The Keys to Ascension Read online

  Georgmichaelo, a man about thirty from another Blastonin temple, clapped his hands while other pairs already headed out. “Come on, Theto! Let’s go go. I’m not going solo!”

  Theto mounted, then jerked the reigns, sending his horse forward.

  Georgmichaelo caught up. “I know this is your first combat. Just follow your training and don’t do anything stupid.”

  “Yes, sir.” Theto felt awkward after saying ‘sir’. It wasn’t necessary to say to anyone in this group except for the Captain, but it came out without thought.

  “Listen man, they out number us two to one, but that is nothing. They may not even have a sorcerer; at most two. This will be easy. Don’t get ahead of yourself. And don’t feel you need to use Thranix, that guy can hit friends just as easily as enemies, you know?”

  Nodding, Theto said, “Thanks Georgmichaelo.”

  “And c’mon man, you gotta know everyone calls me”, he broke into song, “ouuu-uuuuu, Georgy.”

  #

  Georgy and Theto watched a magical orange and red flare soar upward in the distance.

  “Hyaa, hyaa!” They raced their horses toward it.

  Theto detected all three of his high beings turned onto him. “Yepiera, honey, please stay on for the next few hours. Battle is afoot.”

  “You know,” she replied, “It has been so long since you’ve taken me anywhere.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll go to a special place later this week. I promise.”

  “Special? Really?”

  “Yes. Really. Now, prepare for battle.”

  All ten mercenaries came into view, most riding toward the meet up point. In the distance, there were more than the twenty raiders Theto spotted earlier.

  Georgy sung, “Ouuuuu, looks like we got a serious battle on our haaaaaaa-aaaands.”

  Theto estimated two-hundred mounted easterners trotted toward them in the distance.

  As Captain Ripface yelled, his scar contorted almost like it shouted as well. “These bastards would burn plantations if we weren’t here to stop them. And, given their number, we’ll get extra pay with victory. Fight with your flare partner and let’s show these Easterners how Blastonins do battle!” He lifted up his spear-axe, the spear end pointing toward the sky.

  Theto and Georgy glanced at each other, then rode toward the oncoming enemy with the rest of the mercenaries in a scattered and uneven line. The two of them charged far enough away from the other mercenaries that it seemed like they alone ran against twenty enemies.

  The two sides closed quickly. Theto glanced at the foes’ spears and the dark skin around their eyes. He sensed high being connections in four enemies, two of them coming toward him and Georgy!

  Four easterners leading the charge toward them lifted their spears to throw.

  Georgy yelled, “Got it!” He lifted a hand toward the enemies and their spears glowed orange. They yelled in their foreign tongues as they dropped their weapons, which fell to the ground.

  Theto focused on staying balanced on his horse as he unsheathed both his swords, then called on Yepiera’s power to create three illusions of himself riding to his side, and gave each of them and himself the illusion of twenty arms and twenty swords.

  Georgy yanked a two-sided axe off his back and sung before blowing air out his mouth that knocked the first enemy straight off his horse. Then Georgy started swinging.

  Theto lost vision off all but that which was in front of him: enemies. He prepared to block or dodge incoming spears and swords, but all went after illusions. With both his real weapons, Theto swung left and right, slicing through necks.

  A blast of heat pressed toward him and fluctuating orange filled his vision. A massive fire ball barreled toward him only a yard away! Theto threw up a magical shield, hoping it could block such a thing. The heat blasted around him, making him feel like he stood between extra hot bonfires, but the shield held.

  With all his focus on the fireball, Theto had dropped his illusions. C’mon Theto! He recreated them, but three easterners charged him from the front, left, and right, and they knew which Theto was real. A fourth easterner lifted his right hand in the air while it shook like mad and whirling fire grew in front of the palm.

  Georgy fought on foot, his wounded horse fleeing the battle. Singing and whirling his giant axe, he cut down enemies around him while those coming from behind screamed and dropped their burning hot weapons.

