Chapter 14: The Colours of Magic

Chapter 14    

Duana and Rhea appeared in the middle of the battle field.  Arrows rained overhead and men fought sword on sword all around them.

Duana shouted a word that made the ground shake, the portion of ground they stood on rose up twenty feet, elevating them from the fight.  

“Stop!  Everybody, listen!”  Rhea shouted once she regained her footing.

Nobody heard her over the sounds of battle.  Duana threw a tide of black magic over the fight.  Then nothing made a sound, swords clashed silently and shouts came out as whispers.  The magic had served another purpose, it had gotten everybody's attention, if only for a moment,

“Rhea took a deep breath and tried again.  “Please, everyone, stop, and listen!” this time her voice carried over the silence.

Some of the men glanced her way but returned to the fight.  Once again Duana’s magic swept over the fray.  This time as the magic hit the men their movements slowed and their weapons became too heavy to lift as the very air fought against them, thickening like syrup.  

Rhea glanced at Duana, her face was pale and drawn.  To place magic over so many people and so much space was hard, two magics were even harder.  Rhea knew that Duana wouldn’t be able to hold both spells for long.  Rhea wouldn’t have been able to do either magic at all.   

“You have to stop fighting!  There are things about this war you don’t know!”  Rhea yelled, “Sacia didn’t invade Odrana!  The war is a lie to get Sacia’s mines and with them their stones of power!”  

The Sacians nodded and murmured their agreement.

One Odranian soldier broke through Duana’s magic to yell; “Why should we listen to you!  You’re with the Dark Queen!”

Duana’s sharp voice cut through the regaining noise, “fool!  She speaks the truth!  She is kind enough to give you a warning, I am not!”  Heed her warning of perish by my magic, I care not!”   

“Please!  You have to listen, I’m telling the truth!”  Rhea shouted.

Another man broke through Duana’s magic and ran towards them yelling; “Rhea!”

Rhea gasped, “Jason,” she whispered, then yelled his name, “Jason!  Jason!”  

Jason addressed the Odranian soldiers, “I know her, Rhea wouldn’t lie.  If she says the war is a deceit, then I believe her,” he said loudly.

“We’ll fight for our country!”  someone yelled and swung his sword at the nearest Sacian, breaking what was left of Duana’s spells.

“Don’t fight!  Please!”  Rhea shouted, but it was no use, the battle was back in full strength.

Duana raised one hand into the air and her circle melted out of the air to settle onto the ground around her.  Duana held both arms out, palms up and closed her eyes.  Black and red magic darted around the circle and through her body, more magic pooled in her palms.  The bloodstone glowed brighter than ever.  The magic from her hands streamed into the earth and sky.  The sky was engulfed in a haze of black with a smoky red core.  The magic she sent into the ground caused small tremors that grew with each second, she was tearing the ground apart.

“Rhea!”  Jason hollered from below, he had fought his way over to the hill.

“Jason!”  Rhea yelled back, “go!  Get away from here!  Make your way to the castle!”

“I’m not leaving you!”  Jason yelled back.

“You have to!  Please, Jason, we have a baby, a girl, I’ve named her Aya, you have to get back to her!  She needs at least one parent, we can’t risk her losing both of us!”  Rhea begged.

“We have a child?”  Jason asked.  He almost fell over as the tremors got worse.

“Go to her!”  Rhea shouted.

“I love you!”  Jason yelled and begun to fight his way out of the battle.

“I love you!”  Rhea called back.  She watched Jason fight up the sloping hill of the battle field.  

Rhea’s magic came from the earth, and she could feel the earth’s strain.  It would react by generating more tremors to get rid of the pressure from Duana’s spell.  Then cracks would begin to open in the ground as the strain worsened.

“Stop fighting!  Duana’s going to kill you all!  Please, you have to listen!”  Rhea screamed frantically.  No one listened, or even heard her.  “Please!”  She cried uselessly.

Rhea looked back at Duana.  The black and red magic coming from her was increasing.

When Rhea looked back at the battle field she saw a lone horse riding into the battle.  It’s rider was Seraphina.

“Seraphina!”  Rhea screamed desperately,  “you have to stop the war!  She’s going to rip apart the ground!  Please!  There was no invasion, you have to recall your soldiers!”  

Seraphina slumped in her saddle as the truth she already knew hit her hard, then straightened with determination.  

“I, Seraphina, Queen of Odrana order my troops to retreat!  Return to the fort and await my further orders!”  Seraphina ordered, “I declare this war over!”

The Odranian army formed ranks and retreated, carrying the injured doubled up with those unscathed.  The Sacians, the threat to their country gone, fled.

