Mark of the Fool

The fae knights tensed. “Attack!”

Armour clinked, halberds were raised, all eyes were fixed on the young archwizard.

The line of knights standing in front of the divine ward swung their weapons, blades and hafts passing through the curtain of divine energy as though it wasn’t there.

Other fae knights came through the divine ward on either side of Alex, Merzhin, and the elementals at the same time. The two groups flanked them in between the wards.

“Ye should not have come here,” a knight snarled.

She and her allies thrust their halberds into the earth elementals. The fae’s enchanted weapons split stone, banishing both spirits to their home plane.

Their attention immediately turned to the two mortals.

Alex cursed.

The world slowed, giving him time to think.

His mind raced; most of his combat spells would kill both him and Merzhin if he cast them in this limited space. An explosion, a wave of lightning or a tidal wave would annihilate everything between the divine wards, including the two of them.

Spells like mass disintegrate would get rid of the fae knights between the wards, but wouldn’t touch the ones outside.

There wasn’t much room to teleport, and if he used Hannah’s power to dodge the oncoming assault, the fae knights would simply stab Merzhin.

‘And if I teleport with Merzhin, that could break his concentration,’ Alex thought quickly. ‘So what does that leave?’

He looked at his staff. ‘Back to basics, I suppose. I can keep summoning small monsters, and use forceballs to throw our attackers off. Wizard’s Hands can keep them off balance too, meanwhile, I can be fighting them with the sword-staff. But, there’s a lot of enemies…and without a lot of room to manoeuvre, they’ll get me eventually.’

Alex glared at Aenflynn’s smirking face.

‘I’d give almost anything to punch that smug expression right off his stupid face, but his effigy’s made of stone. Even if I could get to him through the ward, I’d probably just break my own hand…against…wait! That’s it!’

His mind focused on a single spell as the halberds stabbed at him from the front.

The world sped up.

He swept some of the blows away with a wide swing of his sword-staff, but a blade got by, striking his forearm.

The fae smiled.

A heavy clang startled him, sounding like a cell door slamming.

His smile dropped.

He was staring at the hulking young wizard…

…looking at Alex’s broad shoulders, powerful arms, and towering height…all now formed of magical steel.

Steel Body had transformed the young archwizard’s body into a metal titan of retribution.

The other knights paused, shocked.

Alex grabbed the haft of his attacker’s weapon.

The warrior flinched. “Let go!”

He pulled hard, trying to take the weapon back, which was…well, it was like trying to get something out of a grip of steel. Neither Alex’s arm nor the weapon moved, both unwavering.

The fae paled.

“Come here,” the young archwizard said, his voice grinding.

His arm tensed, as he yanked on the halberd’s haft.

With a yelp, the fae stumbled through the wall of divine light.

“Welcome,” Alex said, dropping the weapon and grabbing the fae by his helmeted skull, then lifting him off his feet.

The knight struggled like a mouse trying to escape a cat’s clamped jaws.

“Wait!” the fae shouted. “Wait, wait—”

“You should not have come here,” Alex replied, choke-slamming the knight into the stone.

A crunching sound followed, and with a gurgle, the fae knight stiffened, convulsed then stopped moving.

The archwizard rose to his full height again, glowering at the knights flanking him and Merzhin. He took a deep breath, filling his metal lungs with air.

“Maim us?” The wizard of steel asked. “I think I’ll be the one doing the maiming.”

Then he sprang.

Calling on the Mark of the General, his mind filled with images of himself using all the dances he’d ever learned, blending them into his own deadly fighting style. Images of reading his enemies’ body language in the past appeared.

All of that experience, now in a literal body of steel, made for a lethal combination.

Despite the weight of his metallic form, Alex attacked, blurring, spinning, casting spells, his form barely distinct.

“Get him!” Aenflynn commanded his guards.

They came at Alex from all sides, just as he came at them.

His sword-staff, his metal form, his magic. All were weapons.

Steel Body slowed the flow of mana within him, hindering the speed of his spellcasting…but…it didn’t stop him from activating the aeld staff.