  Theto knew three guys coming from each side would be an ideal time for a Thranix blastwave. But he’d only done it practicing alone. He had no time to ponder it, the enemy were on him with aimed spears. Theto unleashed the power. A wave of energy blasted around him, knocking all horsemen off their mounts.

  Theto decided to deal with them later. He charged the fire sorcerer who now held a giant ball of spinning flame. The sorcerer threw it, but Theto threw up a shield right in front of the throw and the ball exploded in the sorcerer’s face, lighting his robes on fire. Charging the foe with a sword up high, Theto prepared to slice through the infidel.

  “Theto, watch ouuuuuuut!” Georgy yelled, singing the last word.

  Theto desired to see his foe bleeding and dead, but he couldn’t abandon all sense. He forced himself to turn his attention away from the sorcerer, who wildly tried to put out the flames in his robes, toward a massive fireball thrown by another sorcerer, perfectly aimed to collide with Theto’s trajectory. The ball was already upon him. He shouted.

  A gust of wind hit the ball, forcing it to fly just in front of Theto, heat blasting his face, but causing no real harm. Theto would thank Georgy later, for his horse still propelled him toward the burning sorcerer.

  Already imagining the sorcerer’s head tumbling to the ground, exhilaration swept up Theto’s body. Then, the foe eyed Theto and stopped fighting his flames. The enemy screamed as Georgy yelled something.

  The sorcerer put his arms out to the side, his entire body burning orange, visible through the robes. Theto swung his sword, it sliced through air heading toward the neck, only an inch away. Then, the sorcerer exploded.

  Theto threw up his magic shield, stopping the heat of the blast from burning off his face, but a wave of energy got through, sending Theto and his horse tumbling through the air before crashing and rolling on the ground.

  Theto created many laying images of himself lifting his head and glancing around the battlefield. With the combined arms of weapon and magic, the mercenaries were tearing through the easterners, whose blood was splattering all over as more of them fell.

  In Theto’s eyes, the battle wobbled as he stood reaching for his swords that were not there. Georgy…he looked for, then found, Georgy, his partner in this battle. His massive axe spun through two dismounted easterners at once right before Georgy jump-spun through the air just over a sorcerer’s fireball. He needs help against the sorcerer.

  An easterner’s spear flew through one of Theto’s illusions. As the horseman ran by, Theto blasted the foe with Thranix’s power, sending the easterner flying off of his horse and slamming into the ground near another mercenary who kicked the infidel’s teeth in.

  With no weapons, Theto ran toward the sorcerer and created ten charging illusions of himself—all shouting. The enemy snapped its head toward them.

  Georgy sung and blasted air from his mouth. It hit the sorcerer, knocking him from his horse. Theto closed the distance in no time, then delivered a finishing kick to the enemy’s head.

  Breathing heavily, Theto and Georgy scanned the battle. A few enemies fled, and the rest were dead.

  “Wooooo!” Captain Ripface shouted, “That’ll show’em!”

  He jogged over to Theto and Georgy. “Nice work. You guys got half the sorcerers.”

  “Ernestio!”

  “Yeah, boss?” The farsight-giver jogged to them.

  The captain pointed toward the three horse butts running in the distance. “You three take the freshest horses and track ‘em down. If you catch’em, kill’em. If they got a camp, loot it. If they got a
n army…” he looked toward the ground then snapped his face back up, staring Theto in the eyes, “run.”

  Ch. 53

  Ernestio rode a horse-length ahead of Theto and Georgy. He seemed to blindly ride forward as his eyes magically observed distances out of reach for normal eyes. Speaking just above a whisper, Ernestio said, “Woa.”

  They rode forward in silence for a few seconds. Theto sped his horse up just a bit to ride next to Ernestio. Theto turned to him. “What’s going on?”

  Ernestio halted. The other two mercenaries did so as well. He turned toward Theto. “It’s a full damn army. We’ve got to warn Hyzantria.”

  #

  Captain Ripface and his group of nine other mercenaries stood in a ravine next to their horses. He whispered, “Hyzantria is being warned. This will be their war, but we live and die with that empire, so we’re doing our part. Plus, I’m pretty sure they’ll pay us more than the plantation lords. We’re gonna mount up, we’re gonna kill, then we’re gonna leave. There’ll be no giving chase. I will not have us run into an ambush.” He twirled his finger then pointed in the direction of the enemy.

