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Copyright © 2006 – 2008
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- The battle, Sir, is not to the strong alone;
- it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
-Patrick Henry
Blood Magic
Kadin and Alaric were saddened to see their friend Evan ride off into the forest, but as a side effect of clearing the area of dark creatures, father and son were able to return to their cabin in the deep woods, where they resumed their normal activities with a great deal of satisfaction. In short order, the garden had been plowed and planted, the livestock restored to the pasture, and the furs they had managed to obtain before the area had been overrun were taken to market in Kelandra via portal. Given the siege of Caemlann, quality fur pelts were relatively scarce this season, which led to some profitable trades, despite the short trapping season.
While in Kelandra, Alaric and Kadin had an enjoyable visit with King Eloron and his family, bringing the king up to date with the events that had transpired over the preceding winter. Eloron was amazed at how well Kadin had done while in command and lavished thanks and honor on the young Alvar prince, who simply blushed at the praise, and pointed out that he had some great advisors to fall back on.
At hearing this comment, Alaric snorted, “He may have had good advisors, majesty, but it is also true that our young prince made up his own mind about things, even overriding his father on any number of occasions, doing things his own way, even when we collectively thought he was nuts. Still, I have to admit he was right far more often than he was wrong, and even when he misjudged things, his tactics tended to be unconventional enough that the orc and goblin leadership had no clue how to react.”
Eloron smiled indulgently at Kadin and his father, “It is true that neither of us would have done some of the things Kadin did, my old friend. Still, there is no arguing with success.” The king reached out and raised Kadin’s chin so they were looking in each other’s eyes before continuing, “Just remember, Kadin, that tactics like that would have gotten you into trouble with human, Alvar, or dwarven troops and leaders, who are taught to take the initiative, and to think on their feet.”
Kadin acknowledged the gentle rebuke from the king graciously, knowing him to be right. After spending several more pleasant days in the comfort and ease of the palace, father and son took their leave from the king, saying that if they stayed any longer, their garden would be overrun with weeds, and the cattle would likely be eating anything the weeds hadn’t killed.
Once back in their home in the Forest of Erinor, things quickly settled back into their normal routine, and the garden was quickly put to right. A couple of hunts replenished the cold cellar, meaning the pair were once again eating very well.
Kadin resumed working his way through Alaric’s library of spell books, now studying and practicing the advanced master level magic he was now capable of executing. Alaric, not forgetting the blood relic they had captured, had placed a book of spells in front of Kadin dealing specifically with blood magic. Kadin knew something of the power of blood magic, having experienced the forces unleashed in the elvin blood bonding ceremony he performed on his adopted father and mentor, Alaric. The spell had changed his father to his very core, making him over and creating an Alvar prince with the knowledge and abilities shared in common by all elvin men: something that when combined with his abilities as a master shaman, made him an incredibly powerful being, and one of the most powerful in all the eleven kingdoms.
As the young Alvar prince read and absorbed the information on what could be accomplished with a little blood, Alaric was moving around the kitchen, preparing a fine meal for their mutual dining pleasure. As dinner finished cooking, Alaric moved the roast, potatoes, carrots, and onions to the table, before heading to the cold room to pull two pints of ale to go with the fine meal on the table. As was usually the case, Alaric had to walk over and physically take the book away from Kadin in order to get the boy’s attention focused on dinner, but once the book was placed in the bookcase, Kadin realized how hungry he truly was, and the pair sat down and enjoyed the fine meal Alaric had prepared, while talking over the day to day things that had been done that morning, and the things yet to be done.
“Well, my son, did you find anything of interest in the book you were studying?” Alaric inquired.
Kadin thought for a moment, slowly savoring his dinner before replying, “I found something that might be of help, Dad. There is a locator spell in the book that would enable us to use my old dagger as a means to locate Farwalker Redbush, no matter where he was hiding. It seems pretty safe overall, unlike some of the spells I read about.”
