Rise of the Fifth
The Hidden College Part 1
Pages 151 to 165

Talo helped Joibri inside the inn, where Delenar, Kane and Gasta sat discussing something round a single candle in the darkness. No doubt Veygan and Lena were still asleep. They turned at the elves' entry into the darkness.

"General," Talo addressed Gasta, "You and I will be needing our knowledge of the Fifth College," he said perhaps a little too cheerily. The pair stopped at the edge of the table.

"I'm going to the Hidden College," Joibri said by way of explanation.

"What? Why? Surely that's -" Kane began, but Joibri interrupted him,

"I need to accept this fucking mana as quickly as possible, otherwise we're all in deeper shit than we thought."

"But if you try and accept it too quickly," Kane continued, "That could -"

"Kill me, yeah I know. But what choice do we have?" The men turned to one another, trying to figure out how this would fit in with their plans. In the meantime Joibri grew uneasy at Talo's arm across her lower back, "I'm okay now, you can let me go."

~*~

Lena woke up to the sound of a loud discussion downstairs. She groaned and rolled over, hoping to get back to sleep again. But the discussion didn't seem to die down - the opposite in fact - it seemed to have gained on intensity.

‘I better get up then and see what’s going on,’ Lena thought to herself as she realised that she wouldn't get any more sleep. While she had a quick wash and got dressed, she mused about what the others must be talking about. They were probably discussing what was going to happen next, she thought, and hurried up with her dressing - she wanted to know what was going on as well.

Finished with her dressing, she made her way downstairs, finding the others sitting around a table, a single candle giving the room a little bit of light. Joibri and Talo, with his arm around the elf-girl she noticed, must have just entered themselves. As Lena approached, she heard Joibri exclaim,

"Kill me, yeah I know. But what choice do we have?" Lena stood still with shock. Even though she hadn't really talked to the elf-girl she still liked her very much and felt very sorry for her - fate had obviously put her on a path she hadn't expected to take. Lena shared the feeling - when she had first decided to join the Fifth College she never would have expected to be caught up in such big events.

She shook her head, clearing it from her thoughts, and walked up to the others,

"Morning. What's happened?" she asked as she got herself a chair and sat down, staring at the others and waiting for an answer.

"Well, it seems that we have to split up," Kane replied with a troubled expression, "Joibri, Talo, Gasta and Pen, I assume, will be heading for the Fifth College while Delenar, Veygan and I will be giving the baronies a visit," For a moment Lena was silent in shock and outrage.

"What about me? What am I supposed to do? Sit around and wait?" Lena said, trying to control the anger in her voice. She couldn't believe they would leave her out like this! She had thought that there was a place for her in this group, but seemingly not. Kane interrupted her as she opened her mouth to give them a piece of her mind,

"No, wait," he said, giving her a little smile, "You are not supposed to sit around and wait. We thought you would come with Del, Veygan and myself? We could use the extra mage strength and we would like you to come with us. But we thought we would ask you first. What do you say?"

Lena’s anger melted away as she realised that the others hadn't meant to shut her out. What should she do? She glanced at Talo, trying to see what he thought, but his attention was fixed on Joibri. That made up Lena’s decision - she had no wish to be ignored by Talo, while the others might appreciate her company. She smiled at Kane and Del, and said,

"I'll come with you."

~*~

"What?" Pen was aghast - he’d not wanted anyone to realise his feelings for Joibri. "How did you..." He didn't need to finish his question. "You bloody mages and your magic." The comment had only been meant as a joke, but his involvement with Blackwing business clearly meant that it was a joke that would fail to amuse.

"That's my brother speaking," Karil's voice had changed in an instant from friend to disgust. "You should be careful who you are seen to associate with."

"I wouldn't say our last exchange of words were exactly the words of associates." Pen saw Karil sneer slightly in the darkness and in that moment he looked very like his brother.

"Yes, I heard about that. I have to apologise for him, Pen."

"You need not apologise for your brother's actions; he is now well capable of taking responsibility for his own actions. Though you wouldn't know it," Pen laughed bitterly, receiving an equally bitter smile in return.

"I'm going to see him, Pen."

"What?" Pen raised an eyebrow. "Are you insane, Karil?"

"Very likely I should think. I can give him one more chance."

"You might, indeed, but can Balaia?"

"A good question. You know, he truly believes in what he's doing. He seriously thinks that he's helping the country."

"Not entirely his own fault."

"No. It's mine too."

"Karil..." Pen stared at his friend. "You have to stop blaming yourself. It was so long ago, and let’s not forget that there were others involved in his transformation."

"But ultimately, I am to blame."

"Gods burning the both of you always were a couple of stubborn bastards!" The two of them laughed.

"And you're not?" They went quiet for a moment, Pen figuring out what Karil was implying before he spoke,

"Time to get back I think." And with a nod of agreement the two stood and began the walk back across the town.

~*~

Joibri had resorted to casually slipping out of Talo's grasp when he hadn't seemed to hear her comment. He made her extremely uneasy.

"There's also a significant mage presence in this town," Kane was saying.

