Rising of a Mage: Book 02 - Gods and Magic Read online

  When all the trolls were thoroughly burned, Navaeh approached the halfling.

  "Good day to you, sir," Navaeh said. "Kalise be thanked for her guidance. She led me here, and with her help, together we were able to remove these evil creatures from our world." She held out a hand. "I am Navaeh; this is Asser." Messah landed on her shoulder. "And this is Messah."

  "Ah, well, I am Rundo, and I believe you already met Bumbo. We owe you our lives and our thanks."

  "It is a pleasure to meet you, Rundo," she replied. "Would you mind terribly if we traveled with you for a while?"

  "I was traveling to the city of Ambar. I believe you would be an interesting traveling companion, though, and will gladly follow wherever your path takes you. I am a bit of an entertainer, you see. I'm sure I could come up with some wonderful songs about a powerful druid and her companions."

  "Ha! Well, I cannot wait to hear them. Is Ambar were this road leads?"

  "Aye, it is, but I don't think they would be too welcoming to Asser. No offense—he saved my life—but people have a natural fear of wolves." Asser growled. Rundo stepped back a step.

  "Ah, Asser, cut it out!" she chided the wolf. "He is just teasing you. Asser would never harm anyone except for his own protection. He knows how not to be seen, and he would take his leave if we end up in the city."

  "Well, Ambar it is, then." Rundo mounted Bumbo. He was a grundy pony, bred by halflings to be small. Bumbo was nearly impossible to miss with his black and gray stripes. He rode the pony at a walk while Navaeh walked next to him. After a few miles, Messah returned to the group and landed on Rundo's shoulder, surprising the halfling.

  "Ah, she likes you!" Navaeh said. "She is an incredible judge of character."

  "Can I touch her?" Rundo asked, tentatively.

  "She touched you first, didn't she?" Navaeh replied.

  Rundo laughed and then reached up to stroke the back of the hawk’s magnificently white, soft neck. The hawk snuggled its head into his neck, tickling him. Rundo and Navaeh both laughed.

  CHAPTER TWO

  The Paladin of Kalime

  Jabaal was outside a small temple of Kalime about ten miles west of Ambar. The temple contained a small chapel with two dozen small rooms, and was used by the priest and paladins of Kalime who sought solitude and guidance from their God. Within weeks of his arrival to the city with Anwar and Mariah he had begun to learn the path of Kalime. Anwar had thrown himself into his studies in the wizard’s guild. He had not taken to the worship of either of the Gods of magic as far as Jabaal could tell. Mariah had engulfed herself with equal abandon in the studies in Ambar's magnificent priests guild. She however had taken to the worship of the Goddess of the people of Mishima. Jabaal took to training with whoever he could. He had begun training with some of the paladins of Kalime regularly and their beliefs and principals caught hold of his curiosity. Kalime was the God of protection, unlike his sister Kalise who was more interested in the protection of the forest and the animals, Kalime took to the godly races as his children. The primary principle of a paladin of Kalise was to protect those who could not protect themselves. It had been nearly three years since Jabaal had come to Ambar with his friends, and he had spent all of that time engulfing himself in the teachings of Kalise. He was one of the most capable Kalise followers in Ambar and had received “The Blessing”.

  Jabaal was sparring with three of the other paladins of Kalise in the courtyard of the temple. He had taken to fighting with two swords instead of a sword and shield. The first of his swords was the magically enchanted rose blade that Anwar had created for him. In the three years since Anwar had given it to him, it had never needed sharpening. His second blade was a fine blade as well, it had a straight hilt with a circular end bearing the shield of Kalise in it. The sword held none of the magical enchantments of his other blade, but it was equally as important to him. The Chief Paladin of the temple had it made for him when he received the blessing of Kalime. It was made with the equally unusual length of his first sword. He found that with the added couple of inches to his blades he was able to out match a regular short sword without sacrificing the natural benefit of being able to get in close that a short sword provided. He had become familiar with the length of the sword as a guard back in Kampar and now the unnatural length and difference in weight was natural to him. The three paladins in front of him each bore a sword and shield. His mentor was an old battered paladin named Homer; whose years had slowed his sword enough that he had turned to training the new paladins of the temple. As Jabaal fending off the three men in front of him he heard scoldings and approvals from his mentor behind him. "Low, Forward, No-your leaving your side open."