Alaric paused to sip his ale, clearly pleased that Kadin had caught the potential threats involved in the use of blood magic. Assuming an air of ignorance, Alaric replied, “What do you mean, Kadin?”
Kadin’s face took on the faintly amused expression that meant he knew his dad was fully aware of the risks, but wanted to hear what Kadin had learned to drive the point home. “Well, Dad, I haven’t finished the book yet, but it is clear that blood magic is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it gives its practitioner great power over the person whose blood he has, but it is also clear that great care must be taken in its use. The person attempting the magic must be fully shielded, and must extend the control links carefully, lest the intrusions be detected by the other person. If that person is more powerful, and the spell is detected, that other spellcaster could, conceivably, turn the spell back on the original caster.”
“And why is that, my son?” Alaric followed up.
“It is possible, Dad, because the spell caster must employ a small amount of his or her own blood to enable the spell to work, meaning the link provides access both ways. Strong shields are the only defense the caster has if detected. There’s also another problem, especially with the darker, more morally questionable spells, because the caster, through his blood, is sacrificing a part of himself, and his soul, to powers that are questionable, at best.”
Alaric nodded his approval, but clarified by telling his son, “Kadin, the questionable ethics of blood magic are partly tied up with the intent of the magic. Those who use the old magic for dark ends are, indeed, sacrificing themselves and their very souls to the beings that inhabit the lower planes of existence. On the other hand, if done for the greater good, and by invoking gods like Vindayin, those spells have the effect of binding the caster closer to the light. As we’ve discussed many times my son, intent is the core of whether magic is good or evil, and why it should never be employed in anger or hate. Did you find anything else?”
Kadin paused to take a long draft of his ale before replying, “One other spell caught my eye, Dad. There is a far-seeing spell that enables the caster to see things through the eyes of the person whose blood is in use. The spell is lighter than most, and is supposed to be one that can be applied without the victim’s knowledge. It can be cast at will, but is only recommended for short term use. The pitfall is that too much use could begin merging the souls of both the caster and his target.”
“Very well, son, I see you’ve learned to approach these spells with great caution, but I agree with you that we should cast the locater spell so that we can keep close tabs on where Redbush is lurking.”
After dinner that very night, safely protected within a pair of the most powerful shield spells known to father and son, Kadin took up the dagger they had carefully hidden away and passed it to Alaric, who removed the stasis spell with an ease that bespoke long experience. While Alaric held the dagger, taking care not to touch any of the now glistening blood, Kadin, using his new dagger, carefully pricked the end of his index finger, squeezed the tip of the finger until a drop of blood appeared, and then carefully touched his finger to a portion of the blade covered with the blood of Farwalker Redbush, and immediately withdrew his finger. Kadin now took the lead, cupping his hands beneath the dagger, close to, but not quite touching the blade.
Kadin willed his signet ring into existence, using the gemstone as a focus to trigger the light trancelike state he needed to work this kind of magic, and began to intone, “I invoke the protections of Vindayin, Goddess of the forest and green places, as we will that which is covered in the blood of the enemy to reveal his presence, wherever, and whenever he might be.” As Kadin spoke, his hands slowly glowed crimson as his nimbus of power manifested itself over the dagger held above his hands.
“As it was in ancient time, so shall it be now! Fiat, fiat, fiat, voluntuas mea!”
Kadin’s nimbus of power flashed a brilliant white, momentarily blinding both of the men working in the warded circle. When both could see once again, Alaric quickly restored the stasis field over the dagger, preserving the blood for future uses, before handing the dagger to his son. As soon as Kadin took the dagger and placed the hilt of the dagger on the flat of his palm, the tip of the blade pivoted, like the needle of a compass, unerringly pointing to the northeast.
