The mage defended with his staff as his golems crawled back to him, their legs and arms crumbling from the blasts of lightning overhead.
"You..." said the mage with gritted teeth, "Who are you? Where are you from?!" Dorin flew back up as the golems near their master. "How could a powerful elementer be unnoticed all these years?!" he asked.
"I'm not an elementer," Dorin simply said. "I just study hard." Water bubbled from beneath the mage's feet which made him jump. "I just use what is already there."
Dorin snapped. Lightning crashes from the heavens and travelled through the wet ground. The mage was trapped in a cage of electric volts, connecting the ground to the sky, but the golems jumped at the cage, covering their master and smashing themselves at the process.
Without warning, the Hawthorn mage hurled the top of his staff at Dorin. The concealed blade within it struck Dorin's shoulder, sending a bolt of dark energy through the young man's body. Dorin fell to the ground with a gasp.
Two of the attackers quickly went to him and aimed the binding weapon at Dorin, shooting once, twice, three times to make sure he could not escape. Others were already at the mound, digging Sebastian out of his sanctuary, but before they could get deeper, a voice came from beneath the earth.
"Open up."
The earth opened like a blooming flower.
Sebastian staggered out from the middle, his eyes, wide, lilac flames full of hate and loathing.
"Stop... All of you, stay still." he commanded.
Everyone around him stood up like marionettes tied to invisible strings.
"An... enchanter..." hissed the Hawthorn mage.
The voice echoed in his head, blocking everything else, assuming control.
"Come. NOW." Sebastian commanded.
All who heard half crawled and half ran to obey the boy's command, unable to resist him.
"On your knees." and they were. "You." he said, pointing at the Hawthorn mage, "Pull the dagger off."
Hawthorn stumbled to his feet, ran to Dorin and pulled the dagger off his shoulder. Dorin gave a soft whimper as the dark energy enveloping him disappeared.
"Take the bands off."
Three from the group stood up and approached Dorin, touched the elastic harness and said words of magic. The tough bands loosened and slowly dissolved. "Now," said Seb, "take off your masks."
One by one, the remaining attackers took off their masks. Sebastian stared at them under the light of the full moon as it finally came out of Dorin's thunder clouds. He didn’t know any of them, except for 2 or 3 that he thought he might have seen before from the military division.
"Who are you?" he asked the leader – Hawthorn mage who turned out to be a balding man of about 50, his thinning black hair streaked with grey. "Why do you want to take Dorin?"
"C-Claus Konigson ... imperial wizard ... " the hawthorn mage answered. "We scout for young powerful mages through out the kingdom.
"You call this scouting?!" Dorin came, clutching his shoulder. "Now we know who they are, we can dispose of them!" he said to Seb.
Seb looked back, still on the ground, unable to sit straight due to pain. He saw the 3 other attackers, those who bound Dorin, limp on the ground.
"No... No more... killing." Seb told Dorin. Every word sent a bold of pain through his chest.
"They wouldn't have hesitated if we were in their position," Dorin scowled, "They could have easily killed you!" He hesitated then added, "Well, I guess now that they have seen what you’re capable of, they would take you with me instead."
Seb flinched. "Listen..." he addressed the four who remained. "...forget about this... Dorin Silvius... is just a plain wind mage... his companion... Sebastian Revius... just an ordinary mage..." he gasped as he strained to talk, every breath of air felt like claws raking his chest. "
"Too dubious." said Dorin. "Whoever sent them would wonder how they ended up beaten like this."
[Well, whose fault do you think that is?] Seb faced Dorin with a filthy slate. [It is better than killing them all.]
"I agree with the young Silver Tongue." said a voice from the shadows.
Dorin jumped at the sound and turned around to see a tall man riding a pale white horse on bareback. He had nothing on but a kind of long dark kilt, his long grey hair flowing behind him like spider silk. His face was smooth, but the air around him speaks of wisdom found only in the very old.
"Who are you?" Asked Dorin in a defensive stance. "Are you with them?"
"I do not work for anyone." replied the man. He got off the horse and checked the nearest fallen assailant on the ground. "You have killed men."
"They attacked us first," Dorin said, daring the stranger, "We merely defended ourselves."
