Circles, Chapter 1.8

Circles

Chapter 1.8

Maze of Madness

"When you enter the Maze, it will be different for each of you," Mage Cinnamon said. "For some, it will be simply a maze with traps and beasts to overcome. For others, it will present their worse fears or their greatest temptations." She looked around the room at the Aspirants, all of whom hung on her words. "Or it can be totally different, something completely unexpected. The Maze is beyond our ken. It always has been. It always will be. Only the foolish believe they master the Maze, and the foolish will not exit because they will be dead."

As Alissa led them slowly across the shattered courtyard, Thomas found himself split, one part of him horrified by the carnage around them, the other part remembering the meager information that the Mages had shared with the Aspirants about the Maze.

"Every Circle has a Testing building, and every Testing building has a Gate into the Maze," Cinnamon said. "You will find that the histories are incomplete. We do not know if the Circles were founded on Gate sites, or if Gates were conjured where Circles were built. If they were conjured, such magicks are lost. The Gates that exist are the only Gates that have existed for the past two thousand years."

The unschooled believed Mages could do anything, including becoming invisible. But Aspirants soon learned the limitations of the magick. True, a Mage could do almost anything in theory, but a Mage soon exhausted the available magick in an area in reality. Or a Mage could draw too much magick and burn to ashes in moments. Or Mage could get a spell wrong, perhaps by losing concentration or misdrawing a conjure circle or forgetting a word. A Mage who made a mistake several hundred years ago made the crater that now was known as Habais Lake in southern Nolo Farnatho. The Mage, of course, didn't survive.

And other limitations had to do with the nature of the world itself. The laws of gods put strict boundaries on magick. Priests believed the gods did this to protect mankind from evil Mages. Some Mages believed the gods did it to protect themselves. Still other Mages didn't believe in the gods; they believed the boundaries arose from the very nature of the universe. Whatever the reason, Mages could not become invisible, but they could fade.

If an Imperial soldier looked closely, he would see the vague outline of Thomas and the other Aspirants as they crept toward the Testing building behind Alissa's fade shield. But he would have be attentive and be looking at just the right angle. And he would have to do so while the Verdant and the remaining Mages tore down the heavens to throw spheres of fire and bolts of lightning at their foes.

By necessity, they could not move fast, Thomas with his hand on Glemma's shoulder, her hand on Derry's, and his on Alissa who led. The fade shield wavered the faster it moved. They had to walk around bodies and rubble. And they had to stay away from soldiers. More swarmed into the courtyard, shooting their rifles and pistols at the shield maintained by Mongarth's Mages. The cannon, half melted from the magick thrown at it, smoldered under the dirgible. The far end of the dirigible had crashed against the dining hall. It burned as soldiers attempted to fight the fire.

Overhead another dirigible hung in the sky. It shone arc lights in the courtyard revealing the carnage. Thomas could hear Glemma whimpering as they made their way past body after mangled body. Many Aspirants had died on the courtyard, but many more soldiers had learned the final lesson about the power of magick. Blood pooled in areas, and Thomas thought about how hard it would be to clean the blood up and wondered if they would use mops. He fought hysterical laughter.

Verdant still stood as did Red, Oak, and Sandollar. But White, Rose, and Blanc had fallen, their bodies collapsed inside the shield. Thomas couldn't see Cinnamon, either. Across the courtyard, only Forrest still stood. Both Violet and Midnight lay behind him. Forrest no longer threw power at the other Mages, only maintained the shield surrounding him.

For a moment, Thomas felt a flare of hope. Perhaps the Imperials had miscalculated the troops needed. But at that moment, Red fell, her body smoldering. She had drawn too much magick for too long and paid the price. Their shield wavered. Oak shored it up, but Thomas could see it wouldn't hold much longer. Sandollar collasped. The shield blinked once and nearly fell. Pulling so much magick that he nearly stole Alissa's power from her, Oak brought the shield back up.

"Surrender, Verdant," Forrest said, his voice magically cast to everyone in the courtyard. "You cannot win."

Verdant flashed a feral grin. "Burn, you volking bastard." She threw lightning at him. His shield easily absorbed it.

"Foolish woman," Forrest said. "Your Aspirants are dead. Your Circle is destroyed. Argent has left you here to face the wolves. What say you now of your lover?"

"He will return," Verdant said. "And he will make you pay. Every last whoreson of you."

"No," Forrest said. "He will not. You think he is safe in the Maze, but soon I will lead more Mages in there after him."

"You cannot!" Verdant said. "It is forbidden!"

"So many things are," Forrest said. He made a sign with his hand. The dirigible overhead shot its cannons at the shield. The explosions nearly knocked the Aspirants off their feet. When the smoke cleared, Verdant and Oak sprawled motionless on the ground.

"Check them," Forrest said, motioning to the soldiers. He dropped his shield and walked toward the downed Mages.

Only two more steps and the Aspirants would enter the Testing building.

At that moment, Forrest stopped and looked directly at them. He looked startled and then laughed. "More babes for the slaughter."

Copyright 2011 by Stephen B. Bagley. All rights reserved. No copying without prior express written permission. Thank you for reading.

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