"By Karil's design?" Talo interjected.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Delenar said, looking to the door.

"Ask me what exactly?" Karil and Pen had entered the tavern and were walking towards the group in the corner.

"The significant mage presence, my lord." Kane replied. Karil held his hand up.

"Please, not my lord, just Karil." At this Talo raised an eyebrow which Karil chose to ignore; he received that sort of reaction most of the time to his attitude to his position. "Yes, there are many mages in this town, from three colleges -" Before he could continue Lena broke into the conversation,

"I take it Xetesk have no need to take refuge here?" It had been intended as a jibe at Xetesk, but at the mention of the word "refuge" Karil jumped to the defensive,

"Refuge? You think Ereth a refuge? How would it be any more safe than the rest of Balaia?" At the looks of the others Karil realised he'd made the situation a bigger deal than it had already been.

"I wasn't suggesting that as such," Lena looked hurt by Karil's outburst. "I only meant that it is very well hidden within these forests - few could find it. And the comment on Xetesk was meant as a joke. I'm sorry if I caused you any offence." Karil wiped his hands over his face, sighing as he sat down next to Kane.

"No, not at all Lena. It is I who should be doing the apologizing. It's been a hard few hours for us all." Kane pushed his remaining ale over to the Lord of Ereth's place. Karil looked grateful to him and downed the lot in one swig.

"You seem to have a habit of being able to do that." Joibri commented, remembering the way he had drunk his ale the day before.

"He's always had that talent. Never gets pissed though do you? You lucky bastard." Karil laughed,

"It's a gift my friends."

"So about these mages then,” Talo began. Karil's smile left his face and he glared at Talo.

"What is it exactly you are trying to suggest?" The irritation could not be mistaken, though he had done well to disguise his nerves.

"There are an awful lot. Kane?" The man in question looked uncomfortable with Talo's questioning Karil, mainly because he trusted him, especially since he had found he was a lifelong friend of Pen's.

"Well, for a town this size it IS an unusually large number, but, as Lena says, this is a very well hidden town. Hidden places make better refuges, especially with the Blackwings on the prowl more than ever these days." Karil felt very relieved at Kane’s statement - he had a feeling that the man had said it to prevent Talo from questioning him more, for which he was hugely grateful.

"When are you planning on leaving? Will you be staying on an extra day, or moving out later on? I have certain business to attend to and must go home to organise it now, however you are welcome to stay and collect provisions for as long as you need." He didn’t wait for a reply, and turning he took Pen's hand. "Good luck my friend, and don't forget what I said."

He then walked around the table to Joibri. Taking her hand he shook it before embracing her and kissing her cheek,

"You take care of yourself as well, no more running away, eh?" Joibri blushed but returned the kiss to his face. "To all of you, I wish you well in your journeys. Now I have my own to organise." He smiled at them and walked back out of the tavern, not forgetting to wink at Pen on the way out, knowing he'd wound his friend up by kissing Joibri's face. Sighing again he began to walk back up to his house.

Shutting the door behind him Karil turned to find Naris stood before him, a sickening smile on his face. Behind him stood another man whom Karil recognised as one of Naris' drinking friends, who for once appeared to be sober.

"What are you doing in here? How did you get in?" his eyes narrowed.

"Such a lot of questions," Naris replied, sneering. "I don’t think I'm inclined to answer them at the present time."

"What in the hells is going on with you?”

"The same could be asked of you, my Lord." Naris added extra emphasis to the word Lord. Karil was becoming increasingly worried,

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is why on earth would someone such as yourself be doing in a town like this, when there are so many other important causes you could be joining with."

"What do you mean?" Karil asked again, and he felt a sickening feeling grow within him; he knew where this was going.

"Don't you think he looks like his brother?" Naris grinned.

"Yehr." The muscle behind him spoke. "Yehr, 'e does." Karil dived back for the door, but found Naris stood before him, sword drawn and hanging precariously before his throat.

"You fucking idiot, what do you think this is going to achieve?" Karil felt the anger within him raise.

"Power, what else?" Naris laughed.

"Excuse me?"

"Well your townspeople won't want the brother of a murdering Blackwing in control will they?" Karil ground his teeth trying to control his anger - something else he shared with his brother; a short temper. Naris’ drinking buddy grabbed hold of Karil’s arms.

"You bastard. You'll corrupt this town and everything it's ever stood for. How the hells did you find out about who I am?" Again Naris grinned manically at his erstwhile friend. Holding up one finger, Naris looked at Karil and, the thug telling him not to make any sudden moves, removed his long-sleeved shirt. It revealed a black tattoo on his bicep.

"Helpful not having it on my neck isn't it?" Naris jibed. His muscled friend laughed, tightening his grip on Karil's arms. "Now, my suggestion is the following: you leave Ereth relieving yourself of your position as Lord, not that that should be too difficult since no one called you it anyway." Karil closed his eyes in defeat. "Then, you will not come back, and in return we will not reveal to the town who you really are."

"I am their friend." Karil grated.

