Aether’s Apprentices (Aether’s Revival Book 4)

The rest of the class filed in, taking their seats with their groups. Second to last to arrive, Egil, Gin, and Paul walked in together, marching in sync. The three made it to the table and turned to face the open doors as one.

Nearly a minute passed before the Eternal Flame entered. Nick led the apprentices in before Elkit, Ashon, and Barlz walked in. Barlz motioned and the doors boomed closed behind them. Nick and Jason guided their groups to their tables while the three older magi continued down to the middle.

They don’t strike as much of a commanding presence as Egil’s group did. They’re not in sync, which makes me wonder if they’ll be able to work as well together… Gregory thought as he pulled out paper, ink, and a pen to take notes on the game. He wrote down a quick note about presentation when arriving to the game.

“Magus Elkit, as the commander of your team, please collect your men and position yourselves on the board.”

Everyone froze as the voice was one that most never expected to hear for this game.

“Grandmaster,” Elkit said tightly, “are you here to oversee the game?”

Grandmaster Pan stepped forward from the back of the room. “With the future of this instruction on the line, it was decided that if a challenge came, one of the council would be the judge.”

Barlz bowed to Pan. “I’m honored, sir.”

“I look forward to what you will do,” Pan replied to Barlz. “An open map has many advantages to a wind magi.”

“It does,” Barlz smiled.

Elkit glared at Barlz before saying, “Had we known that you or one of the others would be the judge of the game, we would have informed you ahead of time, sir.”

One of Pan’s eyebrows raised. “We knew that a challenge would come before the tournament began. It was obvious to all of us. Also, this is going to be a single-game challenge not a three-game challenge, so do your best. Now, collect your men and set yourself. Magi-killer, do likewise.” Pan went down to the sunken table, then turned a slow circle as he looked over the apprentices. “This is a learning experience, if you pay attention. Some of you might well need this instruction in the coming years.”

“Grandmaster,” Elkit said with a smirk at Egil, “they are playing Krogga and have stated that the map is inside Krogga. As such, we’d like to use the appended rules from ‘Invasion Instructions.’ In it, Grandmaster Deam stated that any invading force would contain three advanced units, nine basic units, and enough supplies to feed the army for three months with a war chest to match.”

Pan nodded slowly. “Those rules are valid.”

“Are all appended rules and approved books allowed?” Paul asked.

“Yes,” Pan nodded. “I might need to see them to verify, though. I’m certain some of you have knowledge of the game that I do not.”

“I’d like to point out, then, that in those same rules, there’s another rule that needs to be adhered to,” Paul said. “Invading forces must spend double the money or wait an additional three turns for any reinforcements to arrive due to travel time.”

Pan smiled as he nodded. “Yes, I do recall that. It is right near the end of the appended section.”

“I’d also like to call ‘Krogga’s Command’ to light,” Gin said. “I believe the rules were added by Elder Pender a hundred years ago— any force invading Krogga would be facing a vast army, as Krogga pulls all able-bodied people to defend their home. He thought that this should be reflected by quadrupling the defending force.”

Pan hesitated. “Show me.”

Gin smiled as he motioned to Paul, who suddenly had a book in his hand. Opening it to a marked page, he handed the book to Pan. The grandmaster looked over it, then nodded slowly.

“That rule is correct,” Pan said. “Well, that balances out the armies.”

Elkit’s teeth ground together as he glared at Gin.

“And one more rule,” Egil said, “from the same book. Erichson, would you go to the right page for me, please?”

Erichson flipped to another page that had been marked, then handed it to Pan.

“A note that if three or more magi are with an invading force, that will draw a champion to the battle,” Egil said.

Pan read it over and nodded. “Yes, but it does say the champion wouldn’t make it until the tenth turn.”

“That is correct,” Egil bowed his head. “Thank you. We’ll begin placing our men, and I’ll mark the champion as starting his trip.”

Gregory finished making his notes and looked around the room. Besides his friends, only two dozen other apprentices were taking notes. He nodded when he saw Hayworth was among that number.

“Very well. Place your troops,” Pan commanded. “Once you are ready, we will begin the first turn.”

As the troops were being placed, Gregory made sure to mark where each was set, using the map coordinates in his notes. He also made sure the three landscape features were clearly notated.

Pan looked over Elkit’s forces, nodding when he saw what they had in play. “Using your advanced units to field three adepts— wind, fire, and another wind. Interesting.”

Gregory had already written them down, using their emblems to know what each was. The other forces were mostly cavalry for Elkit’s side. They’re going to try pushing in quickly, Gregory thought.

Looking at Egil’s side of the board, he frowned, as he had to think about what was represented there. Pikemen and archers are good to deal with the cavalry, but with the magi on the board, they’ll get slaughtered. When Paul handed Gin the troops to place, Gin staggered them across the entire length of their side of the table.