“Go,” Rhea called out to Seraphina, seeing her hesitate, “your country needs you.  I have to stay, maybe I can stop her, I owe her that much.”

If Seraphina heard the doubt in Rhea’s voice, she made no remark about it.  She nodded once then turned her horse to ride after the Odranian army.  

Now it was just Rhea and Duana.

Rhea rushed over to hr friend.  “Duana stop!  It’s over, the war’s over, it’s done!  You have to stop!  You’re tearing apart the ground!”  she begged.  

Nothing.  

She shook Duana.  

Nothing.  

“Duana please!”  

Nothing.

Rhea destroyed the circle but it was too late, Duana was too far into the magic.  “Please!”  Rhea whispered, then she took a deep breath and, squared her shoulders, and using the supplies she’d brought, begun to make a circle, a new circle around Duana.  

Lavender, angelica, marjoram, chamomile, bay leaves, rosemary, yarrow, mint, sage, hyacinth; purification, healing, happiness, success, protection, power, courage, energy, health, peace.

This wasn’t a circle Rhea had ever made before but she knew what to do, it was a spell from her heart.

Blue, brown, gold, green, indigo, orange, pink, purple, red, white, yellow; forgiveness, concentration, health, acceptance, meditation, creativity, compassion, wisdom, strength, balance, imagination.  

A pattern of circles and swirls was forming as Rhea poured her heart and mind into what she knew; healing.

Blue jay feathers, nightingale feathers, swan feathers, eagle feathers, in portions of ones and fours.  Three amber stones, four opals, one sapphire, six jade stones.

The circle began to form by itself, swirling and moving with a magic of it’s own.

Cracks had begun to form in the ground, the tremors now full quakes.  The pressure of Duana’s spell was too much.  The land was no longer stable.

Rhea stepped into the circle facing Duana.  Russet magic flashed, then dimmed to a soft glow, lighting the circle.  Rhea put her hands on Duana’s and her russet magic poured into the ground, trying to hold it together.  Some of her magic flowed into the sky, streaking the black and red with flashes of russet.  Then Rhea drew upon the power of her circle, it sprang to life, brightening like a beacon.  

Quietly at first, Rhea began to chant words of healing and protection.  With each word she grew louder and louder until she was nearly shouting.  The russet lights in the sky flashed brighter and the shaking in the ground eased slightly.  

More power and magic surged through Rhea’s body than ever before.  She pushed that power and strength, she pushed the healing, into Duana.

The russet lights flashed brighter than ever and a sound like thunder boomed over the land.  With the thunder the red core of magic exploded across the sky, evaporating the black and the whole sky burnt red as blood before the core magic streamed back into Duana.

Rhea’s magic also returned to her, all spells broken.  Duana’s eyes flickered open and her legs gave way, she collapsed to the ground.  Rhea caught her and lowered her gently to a sitting position.  

One look at her friend told Rhea all she needed to know.  Rhea rummaged through her bag and pulled out a jar of murky green liquid.

“Small sips.  This one is quite strong.”  Rhea ordered and held the jar to Duana’s lips.  

Duana complied.  The healing potion did it’s work but Duana was still weak and pale.  

“What happened?”  she asked feebly.  

“Seraphina recalled her troops, the war is over,” Rhea looked at the ground riddled with cracks and fallen soldiers, “I didn’t know how to break your spell but I had to do something.  So I did the only thing I know how.  I did a healing,” Rhea replied.

“I wasn’t injured,”  Duana stated.

“That doesn’t mean you weren’t hurt,” Rhea said.  “Take a few more sips.”

The ground had resumed shaking, making Rhea nervous.  She knew the area wasn’t stable, and she worried that more cracks might open and swallow them up.  

“Do you think you can stand up?  I don’t want to wait here, the ground’s unstable,”  Rhea explained.

“You’ll have to help me,”  Duana said wearily.

Rhea helped Duana to her feet.  Duana stumbled and would’ve fallen back down if Rhea hadn’t caught and steadied her.  

“Come on love,” Rhea picked up her bag and helped Duana, who could barely stand, to walk while ignored her own exhaustion.

Getting down the hill was hard.  Rhea didn’t want to unsettle the ground more by returning it to the earth, never mind that she didn’t have the power to anyways.  But she was worried about Duana, who was so spent that she should’ve been confined to a bed for at least the rest of the evening and the following morning.

Once they made it to the bottom of the hill they had to navigate the crevasse riddled ground.

“Lean on me, we’ve got a ways to go.”  Rhea told Duana.

Duana nodded, closed her eyes and rested her head on Rhea’s shoulder.  The two of them began the sloping trek up to the army fort.