"You WERE their friend. What you are is the brother of the most hated man in Balaia, and therefore I really don't see how we can have you as our leader." He picked up his shirt and put it back on again. "Do we have a deal?"

"Did he put you put to this?"

"What? Oh no, he knows nothing of it. Now do we have a deal?"

"Yes. Yes you have a deal you bastard, now piss off out of my house." The two men laughed.

"You mean your former house. Now you have two hours to ready your things to leave before we arrive back, I hope to find you gone." Naris nodded to his friend who threw Karil onto the ground, kicking him in the stomach once before following Naris out of the front door, leaving Karil to pick himself up angrily. "Oh and by the way," Karil turned to find Naris looking at him in amusement. "We also know exactly who helped him recover after that little incident with the Malanvai woman."

"Anything else you'd like to add before I do the same to you?" For a moment Naris looked taken aback before grinning his maniacal grin.

"Oh but from what I understand that would not work in the favour of your town's mages. I believe it was part of a deal made with your dear brother. Now you've wasted time my dear Karil, you have less time than ever to remove yourself from this town." And then Naris and his thug left, shutting the door behind him.

Karil’s rage overcame him and he kicked the door, leaving a hole in it, before picking up a table and throwing it the length of the hallway.

~*~

The creature was one of the last of its kind. He felt fear growing but as always it was swamped by the need to do its duty. The Master wanted it that way. He would not accept failure so the creature would try harder.

It lashed out to its left with deadly metallic claws that bit deep into the human neck. The man fell gurgling blood. These humans were slow and weak, not like the Master. Only a few of them had power like the Master had, and they stood at the back bringing fire and pain with their hands. The rest of them were slow and unskilled, with only the occasional man causing the Shadows any concern.

The Shadow quickly realised the weakness in this human army. They were nothing without the Gifted ones. It would slay them first.

Echoing its thoughts to its brothers, the Shadow leapt forward and cut deep into the human ranks. Its reactions saved it from being cut time and time again, not that the cuts were effective. Men were desperately trying to slash at the beast but it used those deadly metallic claws to great effect. It finally cut free from the line and charged towards the line of Gifted ones.

Then it saw a man charging from the army towards it; a tall, powerful man with a deadly long sword. The creature felt the beginnings of amusement. It would kill this human and then remove the line of Gifted ones - the Master would be very pleased.

Darting forward the creature slashed low with its claw-blades, only to be parried. It had expected the move and span to slash high. Somehow the large man handled his blade with enough speed to parry the next blow, and the next and the next. The Shadow grew concerned - it had killed enough humans to know they shouldn't be this fast, especially with such a large weapon. It also galled the creature, after all he was one of the fastest among his brothers. Leaping forward, the Shadow rained blow after blow at the man but always the man dodged or parried the threat. The creature felt anger and panic rising, this time it was not held in check and it attacked in a frenzied state. The man was cut several times but his defence never faltered.

The Shadow lashed out in anger with a deadly overhead strike, only to meet the man's sword, then it felt a curious sensation grow up its neck. How odd - the Shadow had never felt so strange - and why did it not hear the thoughts of its brothers? The creature boxed its thoughts to be considered later, and focused on the enemy. The man had let his guard down, what a fool...what a.....

Mikadun watched as the creature fell, its head rolling from its shoulders. He felt exhausted now and the deep gash in his hip bled painfully, but the battle would not last much longer. The Shadows were falling under the spell assault and pressure from the men. He received a nod from one of the mages he had protected and managed a weak smile back, and then he turned to watch the last of the Shadows fall under the angry bombardment of magic.

~*~

Chandyr was confused. It wasn’t that what Barras had told him didn’t fit, it was just too... convenient. Talks of shadow beasts attacking colleges was definitely true, he had seen them himself. But he was being told that the ones outside of Xetesk were from a different sect that had stolen Julatsan uniforms. Chandyr could see this could be true; he had thought that the Julatsan guard were no where near as powerful as those they had battled near Xetesk. But then it could just be a cover. Unsure he did the only thing he could.

"You have 24 hours, surrender the college or we will take it by force."

"You must believe me," pleaded Barras.

"I must do nothing," replied Chandyr.

"But -" Chandyr stopped Barras by raising his hand.

"I will tell Dystran what you have said. Let’s hope for your sake he believes you." And with that he left Barras feeling very alone in the no-man’s land between the college of Julatsa and the Xeteskian army.

~*~

Gailen cuffed at teary eyes as he watched the bodies be laid in giant ditches. He had lost thirteen men since he first become Captain - years of battle had seen only thirteen dead.

Now that total was close to forty.

The combined forces of Julatsa and Lystern numbered two-thousand three-hundred and eight men. Over four thousand had been lost to one and a half thousand Shadows. Gailen could not help but imagine what would become of Balaia if a more sizeable force were to be summoned. The surviving mages sat in groups, most asleep or feint due to exhaustion. Only their magic had given the soldiers any hope.

Composing himself, Gailen moved from man to man offering words of congratulations and sharing a joke or two. Heavens knew the men needed it. Despite the fact the army had achieved a magnificent victory, the atmosphere smelt of defeat.