  Theto and Georgy rode out of the ravine with the other mercenaries. Theto checked one last time, unnecessarily so, but it gave him comfort. He metaphorically dipped his hand into each of the founts of magic that were Yepiera, Thranix, and Proteen, feeling their available power. Then he unsheathed his swords, ready to deal death with worldly power as well. He yelled for battle as he closed with the enemies and the vibration of hooves ran through him.

  The easterners, on horseback and covered from head to toe in cloth and with cloth ribbons streaming from their weapons and body, scanned the mercenaries.

  The fact that the enemy outnumbered Theto five to one only further stoked the thrill in his chest.

  The foes turned and fled.

  “I don’t think so.” Theto summoned more of Thranix than he ever had, then narrowed his eyes and clenched a fist as he tried to move the natural focal point of Thranix’s power, himself. Grunting, he pushed the focal point ahead of him, then shoved as hard as he could, making the epicenter for the incoming blastwave ahead of the fleeing pillaging-party. His entire body shook. “Ahhhhhhh!”

  The blast went off. Sending horses and men tumbling through the air back in the direction of the mercenaries. Lightning and sinkholes created by other mercenaries took out more enemies. Georgy sung then sucked in his breath, pulling one foe right off the end of his horse as the beast kept galloping away.

  The mercenaries rode upon the demounted and slowed easterners, then cleaved them in two. Only a few enemies escaped in the distance.

  #

  Theto’s emotions fought each other as he saw the large Hyzantrian army spread out in battle formation. He’d always love his home empire. Apart of him would always be Hyzantrian. But he was also a fugitive on the run from his former home. And, the empire’s evil policies had killed his father and exiled his mother. And now, I fight side by side to protect Hyzantria as well as the entire western world.

  Knights covered from head to toe in plate, men at arms in plate breastplates, archers in chain, and scattered inquisitors in flowing white cloth awaited the eastern army that they all knew rode in this direction. Could an army of faith really beat an army of fire? Well, the army of faith did have its right flank covered by Blastonin mercenaries.

  Right behind the front lines, Theto and Georgy ate a banana, hoping to be energized for the great battle to come.

  Ripface strode toward them and the other mercenaries with a devious grin. “I hope you survive, boys, because I just negotiated us a bigger package!”

  A cheer went up from about five-hundred mercenaries, including from the partially banana-full mouths of Theto and Georgy. Theto quickly drank some water and washed down the banana. He lifted his hand, “Let’s hear it for Capt…” Ripface glared with one eye, “Major Ripface!”

  His mercenaries cheered. By the time the Hyzantrians arrived, Ripface and his small band had fought off several pillagers. With the influx of mercenaries for the Hyzantrian campaign, Ripface got himself hired on as a major. C’mon Theto, Major Ripface. Major Ripface. Major…

  Major Ripface strode in front of the mercenaries under his command. “Scouting report just came in. We’ll be fighting in less than an hour. Us and the other mercenaries got this right flank. It is ours. Ours! Nothing fancy is being asked of us. We will fight and we will kill. If you find yourself near the Hyzantrians, avoid using magic. Even if you are surrounded by enemies and mercenaries, use as little magic as possible. I know it’s the height of nonsense, but we all grew up near these faith-blinded bastards and The Divinity for some reason gave them all the land and resources, so we’ll just have to tough it out.”

  Growing up, I never realized how much power our army gave up by treating high beings as demons and wizards as maleefas.

  The massive mounted army appeared over the horizon—a little larger than the Hyzantrian and mercenary forces. Theto imagined the great temples of Blastonin burning in flame as the adepts died trying to defend them. Southern Hyzantria could fall before the army battling the Citians can return. Could it be true that that war was about Aunt Herania? Is she really dead? How many Arrassios even still live!?

  A hand rested on Theto’s shoulder, followed by Georgy’s singing voice. “Theto it’s time to wake up and get focuuuuused. For it’s almost time to go-go. Ouuuuu.”

