Preparations

Shario observes the Carnar as Katarn learns of their future enemy.

Shario's eyes widened with wonder as he looked about the great hall. A hundred feet wide and twice that deep, the room was gigantic. Long, recently assembled wooden tables stretched from one half of the room to the next, each able to seat far over a dozen warriors. There were about half a dozen tables that had nothing upon them but platters to eaten from, some sort of utinsel that varried from the gleaming array of silverware inherent to Shario's own people to the simple spoon-fork mix that belonged to the table closest to the food. Banners hung over each of the tables. Like the utensils that adorned each tables, these banners shifted from table to table.

Dark blue and light green banners of war hung over the table designated for the Rizen, Shario's own people. The table of his people was closest to the food on the right side, where three of the tables held banners similar to his own. These right side tables, Shario realized, were of the tribes closest to his own, both geographically and ideologically. Yellow and green hung over the table that belonged to the Chania, the table and tribe closest to the Rizen. Brown and orange hung over the Au people, who were only one table removed from the Rizens' table. All three of the banners displayed a mixture of weaponry and arcane runes. War banners all, they'd been torn and mended in some spot or another along their length. The Au had three long tears down the left side of their giant banner. Of all three banners, theirs was the least mended, as, Shario knew, they preferred to remember the scars of their battles. Together the Rizen, Chania, and Au formed the Arcaia, the group that focused more heavily upon magic than might.

Across the way hung the barriers of their counterparts. The closest of the banners and tables, the owners of the spoon-fork mixtures, was that of the Deria. A black and red banner with a pair of crossing blades above a shield and a battle axe hung over their table. Even as Shario stared at it he was assaulted by feelings of brutal fury. The Rara sat just beyond the Deria, their own purple and black banner reminiscient of the Deria, for upon it lay a lance and a blade. But what marked it unique was the giant war horse that marched through it, the armored beast's shoulders, neck and head displayed with a pride that Shario found confusing. Who, he wondered, would put so much stock in mindless beasts? The final table and banner was that of the Harn. Their own banner was green upon gray, the curve of two bows shown in opposite direction upon it. An arrow pointed upwards from within the bows. A short dagger at the bottom pointed downwards. The Deria, Rara and Harn made up Carnar, or those that neglected the magic that kept their people alive.

Shario sighed as he looked at the food being presented. Hundreds of animals had died in the making of this feast, which seemed able to feed four times the number of people that would fill this hall. He shook his head, disgusted by the gross overkill of their leaders.

A young boy, Shario was the apprentice to Rognak the Red, a battle mage for the Rizen. He was still young by the standards of his people, not yet in his seventeenth year, but already he had a control over the arcane arts that rivaled that of many older boys. Rognak had smiled at the boy, his pride obvious, when Shario first cast an inner energy spell, a feat that would be counted hard among men ten years his senior.

Sighing again, Shario made his way to the den of crooks that he called his friends. Like all of the Rizen, he was narrow shouldered, thin and lithe. His hair was dark and thin, slicked by natural oils so that it stuck to his head but, to his profit and the frustration of many of his friends, not so that he seemed greasy or dirty in any way. He barely topped five and a half feet tall and weighed under a hundred and sixty pounds. Among the Rizen he was a larger boy, broader than most men and nearly as tall as all but their towering giants, who might reach six feet tall.

"What is it?" asked Ran, a boy three years younger than Shario.

"I just wonder at the wisdom of killing so many of our livestock when less than half of it will be eaten," Shario motioned towards the table, which was covered with the corpses of animals, or so that was what Shario saw.

"The elders know what they're doing," Ran asserted. He was a few inches shorter than Shario, about the right height for most boys his age, and far smaller. His eyes met Shario's own as a flash of rage shot through the larger boy's dark eyes. Ran shrugged and smiled uncertainly, "Or I do think that to be the case."

Shario just shook his head, casting away the anger at being contradicted, "We all know that this is too much food. We may have a plate, or two. But that is enough for half a dozen to plates for each of us!" Frustration welled up within him. He wanted nothing more than to go out and play, as it was the sixth day of the week, the one reserved for boys and girls to do whatever they wanted. They had been withheld from the joys of their week-long labor, however, because of their duties and their rank.