He continued his walk until he spotted Mikadun talking to the Lystern General. The General was a picture of perfection next to the blood- and sweat-soaked Mikadun. It was clear that he was not a soldier of any form, he had obviously watched the battle from behind the mages. Gailen took an instant dislike to him, and struggled to calm himself.

"Ah, Captain Gailen I believe - excellent victory my good fellow -" the General spouted in a pompous voice.
Gailen clenched his fists and leapt at the man, thundering an uppercut into the man’s chin. The general fell hard but instantly rolled away shouting for guards. The nearby Lystern Guard leapt to their feet but many drew back as Mikadun drew his deadly long sword.

Taking the momentum, Gailen spoke up:

"This piece of filth was warned of this battle, he was told exactly what was going to happen!" he raged angrily at the milling crowds of men, "But what did he do, he attacked us! He set two colleges on each other rather then see that we are all being manipulated. Does it look like the Julatsan army is in any state to invade Dordover?"

The question lingered as silence spread over the field.

"These creatures are coming, in bigger numbers and with greater power and they are coming soon! We will not fight amongst ourselves anymore! All of the colleges, all of Balaia must fight together now. Is that understood?!"

This time there was the odd murmur and nod of the head.

"Now Dordover have already pledged their support but they are in need of our help in re-taking their city. So if any of you still think we are the enemy speak up now or go home! For the rest of you that want to fight for our land, let me hear it!"

The crowd begun to cheer, swords drawn and held aloft but Gailen quickly asked for silence with a quick gesture.

"Now this piece of dirt," he said as he pointed at the Lystern General, "Has no right to lead an army he won't even fight beside, so I will nominate Mikadun to lead us to Dordover, does anyone dispute this?" he shouted.

"I do," said Mikadun. "You are the leader here my friend."

Gailen tried to respond but found himself drowned out by cheers of agreement. Someone in the crowd began to chant something which was soon taken up by the entire army. Gailen looked to Mikadun and saw the man smiling as he too took up the chant,

"GAILEN’S WOLVES! GAILEN’S WOLVES!"

~*~

Sliding from his saddle, Karil tied the reins around a low-hanging tree branch and made his exit from the forest by foot. There were still a few miles to go before he reached Dordover, but he did not wish to be seen approaching. He could allow himself to be shielded from the eyes of others but he would not attempt it in this situation with his horse as well. With him he carried a small sack, the strap of which was slung over his shoulder as his made his way over the uneven ground.

His thoughts drifted to what he would say when he saw his brother. They had not met since he had helped him back in Ereth. It was then he knew what he would say, but for now he must arrive and find a way to get into Dordover. Though he knew he could easily slip past his brother's imbeciles it was the battle he'd have a problem getting through.

~*~

Selik walked up the stairs and looked out over the battlements. The pitiful Dordovan force was spent, the Blackwing archers had taken out so many mages. The remaining few were too tired to cast. That left the battle just a volley of arrows - soldiers had been moved out of Blackwing range and the Dordovan archers were dropping fast with no cover.

But it was the battle further away that pleased Selik. His plan had worked; the colleges’ mistrust for each other had been their downfall. Reports of a mysterious third party had worsened the casualties. He smiled to himself as he saw Julatsa and Lystern forces dragging the dead into huge trenches. His only regret was that he had missed the battle - he had been in his new study for far too long. Thoughts of his brother at the front of his mind, his anger started to flare. He didn’t know what to do and that made him feel uneasy. He only hoped that the information Karil had received was insubstantial, otherwise he could be a threat.

Suddenly it came at him - a whooshing sound. He turned, snapping out of his daydream. An arrow flying straight at him, he looked right at it as it came towards his eye. The IceWind pained him and could limit some movement but some things just happen instinctively. Half turning, half diving he hit the deck. The arrow missed his face by millimetres. Frustrated with the results of his day dreaming on the battlements he stood, gave one last glare over the fast-failing college forces, smirked and left.

~*~

Level now with the Julatsan forces, Karil was sickened by what he saw.

"Bastard!" Karil turned as he heard one of the mages curse. "The archer nearly had him."

"Had who?" The question came from an injured mage lying on the ground.

"That fucking bastard, Selik. He just managed to dive before the arrow hit him in the face. Why couldn't he have taken the arrow?!"

"Because he's a lucky bastard, that's why. Seems to escape every attempt on his life." Karil shivered and continued his trek through the remaining battle, such as it was.

He'd expected the fighting to be continuing, but there were so few left to continue it that they had mostly resorted to burying their dead. Walking past one of the pits he looked in; wishing he hadn't he looked away again. So many young unseasoned faces, warriors, archers and mages alike from all colleges, bar Xetesk of course.

Once through the scene of the massacre he trudged the distance to the wall of the College. He knew it was here somewhere - he'd been shown it years ago by a mage friend of his before he had been killed. Though few knew how, Karil suspected it had been the work of his brother's men.

"Gotcha," he whispered, sliding his hand along the wall. A secret tunnel that led under the wall and inside of the Dordovan college.