Several weeks passed, engaged in the routine work of the homestead, hunting, caring for the pasture animals and the gardens, as well as routinely harvesting their patch of golden cremini mushrooms. Knowing they were enjoying a brief respite before the storm, both father and son studied and practiced their martial skills, exercising their skills with weapons mundane and magical. Alaric was greatly impressed with Kadin’s progress in both areas as the youth absorbed entire volumes of magical lore while also continuing to demonstrate his growing skills with edged weapons of every type. Alaric watched Kadin from the corner of his eye as both worked through the taichee kara’te routine Kadin had taught his father, as well as the sword dance Alaric had taught the son. His practiced eye took note of how the youth’s frame and muscles had hardened and grown over the last year, the strength of the young body showing as he smoothly and confidently moved through the complicated routines, the muscles of his supple frame rippling as he flowed gracefully from movement to movement.
Kadin’s skills in the ars magica continued to grow as well. As Kadin learned and practiced more and more master level spells, the pair spent a great deal of time learning to fight as a team, each covering and complimenting the other as their skills neared parity. Kadin was far more powerful than Alaric, something that awed the master shaman. The youth was able to continue to cast incredibly complicated spells long after the master had exhausted his daily reserves of magical energy. It seemed, in fact, that the more Kadin practiced and stretched his abilities, the more his stores of magical energy grew to support the needs he placed on them: something unheard of in the world of the shaman.
As the season began to move from spring into summer, Alaric decided to take Kadin to the shaman guildhouse in Caemlann to test for his master levels and the pair were packing a few things as they were planning to stay several days, catching up on what had been happening in Kronar and the other ten kingdoms with their friend, Baron Kovak. As Kadin strode into the great room, bag in hand, he saw his father stiffen in surprise just as he too, sensed the intrusion in the wards surrounding their homestead. Without a word between them, both dropped the bags they had prepared and ran for weapons, both strapping on their katanas and running for the door.
Exiting the cabin, the pair ran to the northeast, moving from cover to cover as quickly and quietly as only a member of an elvin race could. As they neared the point the intrusion had been sensed, the pair slowed, readying defensive shield spells and drawing their swords, advancing with naked steel in hand. Kadin and Alaric continued forward towards the low sounds of guttural speech as they prepared to engage those encroaching on their home with powerful offensive magic, for the wards surrounding the property would not react so violently to the presence of friends: no, the beings sensed ahead could only be members of one of the dark races as a direct result.
Kadin followed his father around the drooping branches of a massive Hinoke Cypress, his father’s sudden intake of breath alerting him that they were in for a fight. Easing clear of his father, Kadin saw what had concerned his father, a group of ten cloaked figures gathered around a tree trunk examining a map. Now that Kadin and Alaric were close enough to hear the conversation clearly, the identity of the beings were given away by the slight sibilance in their speech, which in and of itself would not have branded them enemies, but the black scaled hand pointing to the map clearly marked the intruders as beings forbidden, not just from their homestead, but from the kingdom of Kronar and all the free kingdoms: for they were, in fact, black dragonlings.
The pair drew back to a place of concealment from which they could overhear the conversation without being seen. As they listened, it became clear that the dragonlings had been dispatched by Farwalker Redbush to do two things: kill Kadin and his father, and to recover the dagger that was stained with the blood of the master druid. Knowing at last what was afoot, the pair slipped back towards their home, stopping in a clearing where they could surprise their unwanted guests.
Once in position, both prepared the sealing spells for the duel arcane and reviewed the series of combat spells that Kadin had learned in Sarffgadau, confident that they were, at last, the magical equals of dragonkind, having learned their combat spells during their stay with the gold and silver dragons. The pair cast concealment charms to prevent their presence being detected prematurely, and then settled in to wait the arrival of their opponents.
Their wait was not a long one, as shortly after casting their concealment spells, the crashing and crunching of undergrowth heralded the approach of the powerful, if graceless creatures. Once they were fully into the clearing, a few magical words surrounded the clearing with a pair of magical ward circles, one emerald green, and the inner circle glowing crimson red. The dragonlings stopped dead in their tracks, their jaws dropping open, revealing their overlapping razor-sharp teeth, their tongues flicking in and out as they scented the air for whatever had imprisoned them in wards even they could not break.