Ran just nodded meekly, unwilling to argue with the older boy. Shario might look a man, and be larger than most, but he was just as vulnerable to the whims of teenage emotion. And both of them knew that mental and physical strength leaned heavily in Shario's favor.

"This is foolish," the older boy muttered. He looked around, then, trying to decide what he might do about it. Rognac was attending to matters of state somewhere outside of the hall while the other elders went about organizing the feast or preparing the shows of magical ability for their other tribes, a frustrating matter for Shario.

"Why do we bother to summon the Carnar here," Shario muttered, "They'll do little that our own warriors can't.. And we don't even know if they can do more than our own. They lack even the most basic magical ability, or so I understand."

"Our warriors aren't as dedicated to physical warfare as the Carnar," Ran suggested, "Maybe that is the move?" He concluded tactfully.

"Why, so they can go die on a field while we stand back?" Shario asked.

"Maybe so that we can cast our spells before the hordes actually get to us," said another youth, a boy who was about the same age as Shario but less built. Ran looked over with some relief, for that meant that if Shario came to rage, Ran wouldn't be alone in receiving the fruits of his anger. And this other boy, Lecki, was a sneaky caster. That would aid if Shario decided to invade minds.

"We've our own warriors," Shario countered.

"Who train and learn strategy only half the time of their service. We are a people of the arts, of the finer points of warfare," Lecki said, "but the warfare isn't limited to its more sensible aspects. The hordes will descend upon us unless we put more men between us and them." Lecki looked up at Shario, but only physically. Unlike most, Lecki wasn't impressed by the growth the Shario had been blessed with. Height and strength, physical at least, were things granted by the gods. Intelligence, an advantage of Lecki's, was earned in the world of magic. It was true that Shario could put forth more energy than Lecki could but the smaller mage could manipulate his far more masterfully.

"So they come to act as meat shields?" Shario asked, "Well fine then, but we do not need to invite them as equals. They're beasts, mindless creatures that we could replace with farmers and the fruit of our spells. Why do we put this food, waste so much of it, when our time would be put better towards our preparations?" He laughed, a derisive snort aimed at the Carnar.

"Do you ask because you are curious as to my opinion?" Lecki asked and Shario scowled.

"You think my intentions dishonest?"

"I feel confident that you're answers are honestly what you believe," the stockier mage replied. He met Shario's glare even as the larger mage's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Though, I feel I should add, the validity of your statements may not be backed by fact."

Shario growled, "Do you question me?" Lecki didn't blink. "I am the top of our class. I am the alpha to all in our league! You think to undermine my authority?"

"I seek to insure your authority is not falsely taken," Lecki reply, "An Authority backed by ignorance is worse than a lack of authority."

"You've failed to address the fact that I best you in every task," Shario observed and Lecki scowled.

"You've failed to supply facts to your statements about the Carnar. They're the warrior portion of our peoples. You shouldn't attack them without at least considering that their youths, boys like us, have been fighting for as long as you've been casting."

"Still you neglect to match my argument," Shario looked away, as if bored, "And as such, you are not worthy of providing your own." Lecki glared at the larger boy for several seconds, then just shrugged and walked off, deciding his time might be better spent elsewhere.

"Huh," Ran mouthed off to the side. Shario looked over at him and Ran realized, painfully, that he was the only one around to endure the wrath that Shario was containing. The argument with Lecki had no doubt filled Shario with a fury that he had to express, in one way or another. Cursing, Ran prepared to receive the reaction of Shario.

The few other boys from Rizen, Chania and Au that were of enough importance to go to the feast soon showed up, each wearing robes or tunics that matched those of their own homes. Shario could not helped but gloat about his newest accomplishment, the casting of a spell from the energies of his body. The other boys, Ran and Lecki especially, paid heed to this, for it meant that Shario had a new advantage over everyone else.

"Now he's not just stronger than us," Lecki had muttered to himself, "he's also more skilled than we are."