Though he could easily sneak past the Blackwings at the entrance, he had no intention of waltzing through the grounds and risk being bumped into by some drunken thug. Instead he would slip inside the college and go to the place he knew best, what used to be Vuldaroq's study. He and his friend had used to sneak into it when they were younger to steal food and alcohol to confuse the Lord of Dordover, something which, when he found out was happening did not sit too well. Fortunately for them they were never found out.

Once inside the college itself, Karil edged along the corridors, hoping that there wouldn't be an entire mob of Blackwing guards around the corner, though he wouldn't have put it past them - he'd seen what some of them were like when they weren't being watched over by his brother.

Eventually he arrived at the door. Taking hold of the handle he opened it slightly, taking a quick look inside. No one. He walked in, and sat in a large, comfortable seat beside the fire. He would wait. His brother, he knew, would come.

~*~

And so it had happened. They had decided to spilt the group, with half of them pressing onwards for the Fifth College to waken Joibri's hidden powers, and the other half heading back to Blackthorne to seek out allies amongst the Baronies for the battle ahead.

‘Home. Never thought I'd return so soon,’ he thought to himself as they rode. Kane was riding to the right of the diamond formation they had taken on. Delenar was the point-man, his elven eyes scouring the landscape ahead, with their new companion Veygan on the left of the formation. Lena, one of the two "rogue" Fifth mages who had also recently joined the group, rode slightly behind.

"This is nothing to do with trust," Veygan had said, "But due to your lack of combat experience. The three of us in front would no doubt take the brunt of any attack," he had quickly added, and this seemed to soften the expression Lena had worn upon hearing of her place.

He laughed to himself, drawing a bemused backwards glance from his elf friend. Kane gestured he return his eyes back to the road ahead. He had tried picturing all of them in a 'normal' situation. Himself back at Dordover, no doubt berating the novices as they fumbled with simple spells the same way a young lad fumbled with a wench's under-garments for the first time. He pictured Delenar returning to his own love interest back at the small inn where they had encountered the Shadows and had been joined by Gasta, and then of Veygan riding with The Wolves, the cavalry for whom they had all been so grateful for a few nights ago. His attention turned to Lena. Such a strange case. She was without doubt a talented mage, but she was so quiet, so...shy. Such a rarity in skilled mages these days. He shook his head, putting it down to nerves. After all, she'd probably been through as much as they had recently.

A call from Delenar up ahead brought him back to the real world. He had stopped at the top of a small rise and seemed to be pointing to something off in the distance. With the Blackthorne mountains looming over them from the West, they were sheltered on their Eastern side by a small set of steep hills. If they were attacked by a large enough force, they would not have many options if it came to hiding.

The three riders made their way towards the rise to join Delenar to see what the fuss was about.

~*~

The four rode silently through the sparse wood, ranging from a mere trot to a canter. Joibri glanced ahead at Gasta, whom she knew was feeling pressured by being in such a personal situation with the two elves and Pen. She had now remembered where she had recognised his voice from, and watched the scabbard of his blade tap lightly again the stirrups of his horse where it hung by his side. She was glad to see he had taken care of one of her works of craftsmanship.

Gasta and Talo rode ahead, as they were the ones who knew where the Fifth was located, whilst Joibri and Pen rode behind them, roughly side by side. Joibri could still not look over at the warrior - every time she did a nervous clenching of her stomach reminded her of their recent arguments. She couldn't say she was sorry, not yet. But she wanted to, wanted to say too many things and forbid herself, remaining in silence but for the tapping of metal against metal from her weapons.

"We will rest after another few leagues," Talo said warily, not sure how the others would take to his command. He glanced back over his shoulder at Joibri, merely checking on her, but another glare from Pen made him smile icily and return his gaze to the forest.

"We may encounter trouble along the way, so keep your guard up," Gasta said, though he figured the other three's guards were already up, more to one another than the threat of Shadows.

~*~

Karil felt himself dropping off when the door to the study opened and Selik entered. Karil winced on seeing his face, having forgotten how bad his injury had been. He'd been lucky to have survived. His brother walked over to the cupboard in the corner where he picked out a bottle of some form of alcohol, Karil couldn't quite make it out, but it looked very expensive. Typical Vuldaroq.

"Nice to see you making good use of Vuldaroq's belongings." His brother whirled around, sword drawn. Karil grinned, laughing. Selik's eye narrowed at his brother.

"You always had that unhealthy humour. Showing up randomly." After a moment he broke into a smile.

"Still appears to have similar results though," Karil chuckled.

"I feel most people would react that way if somebody appeared out of nowhere in the same room as them," Selik replied. Though both appearing to be happy to see each other, there was no embrace as would have occurred a few years ago and a tense silence followed their exchange.

"Are you aware, by any chance of a man named Naris?" Karil mentioned, trying to appear as though the question were merely the opening of a casual conversation. However, on looking back at his younger brother he saw how his expression had darkened.

"I am."

"I take it you are not on good terms?" Karil was interested now. A renegade Blackwing, it was almost amusing.

"No, we are not." His brother looked coldly into his eyes. "How do you come to know him?"