Kadin watched his father out of the corner of his eye, and at a nod from Alaric, both dropped the concealment spells and stepped forward, their shields glowing in a nimbus of raw power, Alaric’s emerald green, and Kadin’s crimson red.
Alaric strode forward, throwing the glove from his left hand at the feet of the largest of the dragonlings, declaring in a powerful clear voice, “You have no place here, creatures of darkness. As you have noticed, you have been enclosed by wards that are beyond even your vaunted abilities to break. I am the Master Shaman Alaric, Baron of Erinor, Prince of the house of Aradan, and I not only challenge your right to traverse these, my lands, I challenge your leader to the duel arcane. You must accept or be known through all the lands as craven and cowardly.”
At the completion of this challenge, Alaric raised his arms towards the heavens, and when he had completed his move, there stood a half circle of brightly glowing emerald green, waiting to be joined by the matching spell from his challenged opponent.
Before the astonished dark dragonlings could even begin to respond, Kadin stepped forward, and like his father, threw his left glove at the feet of the next largest dragonling. “As you have broken the banishment placed upon you and your kind after the last great rising of the dark, I too challenge your right to be here in this place. I am the Shaman Kadin, Crown Prince of the Greenwood, and a General officer in the armies of the kingdom of Kronar. I challenge the creature before me to pick up my gauge and the challenge it represents, or be known throughout the lands as craven, coward, and without honor.”
Like Alaric, Kadin too raised his arms towards the heavens, raising a half sphere of brightly glowing crimson fire, awaiting the acceptance of the challenged dragonling.
The lead, and largest, of the black dragonlings reached down and picked up the glove thrown his way by Alaric, a look of disbelief on his face. Never in his long memory had a pair of mortals challenged one of his kind to the duel arcane. The fact these two had done so meant they were either clearly insane, or that they knew the secrets to defeating those of dragonkind. Still, knowing that his position in the hierarchy of the black dragons demanded he accept without hesitation, the creature stepped forward.
“I am Tonodo, Guard Captain to his dark majesty, Angkalon the Black. I accept your challenge, mortal. You shall soon regret this challenge for, as your masters should have taught you, we of dragonkind are immune to human magic. Name your terms.”
Alaric replied calmly, further unnerving his opponent. “My terms are these: combat will be to the death of one of us and you will cast spells that, should I succeed in killing you, will destroy half the remaining number of your company. You will accept these terms since, if I fail, you will have succeeded in completing one third of the tasks your foul masters have set for you.”
Tonodo nodded his acceptance of the terms, and cast enchantments that would, as Alaric and Kadin both knew, end the existence of four of the remaining company of dragonlings, something they knew as well given the mutinous rumblings from Tonodo’s subordinates, mutterings that he silenced with a roar. The spells completed, Tonodo too, raised his arms skyward, casting the sealing spell, enjoining and sealing the terms of the duel arcane. The point where his circle of black joined with Alaric’s emerald ward, the contact joint sizzled and sparked, a narrow line of golden fire indicating that the ward was, in fact, complete. The ward raised not only protected observers from the extreme magic that was to be thrown around, it also kept those same observers from attempting to interfere.
The second largest of the dragonlings stepped forward with Kadin’s glove in hand and, confident in his ability to overwhelm the young Alvar prince before him stated, “I am Yache, Guard Lieutenant to his dark majesty, Angkalon the Black. I too, accept your challenge to the duel arcane. State your terms, mortal.”
In a quiet calm voice, Kadin replied, “My terms are the same as my father’s. You will cast enchantments that will destroy the four remaining dragonlings of your company. You will accept, since if you succeed, you too, will have accomplished one third of the tasks your black-hearted masters set for you.”
Yache stared at the coolly confident youth before him before shaking his head and smiling evilly. “I require a counter term, mortal. Should I win, you will tell me where the dagger lies hidden.”
Without a word, Kadin reached into his cloak and withdrew his old dagger, the blade gleaming wickedly red in the crimson glow of the wards. “The dagger you seek is here on my person, Yache. All you have to do to get it is to kill me. Accept the terms.”