"He's a better teacher than any of us," Ran had pointed out but Lecki shook his head, his crazy brown hair waving with it.

"He's a good caster," the stocky boy said, "he just isn't a good thinker." Ran silently agreed but tried to pretend that Shario's superior successes weren't linked directly to his superiority over all of the other boys.

As soon as Shario was done impressing the two 'head boys' from Chania and Au, he and they left on their own to speak with the leaders of the feast. The elders were in another room, preparing a speech of some sort, while the boys and lesser casters went about preparing the meals and the room itself.

Minutes passed, each filled with some sort of labor by the top boys, as Ran, Lecki and the others from Au and Chania were called, before Shario, Rent and Doger showed back up. The leads, as they were called, were reacting to their denial from the high level processes in different ways. Rent, the boy from Au, seemed utterly unbothered. His hair, jet black locks that he slicked backwards, though he looked greasy as a result, was longer than most others allowed their own to become. It only added to his totally relaxed appearance.

Doger, a slightly chubby boy with pudgy cheeks and dark brown hair, seemed curious as to why they were let out. He was a bit disappointed, his wide eyes narrowed slightly, but he seemed to wonder more than receive. When asked why they were denied, he simply shrugged, "I cannot guess, though I'd like to know."

Shario, on the other hand, was enraged and offended. "They think they can just cast us out?" He snarled, "They realize we are the future, do they not?" Doger and Rent looked over curiously, an unsure expression on both of their faces. Shario fumed for a few minutes until Doger skillfully said something about the self-level spell that Shario had cast.

Ragnoc walked out of the tent, his expression tight with worry. He looked over to see Shario writing runes upon a sheet of parchment. Doger and another boy sat next to him, listening to him speak of the meaning of the runes and the significance of their order. Pride threatening to swell, Ragnoc smiled at his boy, his apprentice.

But the smile faded, replaced by a tension that stole all the kindness from his old, rounded face. His wrinkles seemed to disappear a moment and his felt hunched over even further. The hordes had finally turned their attention to his people, the Danes, as they were called. Word had come from the traders to the south, from the merchants, who put more time into haggling than creating, had spread word of a horde of dark creatures that spread across the realm, destroying cities and villages alike. Many a refugee had been forced north from the south, to the generally reclusive Danes as they retreated from the might of the hordes to the south and with them came many stories of darkness and pain.

"How long until the Carnar are here?" he mumbled, more to himself than anyone else, but an answer was forthcoming anyway. A beast skin-clad man walked into the front of the hall at that moment. Powerfully built arms, corded with muscle, connected to rounded, broad shoulders and a powerfully muscled chest. His dark brown-red hair seemed to glow as they danced about at his shoulders. Voice booming, he announced, "The Carnar Approach!" Deep and long did the word echo throughout the non-echo-friendly hall, "Half a day and they will be here in force!" He turned, then, without a word and left the hall.

Ragnoc looked over at the apprentices once again and found them all looking in the direction of the entry, their expressions differing. Ragnoc frowned when he noticed that Shario was scowling in the direction of the departed warrior. Curious as to what upset the youth, Ragnoc made his way over to them.

"Greetings," Ragnoc's gravely voiced rumbled. "How fare you?"

"We are well," Shario answered immediately, his expression lightening as he turned toward his master. The boy hazarded an obviously false smile but the wizard didn't question him. The other two boys showed their opinions, which contrasted with Shario's, easily upon their faces.

"What bothers you?" Ragnoc asked Doger.

"These symbols are..." Doger sputtered, then sighed as Ragnoc's expression darkened at the prospect of being lied to. "We are nervous about the newcomers.. and their arrival marks our own tensions.."

"Such as..?" Ragnoc bid him continue.

"Well, whether they should be coming at all," Doger continued meekly, "and whether or not we are foolish for asking their aid."

Ragnoc studied the three for many seconds, his left hand thoughtfully twiddling with his ever greying beard, which still reminisced of its years of red-brownness. "Who believes we are foolish in our summoning of them?" he asked. All three apprentices paused, tension rendering each of them frozen.