The man stood up. "They are coming." He said. "Better think up a good story."
"Who's coming?" asked Dorin. The wind rose once more.
"Did you think a battle of this level would pass unnoticed?" the man asked. "Your aunt and several other faculty members are on their way.
"You know about my aunt?" Dorin asked, dropping his guard.
[Dorin, don't listen to him] Seb pulled his sleeve, [we don't know who he is.] he looked pale.
‘I need to do this fast...’ he thought to himself, ‘I can't hold these people for too long...’ his breathing got even more difficult by the minute and he was doing his best to stay conscious.
"They came to the woods chasing Dorin Silvius and Sebastian Revius. The 2 boys hardly put any fight and merely ran away. They almost got them, but was hindered by the University's groundskeeper," dictated the stranger. "By Damien Wolfsbane."
"Groundskeeper? Seb, do you know him?" Dorin asked Seb who was whizzing on the ground.
[Yes.] wrote Seb as he stared at the mysterious groundskeeper. It was the first time he saw him in person, the same goes with everyone else he knows on campus.
"But would they believe that he did all these on his own?" Dorin said in an undertone.
"I am not on my own..." upon saying this, Damien's eyes slightly glanced sideways. Dorin looked at the same direction, and for the first time, noticed the eyes in the darkness. "Silver tongue." he called to Seb, "Your lungs have ruptured. We don't have time. Command your captives immediately."
"What? Is that true?!" Dorin faced Seb who was still whizzing in pain, his lips were starting to turn blue. "We need to take you to the infirmary!"
"Listen..." Seb addressed the group before him, ignoring Dorin. "you found Dorin Silvius... and Sebastian Revius..." he said between gasps. "They were easily captured... their powers are... nothing special... you were attacked while you were leaving... by Damien Wolfsbane and his companions..."
"My brothers." Damien corrected."
"...his brothers..." Seb was finding it harder to breath every second now. "this you will remember alone... to tell anyone who asks you... Let all other occurrences... be erased from your minds." He gasped his last word, "Now sleep."
The intruders fell on the ground in unison just as Sebastian started coughing up blood. Dorin looked at him, his eyes wide.
"He is dying."
He has seen countless deaths before, but seeing his sworn brother writhe in pain stirred in him feelings he have never felt before.
His chest tightened, his stomach lurched, he could not move. He did not know what to do.
Damien calmly walked towards them.
"No yet." he gently touched Seb's chest "Heratio," he called to the shadows, "take care of the child."
He picked Sebastian in one hand and lifted him up.
The boy had turned into a small grey cat! Dorin was too surprised to react.
From behind Damien came a figure of a tall man wearing a robe. "I have already called for the caladrius." he said.
When he came to the clearing, Dorin noticed that the man's behind was that of a horse. The centaur raised his hand and gave a sharp call. Something answered, a white bird with long legs and a golden crown of feathers on its head. It perched on his raised arm and peered at Dorin with its head tilted sideways.
"See to him immediately," said Damien as he gently handed the grey cat to the centaur.
"Wait!" Dorin finally said after all that happened around him. "Where are you taking Seb?"
"Taking him?" Damien replied with a question, his face looking slightly surprised, "You're coming as well."
Saying that, the groundskeeper touched Dorin by the scruff of his neck and picked up a small yellow cat.
"Telar, Tonar." he called back to the shadows. This time 2 small furry creatures came out to the clearing. "Have you seen them enough?"
"Yes." said the 2 in unison. They suddenly stretched out and grew, their legs and limbs getting longer, their faces changing, the color lighter, the hair longer.
"Now, pretend to be stunned and hurt, but not enough to be hospitalized." said Damien to the exact replicas of Dorin and Sebastian. "When the head doctor gets to you, tell her that her nephew is with me." he looked at cat Dorin and gently shook his claws off his arm. "Now, stop that or I will be forced to wrap you up." he looked back at the doppelgangers. "I'll be back shortly to explain everything."
"Yes, brother Damien." the 2 replied as they put on the heap of clothes left by the two cats.
Damien nodded at them. "I will release the hiding spell as soon as I leave the clearing. The search party will get to you soon." he looked at the pissed yellow cat still clinging to his arm. "Now, it's time to take you home."