Hidden Fire - section 6

Kai put down his quill and pushed back from the writing desk. He took a sip of the now lukewarm coffee and contemplated his half finished speech. The vague feelings of unease that had plagued him over the last few days were pricking at him unmercifully this morning. He could not concentrate.

He stood and paced over to the window and looked out over the bustling town below. The sun shone brightly down on the idyllic scene. A beautiful cloudless day, and a beautiful town, but he wished he was back at the Academy with nothing more to worry about than his latest research. Even his selection as Archmage had not changed that. It had been so long since the the last war, that the position was largely honorary. The Council truly ran the Academy, and head of the council was Aroostook. He'd tried to push some changes through, but that old traditionalist fought him on every issue. He'd at least managed to improve the lot of his fellow halfbloods slightly.

But the dreams had put an end to all that. As Archmage, he felt he must do something more than sit back and wait to see if the premonitions were true. Aroostook had laughed at his crazy obsession with Goranga, but let him do as he pleased, believing no one would listen to him. And he had been right, no one had.

The dreams had haunted him again last night, although they had been oddly changed. Usually they were vague, only brief flashing images of blood and fire accompanied by an urgent feeling of time growing short. Last night though, he had seen the Scourge--had seen the dark, undead shadow reach out to touch and seize Misty. Well, that part of the vision he could discard. The girl invaded his every waking thought, no suprise that she showed up in his dreams, as well. But it had felt close--too close. He knew that their time was almost gone. He had seen that the Scourge would strike here first, before rolling over the countryside to take and destroy the Academy. He had to make Baron Powell see reason.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as he sensed a hot flare of power. It felt like a mage had just cast a very powerful spell somewhere down in the city. Very odd, as the Academy trained mages seldom left the comfort of their home. He frowned, looking down on the city. A cloud blocked the sun briefly. A cloud? His eyes narrowed--no, not a cloud, but smoke! Kai ran out to the hallway, seizing the arm of a footman walking by.

"Fire in the market square! Tell the Baron immediately! Go, man!"

The servant took off down the hall. Kai followed in his wake for a bit, before turning and heading down into the courtyard. He climbed up the inner stairs to the top of the wall, and stopped, looking up at the sky. Rain would be best, if he could pull it off. The lack of clouds would make it difficult, but not impossible, if he took his time and was careful not to overextend himself. Storms contained much internal power, and could easily overwhelm a careless mage.

He closed his eyes and reached inside to tap into his sources. The mage who had trained him had likened it to drawing from a well, but Kai had always felt like he was tapping into the ocean, the powers surged so strongly within himself. He grinned. Storms were his specialty. Water and Air were his strongest elements and it was not often he got to play with his full power.

He reveled in the power, laughing softly to himself as he remembered his early training days.
All the children of the keep with mixed blood were given some training to help control the usually small and stunted powers they inherited through their mage blood. Until they learned to properly harness that power, no matter how small, they were a danger to themselves and others. He remembered suffering the pain of an incomplete connection with his source, until his old master had shown him how to access it properly. To everyone's surprise, he had nearly blown the roof off the practice hall! Now that same power flowed, pouring out of him, and he bent it to his will almost effortlessly.

He reached out and slowly began to strengthen the winds. As he concentrated, he barely noted the warning bells ringing and the cries of the people panicking down in the city. He began twisting the winds, using them to gather moisture laden clouds from the distant coast and herd them towards Roscetta. The pennants on the castle walls began to snap in the stiffening breeze.

Then he felt a surge of terror so powerful he fell to his knees. Misty! His eyes snapped open. He saw a line of the brown-robed priests of Goranga form, blocking the main road to the Keep. Hundreds of them seemed to appear out of nowhere, armed with sharp obsidian daggers. A wave of townsfolk surged toward the Keep fleeing the fire and more robed priests, only to be cut down within sight of safety.

The Scourge was here! A echo of a violent burst of darkest magic sliced through his mind, as the feelings of Misty's terror rose, then were suddenly choked off. Kaimana cried out in anguish and sprang back to his feet. He siezed the powerful storm, dragging the clouds faster than should have been possible. Rain began falling in blinding sheets, but that was not his goal now. His hair began to stand on end as he recklessly drew in the crackling power of lightning and, with a howl of fury, sent it searing down on the row of priests below.

He heard the blast of a trumpet as the gates below opened and the Baron's men finally poured out onto the road. They milled about in confusion briefly as they realized most of their work had been done, before riding down the fleeing enemy survivors.

Kai wearily climbed down the stairs, still dazed from the tremendous power he had just directed. Heading in the direction he had last felt her presence, he walked out onto the battlefield, determined to find Misty. Suddenly, his way was blocked when the flank of a huge black warhorse sprang into his path.

"You fool, Mage!" the Baron roared down at him. "We can't afford to lose you! Get back into the Keep! You have no business wandering the battlefield unarmed. There are still enemies about!"

"My dear Baron, I am fully capable of taking care of myself. I must find..." Kai blinked blearily up at the Baron. Then the sleepless nights, the mental assaults from Misty, and his quick overextension of his power caught up with him and he staggered, falling to his knees in the mud.

He felt himself hauled into the air by the back of his shirt and tossed over the saddle in front of the baron. The pommel dug painfully into his ribs. On the edge of consciousness, the last thing he heard was Baron Powell growling at his second-in-command. "Gather as many townfolk and supplies as you can, and get them into the Keep, quickly! The worst is yet to come. Go now! I'll get this damn idiot back inside and call an emergency council meeting. By the Gods, if Goranga wants war, we will give them a fight they will never forget!"