Egil made a note before going over to show Pan. Pan read it, then nodded slowly, looked at the board, and smiled. Egil went back to the board and set the command tent down. It was on the northern side of their lines, away from where Elkit’s team had placed their troops.

Pan turned to face Elkit. “Are there any other rules or surprises that you need to inform me about?”

“No, sir,” Elkit said as he stared at Egil’s command tent.

Gin stepped back and nodded to Egil, who moved forward. “We are also ready,” Egil said.

“Very well,” Pan smiled. “We will begin the game. First turn.”

~*~*~

Gregory was smirking when he was proven right and Elkit had his whole army begin to cross the plains. The cavalry was in front of the magi units, but they didn’t go directly across— they were angling to go for the command tent.

Egil, Gin, and Paul conferred as the first turn came to a quick end. After a moment, they sent two sets of the pikemen and one set of archers to the command tent, and the others slowly moved that way, as well.

The second turn let the cavalry get just outside striking distance of the command tent. Egil’s pikemen formed up and readied to break the charge, and the bowmen were ready to fire when the cavalry charged, which would thin their numbers. The other units of Krogga were still moving, but they weren’t going to be there in time.

A murmur came from the class. They were surprised by Elkit’s very aggressive tactics, and disappointed in how the defenders had been arranged— it was clear that they wouldn’t get there in time to stop the slaughter of the command.

Turn three started the way Gregory thought it would. Ashon and Barlz both tapped their magi to the brink, but created a firestorm powerful enough to cover the distance. The pikemen for Krogga were caught in the sudden blaze, and the archers wouldn’t be able to fire through the storm’s high winds.

Egil conferred with his helpers again, looking grim. As he did, Pan’s hand suddenly snapped down and his eyes locked on Barlz.

“Magus Barlz, using wind magic to hear their private discussion is against the rules of the game,” Pan said, staring at the magi.

Barlz swallowed, as the pressure that was radiating off Grandmaster Pan was intense. “I… sorry, sir. Reflex.”

Pan stopped exuding power and nodded. “I will allow that. Many wind magi have gotten used to bringing them snippets of conversations. However, if you do it again, I will expel you from this game.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Barlz!” Elkit snapped. “Do not cheat. We have no need.”

Barlz blinked once in confusion, then bowed his head. “Sorry, sir.”

Gregory’s lips pursed as he made a few more notes.

“We can’t stop the firestorm, obviously,” Egil said. “The archers will hold and fire point-blank. They will not break, as magi are on the field.”

Pan nodded. “Very well. The cavalry has just enough movement to ride through and get to them, but not to the tent this turn. Let’s tally losses. The cavalry will also be hurt as they charge through the firestorm.”

“Acceptable losses,” Elkit said with an evil smile.

A few of the apprentices shifted uncomfortably at the idea that Elkit was willing to kill his own men in that way. Others nodded, agreeing with the tactic— losing men was part of war. It was fine if you caused the loss, as long as you won.

When the damage was tallied up, the archers and pikemen were slaughtered to the last man. The cavalry had also been badly damaged. Half of them had been killed between the pikemen that survived the fire, the archers, and the firestorm itself.

As the turn was over, it was clear to the class that Elkit’s team had an overwhelming advantage. Killing the command of Krogga wouldn’t break the army, but it would leave them much easier for the magi to mop up.

Gregory looked at Egil and didn’t see the old man upset over what had happened. If anything, there was a hint of a smile on his lips. Gregory looked at the board again and tried to understand why Egil might be happy.

His pikemen are too slow to make it anywhere quickly, and the archers won’t be close enough to do anything for another turn, at least. His command will fall next turn, so what does he see? Gregory questioned.

Pan called the turn over, and everyone saw the end coming far sooner than they’d ever considered possible. Elkit pushed his cavalry to the tent and the magi units turned to the approaching pikemen.

“We slaughter anyone in the tent. No quarter is being given,” Elkit laughed. “The adepts will create minor firestorms on the first two units to get in range.”

Pan nodded. “Very well. Magi-killer?”

Egil smiled as he placed the paper from earlier on the table in front of him. “Now, we spring the trap. Erichson?”

Paul placed a card on the table. “Tactic shift. The pikemen approaching them drop their pikes, turning them into light infantry.”

Gin placed a card on the table. “Breaking rush. Krogga rarely allows a heavy loss to break their morale. When a heavy loss is suffered, the rest of their army can cover distances faster.”

Egil smiled at Elkit as he placed another card on the table. “Death to the magi. The men will fight to the very end to bring down the magi.”

“What?! They can’t issue commands to their men if they’re being attacked!” Elkit spat.

