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 Arrow of the Mind  (5 ratings)by Jon Ulf Page 1 of 3 As the sound of the thundering hooves faded away, Uriah came out of his hiding place beside the road. When he had first heard the horsemen approaching he had jumped behind a bush, hoping it would provide enough cover to hide his presence. It had been a small company of lancers and they had been too concerned about the upcoming battle. If they had bothered to look to ether side they would have seen him and he would have been dead. It all started three days ago. When the invading army from Irian attacked the college on their way to the capital. When the army was first spotted they had immediately sent word to Eyer. Within the hour word had been sent back that help would not arrive until the next mourning. The teachers then started sending all the students off to Eyer with as many scrolls and books as they could carry. But as the aid to one of the more distinguished Spell Weavers Uriah had been required to stay. As the army reached the city walls the Spell Weavers began using the arcane powers to slow the advancing enemy. But the invading army had its own Magicians, and they had countered every thing that was throne at them. The enemy made short work of the gate, and on their way to the college they set fire to any buildings they marched pass. Before they reached the college proper, choking gasses from the sewer slowed them. Apparently a college student had took it upon himself to open all the valves that led to the sewers, they were only used once a year to air out the tunnels below, so the toxic gasses would not build up and become a hazard. For an unknown reason, they had not been opened for the past 2 years. Once the fumes hit the burning building there was an explosion that rocked the city. Everything outside the college was incinerated, along with a fifth of the invading army. The fires kept burning long into the night. When morning came, the sight of the army from Eyer greeted everyone who had stayed behind at the college. Before the army from Irian could mount an attack the Eyerian army had already evacuated everyone at the college. The enemy general was not about to let them escape. He had sent all his light cavalry at the flank of Eyers army. It caused mass confusion. And during that confusion Uriah had found himself lost in the woods. He had been on his own for the past two days. Surviving only by the quick of his wits and the grace of the Gods. Uriah was now trying to find his fellow countrymen. He knew they lay somewhere to the north, and he prayed he was still heading in the right direction. As he walked around a giant bolder he saw a group of soldiers. They were being addressed to by a Spellweaver. His heart leapt, for they were Eyerians. "Thank the Gods I have found you. I have been wande-", he cut off short. For when the soldiers turned around he noticed the insignias on their chests. They weren't of Eyer as he had thought, but instead, they were from Irian. Thinking quickly he jumped behind the boulder he had just past. But too late, he knew that he was doomed. Uriah began running through the mind exercises that his professors had taught him. He had only a precious few moments before the soldiers fell on him. Within seconds he had embraced the source of all life, what everyone so plainly called magic. As he stepped out from behind the boulder he expected to be greeted by the sight of enemy soldiers bearing down on him. Instead he saw the enemy Spell Weaver striding towards him. When he was twenty paces from Uriah he stopped, and with a smile on his face, said, "Greetings my young friend. I am-" he paused in mid sentence, changing what he was about to say "-called Aaron. And we mean you no harm." Uriah highly doubted that. "So if you would kindly release your hold on Magic, we could sit down and talk." "I don't think so. If you mean me know harm, then why have you invaded my home land?" Uriah asked. "Why, politics of course. Your king slighted our king so we raided a trading fleet. In return your king burnt several villages. And so on, until we had to invade." Aaron stated. "And you take it upon yourselves to slaughter innocents?" asked Uriah. In a friendly voice Aaron said, "No, we do not take it upon ourselves to kill innocents, unless attacked first." Not bothering to hide the hatred in his voice, Uriah asked, "Then why did you attack our city?" "A simple misunderstanding. At first we took it for a simple town, but when we reached the walls your Spell Weavers attacked us. Now, if we had known it was a College of Magic, we would never have trespassed. But since you did try to kill us, we were obligated to return the favor," he said in that friendly way of his. Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2001 Jon Ulf, sffworld.com. All rights reserved. No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the author. The author has submitted the work in accordance with and in agreement with the following Submission Guidelines. |
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