Shario reluctantly rose a hand, anger radiating off of him. "I do, master."

"And why, might I ask, is that?" Ragnoc asked.

"I doubt our need of them on the battlefield... Lecki argues that we will require them to be able to cast our own spells before the hordes are upon us, but I feel that we've no need for... for, uh, meatshields..." Shario broke eye contact, unsure of himself at that moment. Ragnoc studied the boy a few moments longer. "Nor do I understand why we bring up so much food.. when we know that if all this hall were filled we wouldn't eat it."

"The Carnar are powerful warriors," Ragnoc, "just as potent at the art of physical warfare as we are the arcane. And they've their own casters who can produce spells that we have never thought to create. We bring them because our soldiers are few and theirs are many... because sections of the hordes are totally impervious to magical combat and their leaders have their own ways of getting to us even with our wards."

Ragnoc smiled, "And as for the food, we are taught not to eat much when we are young because we're less able to get rid of the fat that arrives. They, however, thrive on activities that lean us out. Their appetites will far outweigh even our most stocky casters."

Shario nodded, humbled by the gentle lecture. "Now, boys, be off! Hours remain before our guests will arrive and no doubt they will have brought their own lead-boys. Surely you'll find some way to compete with them, for that is the nature of boys your age. There is little you have time to do aside from rest and relax. The work will be finished shortly. I'm confident that you and your friends will have some preparing to do that.. way you know who among you takes the lead when confronted by our less thoughtful guests."

The wizard bid them leave and all three boys did so quickly, sprinting so that they might join those who would not attend. It was, after all, the sixth day of the week, the one reserved for the play and sleep that any might ask for. Quickly they made their way down Razan, the large hill which the hall had been built upon, to Dubli, the largest village of the Rizen.

After running for several minutes, they came upon the square. Large enough for the entirety of the adolescent population to gather, nearly a thousand boys and girls, the square was the result of the first standstill of the previously nomadic Danes.

Within the Square grew several large trees, each of which the boys and girls could climb without fear of hurting it. Hedges, magically produced, split parts of the square into the mazes within which the younger children liked to play. The older apprentices had given up on playing within the maze, as they’d memorized the path of the maze and, even if not, they could magically see through the hedges. Often times spells that did such slipped out in frustration while the older kids were lost. It ruined the fun of the maze and so they left the maze to the younger mages, who had less powerful arts to call upon in their frustration.

The main attraction was a large building that had been built within it. The youths had called it the Cube, as it was a perfect cube. Within it sat a large groups of chairs, orbs that they could look into and explore the world, and a large mirror that the elders had put in there for many reasons. Foremost of those reasons was that it could be teleported to by any of the elders at most moments. If one stood at the far end of the Cube, they could study the Uru-Nane mountains at their pleasure. A range that stood as a wall from the wind and rain of the northlands, it reached far to the east and west until it died down into hills and finally into flat land. But what they saw were giant arrow tips, some less angular than others, tipped with a white snow that could only be poison that improve the hunting of the Gods, for these mountains were often called the Quiver of the Gods.

As Shario, Doger and a lad named Ashir walked into the Cube, the other older apprentices looked over at them. The Cube was generally reserved for the older boys and girls, those closest to eighteen. Occasionally a talented and ambitious fifteen year old could slip into it. Wards at the front had been designed to repel any unable break them. The wards were fueled by energy given to it by any who walked through it.

"Who let them in?" joked a larger boy, Senae. Unusually dark for the Danes, his parents had come from the deep south. They'd only been allowed in because of their power and the information they shared about the hordes. Even though they'd arrived years ago, the hordes were a scar that had yet to heal. Sanae, when asked about it, often went silent. Only a few had heard his stories, for he'd only told a few, and even they refused to repeat what he said. It'd become a moot point recently, for all knew that the hordes were on their way. They'd all have their stories soon enough.