  Jabaal knew that he could quickly dispatch the three men in front of him, but Homer had explained to him that none of them learned anything from such a demonstration. Eventually he waited for each to make a fatal mistake instead of forcing them into it, and as each received the would be fatal blow, Homer took them off to the side showed them how they had erred and what they should do instead. When he was finished they returned with renewed enthusiasm, and so as Jabaal continued to fight each of his opponents were able to rest before returning to the fray. As he landed the fatal blow on the second man one of the priest came running through the gate. "Trooooollllls! Trolls dozens of them. Coming…"

  Jabaal did not wait to hear the rest of the declaration. He sprinted through the gate to discover the full truth of the threat before him. Trolls were among the most hated of his God Kalime and his sister Goddess Kalise as they offered an equal threat to people as they did the woods and animals. Jabaal watched as approximately three dozen trolls came over the hill headed straight for the temple of his God. With both of his swords in his hands he took a few more steps forward from the gate and waited. Eight other paladins came out of the temple, to include the three he had been sparring with, and Homer. Jabaal heard the gate to the temple close behind him, but he did not turn to look. He would die here or live to see all these trolls see their final fate. The temple could not be desecrated.

  The trolls were roughly a hundred paces away when they began running toward the paladins of Kalime. The seven other paladins formed a line creating a wall with there shields. Homer and Jabaal stood behind the wall both wielding two swords. Jabaal heard the prayers of his brothers and he asked his God for the strength and ability to remove this threat and protect the temple. The man in the center of the wall of shields slammed his shield to the ground and shouted “Kalime Aquida” and his shield began to glow blue. Homer and Jabaal raised their swords and together shouted “Kalime Aquida” they both began glowing blue. Their faith was strong and their blessing covered them as well as their weapons. His other blade may not posses any magical enchantment of its own, but his God would bless it when he called on him.