  Theto laughed. “That’s a dancing song not a battle song.”

  Georgy showed his beautiful, large smile. “It’s all the same to me, friend. Let’s spill some,” he broke into song and flashed into a dancin’ pose, “bloooooood!”

  #

  In Theto’s previous fights, there was rarely another person within blades reach of him except the foe he was about to kill. The small numbers created spread out contests that at times seemed like a bunch of little team duels rather than one fight. That would not be the case in Theto’s first real battle.

  Georgy stood on his right and on Theto’s left another mercenary shouted a battle-yell at the multiple massive flaming balls that arced in the air coming toward them. Going in the other direct went a rain of Hyzantrian arrows.

  Glancing at Georgy, Theto said, “Are we really gonna stand here and take those fireballs?”

  Georgy sung, “Praaaaay, for life!”

  Theto scanned the horse army on the other side of the field. I hope they’re thinking the same thing about all those arrows…most of them don’t even have shields, and those that do have little round ones. I suppose they’re willing to trade little flying sticks with points on them for giant fireballs…Oh, The Divinity…

  The fire crashed into the Hyzantrian and mercenary armies. Men screamed and fire sizzled from all over the lines. Theto could do nothing but stand and listen as he watched the enemy take their punishment. The Hyzantrian arrows tore the foes apart. With little armor, the easterners and their horses had no resistance to the metal-tipped sticks that fell upon them. Some enemies collapsed off their horses, others fell as their mounts whinnied in pain, others died with their horses as they both reacted to arrows piercing their skin.

  Theto leaned his head toward Georgy. “Why aren’t they flanking, and charging, and maneuvering like these horse heathens do?”

  Georgy shrugged. “I guess they thought fire was greater than arrows.”

  That’s what I thought.

  Another volley of technology and magic arced in the sky. Again, both sides awaited their random deaths.

  The Hyzantrians shouted, “The Sovereign, The Authority, The Divinity!”

  Then screams of pain from both sides filled the air; as well as crackling flame waves expanding from where the fireballs hit. Theto couldn’t see the damage the enemy had done, but he again witnessed the might of arrow volleys against unshielded opponents as waves of men and horse crumpled to the ground.

  Theto held his breath as another round of projectiles soared in the air. One hot ball of flame arced down t
oward Theto. “Ahhh.” In a second he realized it would land a few yards behind him. “No!”

  He threw up Proteen’s shield. The fire crashed into it, exploding its flame in all directions away from the shield. The fire itself dissipated before reaching Theto, but the wave of heat and energy blasted into him and those around him, knocking them forward and violently thudding their bodies against the ground. Theto had put up his arms, protecting his head from the field, but the collision with his arms sent throbs of pain through his brain anyways.

  He barely heard the Hyzantrian chant of, “The Sovereign, The Authority, The Divinity!” Theto put his hand on his head, then caught sight of Georgy lying next to him.

  With his beautiful smile, Georgy said, “Ouuuuuu, you just saved a bunch of liii-iiiiifes.”

  “You were just knocked to the ground by a massive fireball and are about to risk your life in a battle against eastern hordes, and you still sing?”

  They both stood, then Georgy shrugged. “Hey, when you gotta sing to make your high being work, you get used to it. Song livens the spirt anyways. Ohhhhhh, yeaaaahhhh.”

  Theto cracked a smile, then noticed Hyzantria’s formation. Each man stood yards apart from the other. Theto muttered, “That’s no way to fight a battle…” realization spread over his mind. “It limits flame deaths…we must copy that stance immediately!”

  Georgy yelled, “Too late, back to our lines!”

  Glancing back at the enemy while he jogged into position, Theto saw their flanks split off to the sides and move forward, while the center stayed still. Another loosing of arrows went into the sky, but the sorcerers did not respond with fire.

  The eastern center then split left and right, into the places where the flanks once stood. There was no longer a center to the enemy. All the eastern horses moved forward—two blocks on ends past the end of the Hyzantrian and mercenary lines, and two blocks lined up with the Hyzantrian and mercenary wings.