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He summoned more earth elementals around him and Merzhin, then cast forceballs, and Wizard’s Hands. His forceballs shot out, blocking the fae knights’ strikes, tangling up their limbs and striking their arms mid-swing.

Wizard’s Hands swarmed the fae, pulling hair, scratching skin, shoving fingers into nostrils, ears, eyes and mouths.

They fought dirty.

Alex channelled Hannah’s power through his sword-staff, blocking incoming halberds with its blade. The teleportation energy surged, splitting the hafts and heads of the fae knights’ weapons, teleporting them away, or dropping them among the fae guards, disrupting any attacks.

The guards fought against the magics, using defensive skills gained from the experience of centuries…but an impervious opponent of magic and steel was one they’d had no experience with before, and he had a steady stream of glowing forceballs and Wizard’s hands to harry them with.

Fae knights began to fall.

Some were killed by the earth elementals.

Others died by the young archwizard’s blade or heavy, steel fists.

But more kept coming.

“Aim for the priest!” a leader shouted. “And fire another volley!’

Another wave of twanging bowstrings announced a volley of arrows soaring toward the divine ward.

And as they passed through it—

The world slowed.

Alex concentrated on a spell.

The world sped up again.

The young archwizard twitched.

Mass Shatter destroyed not only the volley, but the weapons of every fae that had entered the ward.

“What?” they cried in unison.

Then Alex and his elementals were on them, cutting, smashing, ending them.

Attackers came and died, but more took their place.

Alex took a quick glance around the throne room as the elementals kept fighting. ‘More are coming. The castle’s probably full of them, and this won’t end until Merzhin’s through that ward. And to help him we’ll need—’

He checked Hannah’s power within himself.

He could feel it pulsing…his plan might be working, but he couldn’t be certain.

Not yet.

‘Need to keep fighting,’ he thought.

“Enough of that,” Aenflynn said, then whistled.

Divine light emanated from the Fae lord in a wave.

The light washed over his fae knights; their weapons and armour began to glow with divine energy.

“That should stop that little shattering trick of yours, and I will—What?” Aenflynn’s effigy fell silent.

Alex felt a huge surge of mana from outside the castle.

###

The Fae lord whistled, bending his concentration on the imprisoned archwizard.

The ancient being was moving faster, breaking the stasis within the cage, and though the Fae lord was pouring all the power he could into reinforcing it…

There came a sound like glass breaking.

The cage exploded, instantly freeing the ancient goatman.

Clouds quaked as raw power burst from Baelin.

The archwizard fixed Aenflynn with a stony gaze. “An interesting plan of yours, but that was not the first time one such as you, attempted to stop me by sealing me out of time’s flow,” the chancellor said. “I have had the opportunity of travelling to realms where the temporal river’s flow is so different to that of any other plane that…well, I am not sure you would quite understand what I was telling you if I were to go further. So, suffice it to say simply this, I have studied temporal tricks, myself, young faeling.”

“You are full of resources,” the Fae lord watched the archwizard peevishly. “I’ll give you that.”

“Thank you. And your tricks continue to amuse me.”

“Ah, but I think you overplayed your hand. You used a lot of mana to escape that, didn’t you? I’m sure your response drew down a lot,even from your seemingly endless mana pool.”

“Perhaps it did. Perhaps it did not.”

“It does not matter, because I have a brilliant idea.” Aenflynn whistled, pouring his concentration into his next divinity.

His power flexed, enveloping the battlefield.

The archwizard cocked his head. “Oh? What is this?”

“Find out.” Aenflynn smirked.

“Oooooh…oh I see. A classic interdiction. You stopped me from using my magic to harm you,” the archwizard noted. “Not a bad ploy.” ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

The Fae lord resisted the urge to flinch. “Oh, you got it too quickly. Your senses and spells for reading divinity are truly superb. I can’t claim credit for the idea though: the young Saint used a similar interdiction in my castle a short time ago. By focusing the command, the interdiction grows stronger, and by focusing one on just your mana…I believe it might put a stop to even your powerful tricks.”

“So you mean to reduce me to a mere mortal beastman in this battle?” the ancient beastfolk asked.