Egil tossed the paper at Elkit. “We had plans. Go ahead.”

Elkit snatched the paper and read it, his face going red. Crumpling it up, he threw it back at Egil. “Fine!” He slapped a card of his own on the table. “Hasty retreat. We leave a single wind adept back to buy time. The rest of the magi pull back.”

“Sir?” Hayworth called out, raising a hand. “What just happened?”

Pan nodded. “Magi-killer told me at the start that their command units aren’t in the tent. His commanders are among three specific units, one of which is about to hit the adept. It outlined this exact attack.”

“How would he know?!” Nick snapped.

Pan turned his head to look at Nick. “Did you have a question, Apprentice?”

“How would Magi-killer know what Magus Elkit had planned?” He looked at Gregory. “Unless he had help.”

All eyes went to Gregory, who snorted. “I can’t see that far into the future. Besides, I don’t think three of the most experienced fighters inside the academy walls would need my help.”

“According to knowledgeable sources, as an apprentice, he’d at most be able to see a few minutes into the future,” Pan said, “which is why he can’t play in the tournament. But he clearly wouldn’t have been able to see what the magi had planned and tell the other team.”

“We planned for it because his men were set to make a sudden rush,” Erichson said. “He has no defensive units, only quick offense and magi. That left only one possible plan for them— a quick crushing of our forces.”

“Which works for most, but against Krogga… it’s not the best tactic,” Gin added. “Elkit has obviously never seen a real battle with Krogga. What we are doing is exactly what we’ve seen done.”

“Can we finish the turn?” Egil asked idly. “The tide is already turning.”

“Does anyone else have anything to add?” Pan asked. When no one else spoke up, he nodded. “Very well. The cavalry finds a tent with just a few older men and women of Krogga discussing tactics. They were placed here in case the wind magi decided to listen via the air. They would hear tactics being discussed, giving the impression that the commanders were in the tent.”

Egil nodded. “The elderly of Krogga are still a threat, Apprentices. They will gladly lay down their lives for their country, even more so if it’s against the empire.”

“Now, let’s see what damage is done to the lone adept and the retreating units,” Pan smiled.

~*~*~

The game continued, but from that point on, the magi units were in a constant state of retreat. They took chunks out of the Krogga army, which had to slaughter the cavalry, but once they managed to knock it down to a tenth of its original size, the unit broke apart.

Paul’s commander was taken out during the next few turns, but he pulled down Ashon’s magi as he died. With the better fire magi off the board, the Krogga units could close the distance without as many losses.

On turn ten, Egil smiled and placed a new unit on the field. “The champion has arrived.”

Pan nodded. “Yes, he has.”

Elkit’s jaw was clenched as he stared at the new unit. “Our reinforcements also get here this turn.”

“They do,” Pan nodded. “I believe that empties your war chest.”

“It won’t matter,” Elkit replied as he placed the new units.

“Two more turns until you get resupply from the empire,” Gin said. “Morale will decline over those turns.”

Elkit just set his new units on the field right next to his magi, who had run back to the last row of tiles on the board.

“Apprentices, if you haven’t played with a champion before— and it’s likely you haven’t— you need to be aware of two things. They are monsters. The champion will buff his men, and their morale will not drop now. The opposite is also true. The morale for the enemy side drops at three times the speed.”

Barlz grimaced. “Three times?”

“Yes,” Gin smiled. “That morale loss is about to become a problem.”

“The champion will gather the small broken units and forge them into a single unit under his command,” Egil said. “Erichson, you’re back in here.”

“Gladly,” Paul smiled as he took the stat sheet for the champion.

Barlz shook his head. “This is going to end badly. I’d normally ask for terms at this point.”

Elkit’s jaw clenched. “We can still win this.”

“Let’s move on,” Egil said. “We might wrap this up before dinner.”

~*~*~

The seventeenth bell was chiming when the game ended.

“That is the end. Magi-killer’s side has won. Magus Elkit, you are removed from this class. We will need another assistant to take his place,” Pan said.

“Barlz,” Egil said, “do you want to fill that role?”

Elkit’s face was flushed red, and Barlz looked uncertain.

“You knew what to do,” Egil said. “I’d also like to show that I have no hard feelings over being challenged. Do you accept or not?”

“Yes, he does!” Elkit snapped. “Ashon, we leave now. Eternal Flame, move.”

“Hold,” Pan said simply.

Everyone stopped moving as the air seemed to grow heavy around them.

“We were going to give the class the day before the solstice off,” Pan said. “I will extend that. The class is out until the day after the solstice, when the tournament starts. Your clan or dormitory will be informed if you have a game. Do well. The council will be watching.” With that said, there was a swirl of air and Pan was gone.

“Eternal Flame,” Elkit snapped again, “move out!”