"Came to Ereth, as a form of merchant. Used to go away often for new products and materials from all over Balaia, and the Southern continent." There was a pause. "So he said." Karil's brother sat nodding.

"He was no merchant..." Karil laughed once, an angry bitter laugh.

"Oh yes I realise that now. One of your lot."

"That, is where you are sadly mistaken," Selik sneered.

"He had the..."

"Tattoo? One his arm so he could cover it up. He's a common criminal, making his money by cheating others, including and most sickeningly, those most in need of help."

"Yes I'd noticed that too."

"What was it this time?"

"Power." When his brother raised an eyebrow, Karil explained all that had happened before leaving Ereth.

"It is possibly better that way. For you I mean." Karil knew exactly what he meant from his expression.

"Going to kill me some day are you, brother?"

"What?" The question caught the Blackwing slightly off guard.

"When you and your lackeys purge Balaia of this so-called evil, will you be purging them of me too?"

~*~

The SpellShield buckled once, flaring red, and collapsed. An anguished cry echoed down the tunnel as the mages casting the joint-construct felt the backlash. He turned his eyes to the next tunnel, held up a hand and launched several black Orbs towards another fleeing mage, seeing the head turn, his face pale and his mouth attempt a yell as the first struck him square in the back, pitching a rolling, flaming human forwards towards the hurried barricade. Smoke poured from the tunnels behind him as his Shadows played havoc with those whose shielding counterparts had been disposed of. He, however, held no fear of attack by Spell or Arrow, his own select group of support mages providing both Spell- and HardShield as he almost strolled through into another chamber.

His face cracked into a smile, a cold emotionless grin, as he spotted another mage pair, one male and one female, turn to cast at him at the wrong time as a group of Shadows emerged behind them, metal claws and dagger blades ripping into flesh, blood erupting over the cavern walls to join that of their former colleagues.

"This was your army Arithmus? These...followers... of yours?" he yelled into the tunnels ahead of him. "They are pathetic. Where is the challenge you promised so long ago?! Bah!" He turned from the tunnels, sensed a strike and saw one of his casting team blown across his path, the ForceCone clipping him as he lost his concentration a little and edged out of the cover of the SpellShield. The others grunted slightly as they increased their effort to make up for the loss.

The Master looked at the mage, saw him pick himself up gingerly, and then watched as his General emerged behind him. A sword burst through the mage's chest, the black blade coated red. The Master stepped swiftly across the gap between them as the mage began to topple forward. He merely swayed however, the body still upright thanks to Kaynel's sword. More Shadows emerged to grip the young man as the blade was pulled out agonisingly slowly, his cries mixing with that of the dying. As the tip disappeared back beneath the ribs, the Master placed his hand over the wound.

"You were careless, and you have failed me. You will pay the price as I take the rest of your pitiful life. You will serve as a reminder to those who would cross me." His hand glowed slightly, a slight twitch of effort sliding across his face, and then he muttered the command word, "SoulDrain." The Shadows supporting the body let go, the spell more than enough to keep it upright and rigid.

The colour of the glow changed, from a dull white light to a deep red, then fading to black as the light in the mage's eyes faded, his very soul drained through the wound into the Master, the remaining strength replenishing his reserves. The body dropped to the floor with a dull thud.

"Pin it to the wall. I want the survivors brought through here as soon as we force the surrender. They will know what it is to fear me."

He moved on, taking his shield mages with him. His silent General glancing towards the Shadows nearby, then motioned towards the cold earth and stone walls. Strange metal stakes were driven through shoulders, hips and shins, already decayed bone splintering away. The final stake was hammered home through the mage's forehead. The General and his Shadows faded away to rejoin the battle, leaving the gruesome spectre behind.

~*~

"This has to be done," Talo said, unfolding the pieces of parchment necessary. The others gathered around him reluctantly, for he was to explain what was going to happen to Joibri once they were inside. They had stopped in a small clearing, tying the reins of the horses to low-hanging branches.

"This'll be interesting..." Gasta mumbled. Talo ignored him.

"Joibri, to be blunt about all of this - you'll need to lie down on the ManaDais, like it's shown here on the piece you had."

"Chains?"

"In a sense, but we probably won't have time to set it up. Now, at each of these points around the dais will stand a mage - one originally trained from each college, and one trained purely at the Fifth, so all colleges are represented. Then we'll cast the spell. We've decoded said spell from these writings here, made by Arithmus. You'll need to be wearing this pendant," he tapped an obscure diagram, "Which is currently not in my possession, but I can get it. Do you see?"

"There are still pieces missing," Joibri objected.

"For the spell, no more is needed than what I have here," he assured her, feeling Pen's eyes bore into the top of his head. Joibri sighed lightly, accepting it all.

"Okay. Whatever it takes. Let's just hope those other mages want to co-operate." Abruptly she looked up to Gasta,

"I'd like to see how that sword I forged for you fairs, General," Joibri said, walking over to pick up her own sword with a quirked smile. The others accepted her chosen distraction, getting up and Talo clearing the parchments away.