“While I get to destroy you with Uldar’s power,” Aenflynn finished for him. “A nasty little trick, but you are all trying to divide my attention. So I thought I might fight a little unfairly as well. What now, archwizard?”

The Fae lord gripped the air, a sword of pure divinity was created in his hand.

“I am a very skilled swordsman, one of the deadliest in all of Och Fir Nog, if I do say so myself,” Aenflynn smiled. “And with Uldar’s throne, I am afraid you are quite outmatched. Without your magic, what can you do?”

The ancient wizard paused for a moment, looking almost shocked.

Then he threw his head back and laughed.

“What is it, old one?” the fae lord asked.

“Oh, nothing, really!” the beastman was nearly doubled over with amusement. “It’s just that I have not had such a perfect setup in a long time! Oh my. Tell me, have you heard the term ‘Proper Wizard’?”

Aenflynn’s jaw clenched.

He didn’t like the sound of that. “No, why?”

“Ah, well, then I shall show you an example of one. A Proper Wizard does not ignore any form of power or advantage.” The ancient wizard reached down, retrieving a hammer from his belt. “I, my sly friend, am no exception. You have taken away my offensive magic in many ways. An excellent move, again. Except for one small problem.”

The archwizard disappeared.

Then reappeared directly in front of Aenflynn, the hammer raised.

The weapon blazed with a dizzying amount of glyphs.

It slammed into Aenflynn’s jaw, the magics around its starmetal head biting through the fae’s defensive magics and divinity like an auger.

Teeth flew, and with a pained scream, so did the Fae lord.

“Unfortunately, for you, I have maintained my body,” the archwizard said.

He teleported after his reeling opponent.

The effigy winced, but was silent.

Something—probably Baelin—must have been drawing the real Aenflynn’s attention.

‘Good,’ Alex thought. ‘Gives him less time and energy to interfere with us. Now, I just have to buy time and crush these guards.’

The young archwizard turned his attention to the knights.

His Wizard’s Hands opened his satchel, taking out a number of potion bottles. Merzhin’s head was already encased in Orb of Air, and under his Steel Body spell, so was his. Breathing the air wouldn’t be a problem for them nor hisearth elementals.

But for the fae knights, between the wards, it certainly would be.

Wizard’s Hands whipped the potion bottles on the stone floor to shatter them.

And shatter they did, sleeping potion-mist filled the space between the two divine wards. The fae in front of Alex gasped, surprised as the knights suddenly disappeared in a fog of potion-mist.

Those fae knights between the divine wards, looked panicked, sneezing, trying to shield their faces, as the magical gas crept into their nostrils.

They soon began fading, drifting off, dropping where they stood, fast asleep.

The earth elementals were quick to finish them off.

Soon, the fae knights outside were shouting in confusion.

Hesitating, some gingerly pushed their halberd blades through the divine ward, but soon gave up on the idea when, for the second time, Alex grabbed a haft, pulled its owner through the ward, and cracked his skull.

“What are you doing?” Aenflynn’s effigy demanded. “Get–Argh!”

His words were cut off by a yelp of pain.

Something must have been happeningoutside.

‘Alright, thank the Traveller,’ Alex said. ‘We need to keep holding out, keep buying time. Claygon, how’s the battle going?’

‘We’re holding…on father…’ the golem thought. ‘…but the Ravener’s growing stronger!’

‘Shit!’ Alex thought. ‘I’ll try and get there soon!’

He glanced at the symbol of the Traveller hanging from his neck, as he listened to Merzhin’s prayers. ‘Just have to buy a little more time…’

Alex eyed the potion-mist, watching the light changing through it, looking for any signs of attack. The guards were holding back for now.

‘Just have to buy…wait. Wait!’

He watched the mist closely.

The light was changing, getting brighter.

‘Is it daybreak? How long have we been in Och Fir Nog? By the Traveller, no!”

“What is this…?” King Athelstan muttered.

The glow around his divine sword faded.

Fatigue crawled through him.

And his heart—once beating so courageously—began to falter.

Fear, once again, began rising in his soul.

“Oh no…” he whispered.

Alex’s spell, Army of Heroes, had ended in Thameland.