"We did," Shario answered. Sanae nodded, aware that Shario wasn’t in the mind to joke, and returned to the game that he played against another apprentice upon an orb. The more clever minds of late had designed games that they could play through the orbs. The most current was a minor conjuration game. One played by summoning a minor creature of some sort, something that was no taller than a few inches. They willed the two creatures to fight, adding one feature of strength to each. Currently half a dozen boys and girls were hunched around the orb, watching two creatures batter one another.

Ashir rushed over and watched as Sanae's fire pixie unleashed a 'storm' of flames upon his opposites golem. The stone creature hesitated, unable to see anything because of the flames around its face, as the pixie flowed around. The golem rushed forward, its knobby fists slamming into an invisible barrier. The stocky creature whipped about just in time for Sanae's pixie to unleash another bout of flames, this time concentrated into a thin beam. The flames dug into the golem, knocking it back into the barrier behind it.

Shario walked up, feeling the telltale draws upon his strength that indicated a spell was being cast by a novice. It wasn't anything that shook him at all, for it leached the same energy that it might take to stand, for it was split between all of the boys around him. Shario grinned at this, pride puffing his chest out as he considered that he didn't require others to cast his spells anymore.

The golem flailed uselessly until the beam of flames had burned all the way through it. Sanae laughed with glory as the bonds that held the golem collapsed and the other boy groaned. The pixie did a small dance, bowing to Sanae, then disappeared in a puff of smoke. The dark apprentice looked over at Shario, who nodded in admiration. Sanae had proved himself a skilled controller of the miniature creatures. This was proved yet again by Sanae's pixie's vistory over the golem, as the stone golems generally countered the pixies.

"Well fought," Sanae said, his voice tinged with the strange accent from the south. His words had a spice to them, almost, as if they were produced in a different place than everyone else. "There were.. a few moments where I felt worried," he said to the boy, who grumbled as he handed Sanae a small slip of the currency that was used to buy sweets. When Sanae spoke, his, 'Th,' came out as, 'D,' instead.

Sanae turned to Shario, then, and smiled, "A game?" he asked. Shario declined, saying that he was busy and Sanae grinned mischievously.

"Perhaps looking for someone?" he asked. Shario reluctantly nodded and Sanae grinned. "She is among the sight orbs, studying... our... oncoming foes." The words came out slowly, as if he were reluctant to say them, "The hordes." Shario nodded his thanks and moved on. Several different challenged were issued behind him. Soon enough Sanae was summoning a minor lizard to battle an air elemental. Shario chuckled, for the air element should destroy the lizard.. but probably wouldn't.

Katarn looked up as Shario entered the room. She nodded once then returned to her orb. Shario looked at her, his eyes soft as he did so, and sighed. Then, stepping forward, he cleared his throat. Katarn looked up again, "Hello," she said briefly. Then she looked back down, the image in the orb holding her attention.

"What do you look at?" Shario asked.

"The hordes are sacking a city design much like Rarasn," she said. Rarasn was a city that belonged the Harn in the further south. Several forests clung to the southernmost tip of their lands. The Harn hunted in these lands, bringing most of the non-fish meat to the rest of the Danes.

"Why do you care?" Shario asked. He studied her. She was about his height and nearly as broad in the shoulders. Long brown hair reached down to the middle of her back. She was unusually tan for the Danes and her eyes, hazel, were deep and intelligent. She had a beauty about her that had caught the attentions of many a boy and several of the young men. She'd quickly broken any of the attempts upon her hand, however, by rejecting the men harshly. She explained multiple times that it wasn't because they weren't worthy of her or because she was mean but because she did not want to be with them. Pragmatic was the easiest word that Shario placed upon her... and yet still she held his heart, even after rejecting him.

"That is where the first battle may take place," Katarn answered, "It might be now that we notice flaw in their attacks." Shario looked down at the orb and saw dozens of creatures easily make their way up walls. Spikes flew down from the top of the battlement and from openings that slid and jerked open as soldiers tried to stop the creatures. More than one of the creatures fell to the ground, killed by a spear dug into its inky chest or face, but the majority made it over the wall. More than a few tore open the openings that were used to fire arrows from and climbed into the wall itself.

