes. This was the most basic of mage training, he had started it when he was 8. He reached out around him, and began to draw the aether from the land and the soil inside. There was always latent magic in the ground, it was present in all things in the world in trace amounts and the simple act of living, breathing, moving generated sparks of it that a trained mage could gather.

Even doing this, it felt like his usual sources weren’t providing the steady stream that he was used to, but he did find some, and when he was finished he felt like he had a decent well of aether. Not enough for a sustained fight, but it was a start.

He took a break and drank some water and sat down to continue. People who got bored of meditating did not last long in mage training.

—

Back in the capital, deep within the earth of the citadel, and under the great library is a place where relics of power are stored. It is called the Signarus and its existence is known only by the highest ranking members of Solana.

Within a chamber of this, researchers, clerics and other experts are clustered around a strange orb, which is levitating on a pedestal in the middle of the room. The orb is the size of a large melon, maybe a watermelon. It looks like it could be glass or some sort of polished gemstone, though the external surface also had pits, and dents. It was not wholly smooth like glass might be. It emitted a glowing yellow light, and inside the orb was a swirling golden mist or sand, that blew in circles around the inside of the orb.

The lead cleric is pacing frantically back and forth, looking frustrated.

“It’s been 3 days! What do you mean you don’t know what it is or what it does?”

“I’m sorry,” said the head researcher, “I consulted with the Librarians, there is no record of this anywhere in the Library.” She threw up her hands, “oh we have references to magic orbs of light, and lighted orbs of magic, and orbs filled with light, but all of those talk about objects conjured or created by priests, mages or paladins. None of them talked about a permanent object with this kind of aura. It would help if we knew its name…”

“Well we’ve had people go through that entire room, there is no mention or reference to anything there, just the arcane runes that Pierce found and even they are gone now. So all we have is that quote, ‘Here lies a blessing of the true arcanum, yet only the most stalwart of the faithful of Sol could hope to bear its light.’ What could that even mean? What could the ‘true arcanum’ be?”

The lead researcher looked a little embarrassed, “Well as you know,” and she looked around the room, “seeing as we are here with only those who would know the secret history, do you think it has something to do with the banished ones? You know, the mages that left to go to Demonastery?”

That brought a dark cloud over the lead cleric’s face. “We’d better hope not, because our brightest rising star of a mage was exposed to it. Besides, those people were corrupted, and this is an artifact of pure light, we can tell that much at least.”

The lead researcher nodded, “Yes whatever, it is, we can detect no demonic corruption from it, it definitely has light imbued into it, and there are traces of soul magic interwoven into it, as well as something more divine.”

“So we can conclude that this is definitely an artifact of Sol, like the others in the hands of our heroes, you know, the safe ones, not the ones we keep in the vault?” The cleric replied.

“Yes, but we have documents about those relics, and how they were handled, or how they chose a wielder. None of them, and I mean none, have harmed the person that picked them up, whether they were the right person or the wrong one. Sure the wrong person picked up The Dawnblade once, and immediately felt the blade wanting to be put down again. So they did. Raydn was just a hilt in the wrong hands. This burned Pierce, it burned the aether well right out of him. It hadn’t recovered when he left, he was still drained and in bed remember?” Just as the researcher finished speaking, the orb did something strange, it bounced in the air, and then shook a little.

Both the cleric and the researcher jumped back. “What was that, what did you do?” The cleric asked but the researcher shook her head.

“Nothing, it must just be reacting to something we can’t see.” They both waited but the orb did not move again, so they relaxed and continued the conversation.

“Look you know what I want, did this attune with Pierce, is this a weapon he can use somehow, or is it dangerous?” The cleric turned to the heart of this entire investigation, had Pierce accidentally discovered some ancient magical relic that would put him on par with some of the other living legends of Solana, or had he damaged himself touching some kind of worthless trap.

The researcher pursed her lips, and thought for a moment. “I genuinely don’t know, it hurt him, but that might have been some sort of attunement test, and he survived… Or it might be that was its way of forcefully rejecting him. The only way to know is to expose him to it again, but then that risks him…”

The cleric shook his head, “not now, maybe when this current wave of invasions has calmed down we can put some time aside to experiment with him, but now we need him healed on the front lines.”

Just then the orb shook again, then it let out a low screeching sound, and disappeared with a pop.

“What in Sol’s name just happened?” the researcher yelled, with uncharacteristic volume.

“You tell me!” the cleric replied.

“Maybe it was temporary after all?”

“Or maybe its gone back to the vault where it was before?”

“We’ll have to check it out”.

Though as they would discover, it was neither of those things.

—

Pierce was disturbed from his meditation by a loud pop. He had been straining as it was becoming harder and harder to draw the latent magic into him. Frustratingly it had been slipping away, like he could only store so much before it fled from his grasp.

He opened his eyes, and saw the source of the sound, floating in the air above his upturned palm, was the very same orb that had caused this mess in the first place.

Pierce was instantly wary of touching it, in case he got burnt again. So he tried to stand up and move around the orb, but it followed him, and as it did it grazed the edge of his arm… and nothing. No fire, no surge of burning energy, just a light warmth, like the heat of a spring sunshine shining down on a windless day. Not the heat of summer, but not cool either.

That made him calm down a bit, and take stock of what he knew. This item, whatever it was, had been safely in Solana, he was sure it would have been in a lab being prodded and studied to try and find out what it had done, and how it could be used. It was now here.

He extrapolated that he must have summoned it somehow. Maybe the mental strain he had been exerting to pull the aether into him, had been a similar feeling to what was needed to control the orb.