"I'm not a General any longer, Joibri." She put a hand on her hip,

"Well what else am I meant to nickname you? Fluffy?" she passed the tip of her sword delicately through his tousled hair. He batted it away with two fingers,

"You called me Alarius - it will still do nicely. And if you insist." Pen and Talo backed away as the two prepared to spar. With a short metallic song that sent their spines tingling Gasta unsheathed his sword and held it steady, allowing Joibri a moment to reflect on her own craftsmanship. He rocked back onto his right heel, mindset already beginning to switch. With her, he knew, he would need speed.

Joibri sunk into her own fighting stance - right leg slightly stretched behind and to the side, left knee bent, blade held horizontally across her face and left hand raised to touch the flat. It was longer than Gasta's blade, and somewhat thinner - this meant that Gasta would have even more force in his blows, especially since men were generally harder strikers than women. Her gaze fixed squarely on his.

"I won't use the mana, or any other convenient advantage," she said.

"Neither will I - purely blades - I don't think we can afford to deal physical strikes this close to the college; we'll need all the strength we can get."

"Ready?"

"Time!"

Immediately Gasta dealt a powerful overhead strike, quickly parried by a quick rise of Joibri's blade. She stepped to the left, tilting her blade down so his slid off and turned her back to him briefly, for a moment stepping inside the invisible circle known to all warriors. Her sword swung around her, aiming to contact his side, but Gasta's was there to block it as he took a step away from her. Then it was her turn to deal a vertical-overhead strike, missing him as he ducked to one side whilst swiping at her legs.

A jump and he had missed her too, and their blades met repeatedly as Gasta began to force Joibri backwards by sheer strength of blows. Sparks flew. Then unexpectedly Joibri dropped to the ground on one knee, riskily bringing her head down to her knee as her blade swooped down to try and hit Gasta's midriff. When he rolled out of the way Joibri had sprung up again, leaning over backwards to avoid a stab near her ear. One of her hands touched the ground as she did so, keeping her from falling on her back, whilst her other hand dropped her sword. To avoid another overhead strike she turned over and swopped hands, grabbing her sword again with her first hand and spinning swiftly on her heel to make a slice through the General's shirt.

He stepped away and looked down at his shirt. They glanced at one another with smirks, and then were at it again.

Squarely Joibri blocked a side-swipe, letting it slide down and consequently locking the two of them in a test of strength as their hilts met and brought them face-to-face. Joibri's wrists shook from the strain, but Gasta was quite composed. Realising she wouldn't win this way, Joibri temporarily redirected her strength into twisting the hilt, causing one of the guard stems to hit her opponent's knuckles. It was enough to distract him and she lunged back, pointing her sword at him over her shoulder and beckoning him closer.

Finished sucking on a bleeding knuckle Gasta came at her again, the powerful blow knocking her off balance slightly, enough for another blow of the same nature to make her ankle give way and collapse to the dirt. Joibri parried desperately on her back, then turned onto her side and lashed out with her knees clutched together - just enough momentum to bring her to them in an attempt to get back up. Again she stayed on the defensive.

Then Gasta tried a low side-strike - the length of Joibri's blade meant the ground itself blocked the point and prevented her from aligning properly with Gasta's move - his blade slipped up hers to hold itself firmly at her neck. She smiled,

"Good, I am glad to see that you and the sword are worthy of one another. Time."

"If we had been allowed physical blows I know I would have failed against you," he acknowledged in turn, bringing his blade away and sheathing it.

"Do not be so certain, Alarius," she said as she got up.

~*~

Lirant, Fieron and their two fellow research mages, Harcetch and Unliore, barricaded Talo's old office as much as they could with both Spell- and HardShields. This was left to Fieron and Harcetch, whilst Lirant turned to Unliore,

"Send a Communion to Talo-eran. He may have left us, but perhaps he would not turn his back on friends." The woman nodded, tucking her hair behind her ears before laying on the ground. As she searched for Talo's signature, Lirant looked back to where Fieron and Harcetch stood firm.

"He's our only chance, Lirant, don't look so annoyed!" Harcetch joked, even under strain.

"He was always the most powerful..." Lirant admitted with a tinge of jealousy, walking around the huge desk to the small window that looked out on the ManaDais. It was still safe, but he knew it wouldn't be for long.

"Why did he leave?" Fieron grunted.

"I don't know. But we must have faith that he would not turn his back on us, his fellow Apostles of the Fifth," Lirant replied, looking back down to Unliore.

~*~

Talo suddenly pulled his horse to a stop, leaning forward into the mare's neck and closing his eyes. The others looked at him strangely. When he sat up his eyes opened again in terror,

"Gods burning - the Shadows are invading the Fifth! Come! Hurry! We must be quick!" The horses were spurned into a gallop, which alone proved difficult through the woods, empty as they were. "The other Apostles like myself, needed for that spell, have barricaded themselves in my office - but it won't be long! Please, hurry!"

The horses burst from the wood, heading across the plains towards Triverne Lake.