  The first group of trolls slammed into the wall of shields. The paladins held fast, they all slammed there shields forward as one and then swords came out striking down orcs. Jabaal saw the orcs who had been slammed with the blessed shield of Kalime laid low and unconscious if not dead. The orcs surged forward again and it was time for him to move. Jabaal took three steps and leapt over his brothers and there shields. Homer would stay behind the wall and fight off the orcs as they surged around the small line of paladins. He came down in the crowd of orcs. He loped off the head of one and knocked away the club of another. He met the ground in the midst of the huge orcs. He went to work immediately bringing one of his blades over his head to defend himself. He pushed off with one leg, and spun on his other knee. His other sword spinning with him, severing tendons, knees, and ankles. A huge club came down toward his head, as he rolled to one side then leapt back the direction he had just rolled away from. Leaping out of the way of a sword thrust and coming back at the orc he had swung the club. Both of his blue blades dug into the beast’s chest and it was engulfed into blue flames. As his blades came out he changed his grip and they both shot out to the side as he dropped to a knee and the orcs closing in on
him from both side looked down to find blue blades coming out of their stomachs as they burst into the unnatural blue flame. A huge orc walked straight toward him from the front. This was undoubtedly the leader of this group. A head taller than all the others Jabaal couldn't help but notice the huge nose of the thing. It was huge even; for a troll who were known for their large and pointed noses. This one bore a huge sword, the bottom half of the blade serrated on both sides. The other orcs assumed their leader would deal with the weakling human and rushed passed to finish the others. The troll leader swung the huge blade at Jabaal assuming he would dive out of the way. Then he was filled with a surprise, Jabaal had thrown both of his swords up and blocked the powerful swing. Even with the blessing of his God he felt the great strength of the beast, but he was able to hold his footing. His rose sword had blocked just above the serrated edge. As the beast brought his sword back for another powerful swing Jabaal watched the end of the huge sword as it had passed where his magical rose sword had met with the blade and flew back over the orcs shoulder. The troll did not know however, and was taken by surprise again as his sword flew passed the man that it should have cleaved in half; and then he knew fear as Jabaal came forward. The orc had expected contact and was now off balanced as Jabaal's blue sword went into his side. He howled in anger as the blue flame engulfed him, and then he was dead. Jabaal took for granted the other trolls not attacking him, as he watched the huge orc burst into flame another troll leapt onto his back dragging him to the ground. His rose blade fell from his hand as his arm was crushed between the weight of the orc and the rock it landed on. His other hand was free and he swung it down lopping off the monsters foot. The thing howled in pain and rolled off of him. He spun up to his feet driving his blade into the things throat and it too burst into flame. Jabaal looked up and he faced three trolls closing in around him. He knew with only one sword his non dominant sword arm at that, and his right arm not responding he was likely fighting his last battle. The two with clubs circled around to his sides. The one in front of him now held in his hand what was left of the troll leaders serrated sword. The serrated sword was still equal with the length of his own blade even after being broken nearly in half. Then the one holding the serrated blade fell forward with a wolf on his back. Jabaal leapt to his left as the troll was distracted by the appearance of a wolf; Jabaal spun around it lopping off its head. The head and body burst into blue flame. The another ignored the wolf charging at Jabaal's back. Jabaal leapt to the side at the last second again spinning on one knee shooting his sword out and taking the troll’s leg above its knee. As it fell to the ground he thrust his sword into its back. As Jabaal surveyed the scene he realized that there were less than a dozen trolls left still fighting his brothers. Then he saw a woman with a staff running up to them, he could not reach them in time, but he ran toward them anyway. As he approached he saw daggers flying past her taking trolls in the backs. Jabaal watched as two of the trolls fell, before he even reached them, daggers struck them in the face. The woman ducked a club and slammed her staff into the things chest and it burst into flames. She spun back the other direction with her hands sliding to the end of her long staff out of reach of the other orcs club, her staff slammed home igniting it as well. The other paladins laid down the last of the monsters as Jabaal got to them. He saw there were only six of his brother paladins left standing. The first of the slain he saw had his head caved in on one side. Then he saw Homer laying in the center of a circled of burned corpses. He ran to his mentor.

  "Homer it's going to be ok, hold on." Homer coughed up blood. Jabaal saw that a sword had went through his back coming out the front and puncturing a lung in the process. Homer smiled up at Jabaal. "I am going home to Kalime now." And then the man who had guided him in his faith and training was gone. He did not feel the sadness he thought he would however. He knew Homer went to be with Kalime and this brought him peace. With this realization his faith was reinvigorated. "Stop where you are." Jabaal heard the challenge of his brothers. He also knew that they were hurting from the loss, and not likely to think through there next actions soundly. He pushed away his own loss and took charge of his men. "Lower your weapons men,” She came to our aide, she is a daughter of our sister God." The men lowered their weapons and looked at him accusingly, but when he looked back to the women she was smiling. Then the others weapons came up again as a Halfling approached a white hawk perched on his shoulders. "Calm down men. A Halfling Priest of Kalise?"

  Rundo laughed. "Ha, no simply a friend though I am intrigued by her greatness. I am Rundo and this is Messah." He shrugged his shoulder motioning to the hawk perched there. "And I am Navaeh and this is Asser." Jabaal went to a knee and scratched the wolf’s ears with his good arm. "Thank you Asser for saving my life. As for the rest of you thank you for your aide here today. I extend to you the hospitality of the temple of Kalime. A priestess of our Gods sister would be most welcome. As for your friends we are thankful for your aide as well. Without it we would undoubtedly have suffered greater losses than we have." Jabaal went and found his other sword, wiped it in the grass there then sheathed it. His right arm was definitely broken. Once everyone had collected their things they returned to the temple, the gate was open. The Priest came out and took the bodies of the two paladins from their brothers. Then the high priest came out. Introductions were made, and hospitalities were officially offered and accepted. Navaeh and Rundo were lead to their rooms, as the paladins were all lead into the temple where their wounds would be tended. That night a celebration would be held in honor of Kalime calling two of his children home.