While the evil smile spread across the broad triangular head of his opponent, Kadin risked a look at the circle where his father battled his opponent. The very air between the two of the combatants was alive with magical energy, the golden line of fire gradually moving back and forth as the edge in the combat moved back and forth between the two beings locked in mortal combat.
Yache considered the terms a moment before casting the enchantments that would destroy the other four dragonlings should he fail. Once ready, without a word, he nodded his acceptance of the terms and joined his dark ward with Kadin’s crimson one. Like the first ward cast, this too had a sparkling golden line indicating that the ward had been properly completed. Kadin strengthened his shields and braced himself, knowing that as challenged, Yache had the right of first strike, an advantage he knew the dark creature would never pass up.
Yache muttered to himself and, gathering a great wall of roiling gray energy, threw his arms towards Kadin, hurling the gray wall of power towards his much smaller opponent: a wall of force intended to crush the youth. Kadin reached out and seized control of the spell, then threw it back at the astonished dragonling so quickly the dragonling was knocked from his feet. Quick as thought, Kadin began the series of spells he had learned from Galeru, king of the silver dragons.
The spells struck home on the astonished dragonling, who was so astonished at a mere mortal knowing these spells that he was struck dumb as the second in the series of spells struck home, wrenching a keening cry of agony from the lizard-like creature, who found himself dying so unexpectedly, as Kadin struck with the third and final of the spells. As this spell began, a glowing shield wall solidified between Kadin and Yache, and began moving inexorably towards the dragonling lieutenant.
As in the combat between King Galeru and his opponent Vinuati, each time the shield wall touched Yache, the dragonling roared forth with pain and frustration that a mere mortal should have been able to do such a thing to him, a member of the royal guard. Yache threw every bit of magic he had against the slowly advancing wall of death, as he backed farther and farther away from it, at last finding himself backed against the unyielding wall of the ward circle. As the shield brought the duel to its inevitable conclusion, and Yache disappeared in a brilliant flash of white light, Kadin stabilized his personal shields, knowing that the ward would collapse once Yache died, and that the four surviving dragonlings might attempt to lash out at him, honor or not.
The shield wall destroyed Yache, and since the terms of the duel arcane had been satisfied, the ward winked out of existence, allowing Kadin to see what was happening outside the ward circle once again. He saw that, as agreed, four of the dragonlings were dead, and that the other four were looking on in fear as Alaric battered Tonodo into submission, his shield wall advancing on the massive dragonling, the advance being marked to outside observers by the movement of the golden demarcation line away from Alaric and ever closer to Tonodo as the glowing shield wall closed in on his massive opponent.
At long last, Tonodo was backed into his own black ward, his black scaled form twisting and turning as he sought to escape the fate grinding closer to his heart with each passing second. Finally, the shield wall burned its way through to the heart of the great dragonling, and it, like Yache before him, suddenly ceased to exist, as his form disappeared in a brilliant white flash.
As the ward surrounding Alaric collapsed, so too did the four remaining dragonlings, who collapsed in a heap on the ground like marionettes whose strings had been cut. Kadin, seeing that his father was alright, stepped across the field and wrapped Alaric in a hug to reassure himself that his mentor and father was, indeed, alright.
Breaking the hug, Alaric reached up and tousled his son’s hair affectionately before he pulled his son up against his right side. With his right arm across the boy’s shoulders, Alaric began steering a slow path towards home, each dispensing with their respective outer wards with a wave of the hand, and leaving the corpses of the dragonlings for the carrion eaters of the forest to deal with.
Alaric heaved a huge sigh of relief before looking down at his son with an ironic smile on his face. “Kadin, my son, I know we were going into Caemlann this morning, and I know how much you enjoy eating at the Stag and Unicorn, but I find myself exhausted for some reason. What do you say we put the trip off until tomorrow?”
In silent reply, Kadin smiled up at his father, and tightened his hug on Alaric, as the two made their slow and tired way home.