~*~

"WHAT? NO!" Selik was genuinely shocked, even though he'd considered it earlier that day but gradually managed to push thought from his mind. "You're my brother, Karil."

"So if I wasn’t you would kill me as soon as look at me? It's a joy to know what my little brother has become."

"What in the hell's is that supposed to mean?" His one good eye was now blazing with hatred.

"You know damn well what I mean." Karil noted the change in his brother's stance. "You see, if I were not your brother I would have been slaughtered by now, like many of my friends."

"You should be used to death, it’s all around us, all the time," Selik’s tone was bitter.

"Don't tell me you're still on about our parents too?" Karil's tone was more mocking than he had intended, and before he had time to move out of the way he found himself lifted from his seat and slammed into the wall.

"You weren't there you worthless bastard! You were away playing mage games while our parents were murdered by the same fucking scum that you were striving to be. There's not much you can do for your parents when you're a seven year old cowering under a table, but you...YOU could have done something."

"Do you not think that that thought has haunted me since the day it happened?" Karil shoved his brother's hands from his collar, but found himself thrown back again, his brother's hand moving up to his throat and tightening.

"But still you left again anyway, so I could have a nice time playing happy families with a family that not only had no means of feeding or looking after me, but even on the occasion that they did, they refused to, because I had been shoved onto them. So whilst you were away learning how to destroy the very country you were born into, I was starving in a freezing cold barn!" Apparently noticing for the first time that Karil was finding it difficult to breathe, Selik let go of his grip, Karil coughing and steadying himself against a table next to him. "I'm sorry." It was barely a mumble, but just loud enough for Karil to hear, as though he thought somebody may be listening at the door. It was certainly a progression at least, Karil thought.

"Gods you're strong." Selik raised an eyebrow. "You used to be such a scrawny little bastard." They both laughed now.

"You still are, Karil."

"Here, I have some drink I brought from Ereth. I think it'll help us both." Karil opened the bag he had carried from the forest and pulled out a bottle of wine. "It'll be warm, but..."

"Hah, it's alcoholic isn't it?" Karil smiled.

"Would you consider..." Karil paused, Selik looking at him suspiciously. "Okay, I guess this is your last chance then. Will you leave the Blackwings? Come with me, and help restore total safety to Balaia?" Selik's reply was purely to spit on the floor. "Do you think they'd want you to do this?"

"How the hell's should I know? They’re dead remember, they couldn’t teach me much when they were lying on the ground!"

"I don't think they would."

"Is this the good old brotherly chat? Well it's a bit late for that now - you see when you abandoned your family you didn't count on their being killed, and so your little brother who always used to look up to you, actually finding out a little more about life than you!"

"So be it, brother. I believe this will be the last time we speak to each other on neutral ground."

Karil proffered the bottle for his brother to take, his hand shaking slightly. Fortunately for him, Selik did not notice as he took the bottle and drank from it before handing it back to Karil, who had sat back down in the chair, still rubbing at his throat, his eyes closed.

"So, how many this week?"

"Hm?"

"How many mages have you killed?"

"What does it maaaerr -" It was beginning, the draught was taking effect.

Karil opened his eyes to see his brother fall back against the cabinet, again his one good eye boring a hole into Karil's head. But the usual flash of anger was dulled by what Karil had drugged his drink with. It was time. He would not do it to him when he was asleep, he had to be awake, to know why it was happening.

"Whoer the 'els d'you pu init?"

"Something to make this a little easier on my part, physically speaking of course." Selik frowned, but realisation began to dawn on his face. He tried to push himself up but the draught had weakened him to such an extent that he couldn't move from where he sat on the floor. Karil took out the dagger from inside the cloak he had laid down in the chair.

"Whooer the fuck ar'u doon?"

"I'm sorry I have to do this to you brother, it is so much my own fault that you became who and what you are, but I can't allow you to go on doing this." He knelt beside Selik, who was now incapable of any form of movement whatsoever. "I love you." And with that Karil thrust the dagger into Selik's chest, the blade piercing through his brother's heart. Selik gasped, coughing blood. Karil bent over his younger brother, pulling him into an embrace. "I'm so sorry, for everything." Karil twisted the dagger within his brother, before pulling it free of his body, and lying him back onto the floor. His chest felt heavy, and he felt tears brim within his eyes as he wiped the dagger and placed it back within the cloak.

On his return to his brother's body he noticed two things: his ring; he couldn't remember where his own had gone, but they’d both had them when they were little. He wasn't going to let the other Blackwings get their filthy murdering hands on it. He took it, placing it on his own right forefinger. The other thing he noticed, was a thing he had not seen since they were both children. Selik around his neck wore their father's ancient pendant. It had been thought lost after their parents death since Karil stood in line to inherit what their family had when their father died, but Karil could hardly blame his brother for taking it under the circumstances. He took the chain from around Selik's neck and placed it around his own. Looking down at the body of his younger brother, Karil spoke one last time before renewing the spell that had let him pass through the battle.

"I will see Balaia prosperous and free of war again little brother, but without the needless murder." He turned his back and left the room, not caring if anyone saw the door open and apparently nobody exit.

~*~

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