Quickly the wall was swarmed with more of the creatures, dark and fleshy humanoids with long, wiry arms that ended with talons. Most of their features were impossible to see among the rest of their skin and so they seemed a silhouette more so than anything else. Wide and tall mouths that seemed far too large for their heads were filled with sharp teeth that could tear through armor just as they did flesh. The mouths were as wide as a humans ears and reached from just above their jaw to below where their nose would be.

"What are they?" Shario asked, disgusted by them.

"Many call them Shadow Walkers," Katarn responded absently. "Or so they scream the name as the creatures run them down."

"How many are there?" Shario wondered aloud.

"This is but a section of one wall that they attack. This isn't the only city that they battle now. The horde's arms stretch in many directions. Only a few are slowed. None are stopped totally."

Shario watched with wonder as a pair of shadow walkers trapped a man between them. The warrior, a brave one by his actions, struck at one but his blade never even came close to the mark. A talon, inky and fleshy, caught his wrist and broke it as easily as Shario might have cracked thin ice.

The man screamed in pain and, though Katarn had removed sound from the orb, Shario could hear his cries of agony. The creature grabbed his arms while the other grabbed his leg. Both pulled, hungry, and his body split as if made of nothing. Katarn ended the spell and looked up, her eyes tired and worried.

"They come toward us," she said. Shario, who had never seen them before, didn't respond.

"They surely saw that," Shario said but Katarn didn't stop. He groaned and followed her out of the Cube, where she made her way to the elders message bored. The two traveled at a quick pace, too much so for Shario, but Katarn didn't bother to slow even when he asked her to. And to make it even harder, she took a long, roundabout path to the elders' home in order to avoid looking directly at the Uru-Nane mountains. Shario had never learned why she hated them, though he had noticed it years before.

As he followed her through the city, his cheeks grew red, for many looked over and chuckled at him. It wasn't the first time he'd followed her through the city, accompanying her on the mission she had picked for the day. And it wasn't the first time he was huffing and puffing, weary, in the first minutes of his pursuit. She had stamina and strength that easily matched his.

"Why do you insist on sending their attentions to that city?" Shario asked, "Even if they haven't seen it, all they will see now is the smoldering remains of a city overthrown by the hordes." Yet again Katarn didn't grace him with a response of any kind. He suppressed a growl of anger, for she was the only one who could ignore him as such without an consequences, for several reasons.

The largest of which was the fact that he was totally infatuated with her. The second, and it wasn't far behind, was that she didn't fear him at all. Both because of his feelings toward her and the fact that he was not much more powerful than her, if at all. It was said by many that had she been a male Shario would not be the lead but that she would. Even now, as a girl, she was nearly as potent, if not more so, than he was. The elders, however, were not willing to let a girl lead as of yet.

"Katarn!" he growled and finally she turned toward him, "Do not ignore me."

"What is it you're crying about?" she asked, "This is but a little running."

"Why do you run in the first place?" He asked, "All that there was to see has been seen already. These creatures are not mysteries. They are simply powerful."

"There must be a key to stopping them," Katarn said, "Magics are weak to them. We've seen that, but everything has a weakness, carnal and not. We must find theirs, or we will fall."

"Well..." Shario hesitated, unsure of what to say, "Well we bring the Carnar tonight anyway."

"We will aid them in battle, then," Katarn said, "Even if our magics don't hurt them, we can certainly aid our warriros... the Deria have berserkers, men impervious to pain once they enter the battlefield. That will be good, but not if they kill themselves. If we cannot strike down our foes, we aid those who can.

Shario rose an eyebrow, "Yeah, well, if magic doesn't work, surely they will hold them off long enough for us to get away."

"Get away?" Katarn asked, "You plan to flee?"

"That is how everyone else has survived," Shario stated. Katarn, staring at him, just shook her head.

"You're a coward," she growled.

"Pragmatic!" he replied, equally fiercely. "A coward, eh? Well, in any case, better that than a fool! And that's all you will find tonight, when the Carnar arrive." He stormed off then angered both by her and the way that argument had gone.