He waved his hand horizontally though the air, slowly, and the orb followed his outstretched palm. Pierce was glad it was levitating because it looked heavy. Then he tried slowing his breathing, and calming his mind, pausing the background aether drain he had been doing almost unconsciously all this time. He waved his hand again, and the orb did not move, it stayed completely still.

He took two paces backwards, held his palm outstretched again, and then thought about pulling the orb towards him. Not draining aether from the area, but just focusing on the orb. It immediately began to drift towards him until it rested floating above his hand.

“Huh, neat” was all he could think of to say as he sat down again. This orb had caused him so much trouble, but was invariably bonded to him, which was an exciting premise. He knew the stories as well as any child of Solana, some of the greatest tales of legend were not just of a legendary warrior, but also of the tool they used.

But if that was true, why were there no stories of Someone the great wizard and their magic orb. The only real wizard in the legends was Artoras, and he was well known for having a magic staff which was on the wall of the citadel to this day. Every new mage was exposed to it, Pierce himself had been made to pick up the staff, but as yet, even after 400 years, the staff had not chosen a new partner.

This orb had chosen him, but no one knew what it was yet. He was sure that someone would find some dusty tome in the back of the library soon, and they would tell him all the previously researched details and why it had burned him.

That was the measure of his faith, he trusted that this was a tool of Sol. If it had hurt him, then it was likely an accident, or there was an explanation. If he was bonded with it, then there was a purpose to it, and there was going to be a reason. He had to believe that he was here in this moment with this orb and his skills to push forwards

After an hour of trying to probe it with his magical senses, he punched the ground in frustration. Nothing! Yes, he could sense some well of magical energy within the orb, but he couldn’t access it. What’s more, as he had focused on the orb some of the reserves of aether he had pulled into had started to leak out. It was like his body was rejecting the very energy he had been wielding since he was a child.

He was about to try and punt the orb out of the tent in frustration, when he heard a susurration through the camp and the tend flaps pulled back. It was Brenda!

“He’s a damn fool!” she said in a loud whisper.

“What, what is going on?” Pierce replied.

“The demon’s haven’t spotted us yet, they look like they only just got dropped here, they are still disorientated.” That made sense, Pierce knew that often it took the demons time to acclimatise to being in a new land that wasn’t filled with their corruption.

“So what, he can’t be meaning to attack that?” Pierce was shocked, they were vastly outnumbered and the confusion wouldn’t last long if they engaged.

“No, he wants to rush into the city, he wants to join Eastmount behind the walls.”

“Ah…” Pierce could see it all now. It was not Solanian campaign doctrine to waste lives defending outer cities that could not be saved. Normally that wasn’t a problem, the forces were smaller and the army could send more troops. During a crisis like this though, the instructions were clear. Engage when you can, sacrifice what you must, harry the enemy and retreat to the capital. Solanian tactics would have Mattias turn his group around, and begin laying traps, evacuating towns with populations that could be saved, and accept the loss of Eastmount with gratitude for the time it bought everyone else. It was harsh, but it was practical, and when you were fighting an enemy who seemed to never stop, practicality was all that saved you.

“But he can’t imagine, even with our help, that the city can hold.” Pierce said, his own confusion creeping into his voice.

“Mattias said it didn’t matter, he said that this sort of an army wouldn’t be slowed enough by the town’s garrison alone, no one behind us would have time to retreat. Without our help reinforcing them, this force would be at the gates of Solana in a day.”

So that was it, sacrificing this division of the hand of Sol, to buy time for Solana to be warned, and for other villages like Meadowvale to evacuate. Not an easy choice, but a general’s choice.

Pierce nodded then, now he understood, “If that is what he has said, then that is what must happen. Brenda will you help get me down there?”

That request seemed to shake her out of her worry, she looked at him with incredulous eyes.

“Even after seeing that, you still want to come? Even if you aren’t at full strength? No, go back to the city and heal, defend the capital!”

Pierce shook his head “No, after seeing that, we both know I am needed here to do what I can.” Hopefully that included managing to cast a spell, was the part he didn’t say out loud.

Brenda saw the resolute look on his face and nodded, and then threw him a bundle she had been carrying. It was a long cleric’s cloak with a hood. Then she grinned, “Somehow I thought you’d not take no for an answer. This will do you until we get to the town, but change quickly, we are moving out now. We aren’t even bringing the tents, just food, in case this somehow turns into a siege.”

With that Pierce pulled the white cloak over his own robes, it was hot but he could manage, and they went outside the tent to join the ranks of soldiers forming up for a quick march to the city.

They were in loose ranks, but emphasis was on speed, but Pierce did see some groups breaking off from the camp. Riders on horseback headed to bring the news to other towns and make sure the message got through to Solanian command, and also smaller groups who were avoiding meeting eyes with any of the marchers. Ahh, Pierce thought, so this is one of those ‘everybody needs to volunteer’ kind of things, where everyone volunteered out of social pressure. Those were likely the ones with young families who couldn’t afford to die here, and Pierce wished them the best. It wasn’t the wrong choice they were making, if anything they were the smart ones, and the marchers were the idiots. No one in Solanian command would judge them for turning around now and following proper doctrine, but these were career soldiers and they had pledged their lives to protect the people of Solana, and that meant something. It meant something to him as well, it meant even though he didn’t know if he could do magic, he was willing to march into a losing battle and see what he could do, with an untested unusable orb, and a wish and a prayer.