  A priest came for Navaeh and Rundo. "You receive a great honor. Jabaal is one of our greatest paladins, and he spoke on your behalf. He requested you be allowed to partake in tonight’s celebration. Your actions today as well as his request have granted you permission." They went outside there were two beds of logs and the two paladins lay atop them. Priest and paladins were dancing and singing praises to their God. Some were even drinking. Navaeh found the one she sought. Jabaal knelt next to the fire praying. She saw his passion, his faith, and it intrigued her. She continued walking around watching. A table was laid out with apples, pears, peaches, potatoes and onions. A bore spun on a spit and she saw its place waiting on the table. Rundo enjoyed the celebration. He told jokes and danced with the others. Navaeh could not take her eyes from the paladin Jabaal. He continued in his prayers next to that fire a long time. When he rose he looked around and smiled at the celebration. He saw her and walked over to her. “The men who died today, you were close with them?" Jabaal nodded. "The older one was my mentor. He introduced me to the faith and guided me in its teachings." "I am sorry for your loss." Jabaal smiled. "He is with Kalime now. I am happy for him." "How long have you followed Kalime?" "I was introduced to Kalime's teaching nearly three years ago." "Only three years? The others they look to you with such respect. As if they follow your lead, but surely many have followed your God longer." "All of my brothers here have. I have relinquished all my personal goals to Kalime and he has given me ‘The Blessing’. It is the greatest gift of his paladins."

  "Jabaal can I tell you something of importance to me?" Jabaal nodded. "Kalise came to me. She told me there was a great evil approaching. That I could not face it alone and she would lead me to others who would aide me. I believe she has led me to Rundo and yourself, but I believe you are the link to the others that she intended me to seek.” Jabaal smiled at this. "I believe that your Goddess led you to me, for I feel some connection to you as well. And if I am the link then I believe that I know the others who would aide us." "Other paladins of Kalime then?" "No I know two others who follow their own path, though both of them have vowed to protect those who cannot protect themselves. They are in Ambar. Do you know what the evil is? We have expected something is coming. The troll and goblin raids have increased. In the last few months we have seen more then I have seen in the three years I have been in the area".

  "I do not; only that it is something
of great evil and destruction that threatens this land and all who reside here." "Well if I am going to face a great unknown evil there is no one I would rather have at my side then Anwar and Mariah Alamira." "I can follow you to Ambar then?" "You may." With that they let the conversation fall. They spent the remainder of the night eating and drinking and dancing. They talked to each other of there God and Goddess, who shared many teachings. At the end of the night the bodies of the two paladins were burned the priest, and paladins said there prayers to Kalime.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Thousands of Orcs

  Anwar stood in the summoning chamber of the wizard’s guild of Ambar. There were also two temples in Ambar he could attend, but as of yet he had not found any reason to attend either. The guild was a place all the wizards used, followers of both of the brother Gods Pyru and Dyak, as well as any magic user who did not follow one of the Gods. Anwar was in the latter group, and many of the local wizards despised him.

  Anwar looked more like a warrior than a wizard, he stood nearly seven feet tall and weighed close to three hundred pounds. That coupled with his abilities at such a young age; and without the aid of one of the Gods unnerved them. Anwar had spent the last three years in the Ambar wizard’s guild working with summoning magic. He had studied a little more in the ways of battle magic, but he knew his aptitude for that type of magic. Summoning was a more complex and precise magic. Most wizards summoned beasts from one of the hells, this was how Anwar had learned to summon as well. Laying out runes on the ground that would hold the demon in place; then summoning them in that area. He had started with very weak, small creatures and demons. Anwar had continued to study the ways of summoning, and over the last three years he had been able to summon some very powerful demons. He had even summoned a Demigod. He could summon and control many of the things without the runes now, controlling them with his will and banishing them back to their own plane at will. He found most of these creatures revolting, they gave little useful knowledge and what they did give up was from difficult to get out of them. Anwar was about to try something new; just as there were different planes of hells there were different planes in the heavens. He had continued to wonder what it might be like to summon an angel or another creature of the heavens.