Chapter 7

Aunt Dreya tried to channel my mother as she spoke those words, gentle reader, and given the way it seemed to grab people’s attention, it was clear that she’d succeeded.

“Even Daelen and his kind aren’t invincible,” she continued. “They’ll get theirs eventually, I’m sure of it. But right now, they are neither the problem nor the solution. Ulvarius is the problem.”

“And are you the solution?” Dagamir asked.

“No,” Dreya insisted. “I think you are. All of you. All of us. Together, I think we are the solution.”

Giving her a shrewd look, however, Dagamir surmised, “But you have something, don’t you? That’s why you came here. You have something, or…” he paused, considering, eyes narrowing, “…or you know something. That’s it, isn’t it?”

Dreya hadn’t expected her audience to pick up on that so quickly. She hadn’t been trying to hide it, of course, but neither had she left it in plain sight. That might be suspicious. She was definitely going to have to keep an eye on Dagamir.

“You’re right,” she confirmed, allowing her real surprise to creep into her voice. “I do know something, but the knowledge is no use to anyone without support from as many wizards as possible.”

Dagamir stood down from the box, yet somehow managed to appear taller in the process.

“At last!” he cried, his voice rising to reverberate around the hall. “Someone who wants to do more here than just tell stories!” The other wizards ceased their own conversations and turned towards Dagamir. The fact that he wasn’t using the Speaking Box didn’t matter. All eyes were on him. “Listen to me, you lot!” he announced, unnecessarily. “This young Faery just lost her home to Ulvarius, after a pitched battle against the undead army and even Ulvarius himself!”

The assembled mages gasped on cue.

“I, too, had to repel invaders this morning – that’s the third time this week! How long before I lose my home? How long before we all lose our homes? We need to fight back – I’ve said that many times, haven’t I, my friends!”

The cheer was louder, this time.

“Now, I confess that even I could not see how to do that,” he continued, “but Darla here,” as if on some unspoken signal, his circle of friends parted to give everyone a clear view of the Faery woman in their midst, “has come to us with vital information.

“Darla?” he prompted in invitation.

She climbed onto the Speaking Box. She knew some people could be persuaded by the simple observance of such customs. She thought before she spoke, determined to stick as close to the truth as possible. Not just for her usual reasons, but also because she wasn’t familiar with this time, so it would be all too easy to get caught in a contradiction if she lied.

“As you can see,” she began, “I’m Faery. Specifically, Sylfranian Faery. My home is about as close to the Black Tower as you can get. From there, I can send out my magical senses and spy on Ulvarius. You can imagine the owner of the Black Tower does not appreciate that!”

Some of the other mages chuckled at that.

“From my observations, as my friend Dagamir says, I’ve learned something vital.” Her claim of friendship would help to win more people over. “Tell me, did anybody notice Ulvarius’ sudden upturn in power, recently?” She kept the time frame deliberately vague.

Several people murmured that they had indeed noticed.

“I remember it well,” Dagamir agreed. “Happened, what, a couple of weeks ago, I’d say, yes?”

Again, the crowd agreed.

“I thought it was damned peculiar at the time. I mean, Ulvarius was a threat before that, but then, overnight, his power shot off the charts. Are you saying you know how that happened?”

She nodded thoughtfully. This was where she needed to be careful. “He has some kind of magical totem that he carries with him at all times.”

“What does this totem look like?” Dagamir asked.

“Well,” Dreya considered. She knew Kullos’ complete control device was in the guise of a sword, but she had no way of knowing whether this fragment was from the blade or the hilt. “It’s a metal shard,” she replied, finally. That description would fit either way. “As if it’s broken off from something and somehow been imbued with strange power.” She hoped that was specific enough to sound like she knew what she was talking about, but vague enough to fit whichever fragment this one was.

“You’re right, I’ve seen it!” declared a woman in the audience, standing out in robes of hot pink. “Just as you describe.”

Dreya had hoped others might have seen it. Having locals back up her story would definitely help her cause. “When was this?” she asked.

“If your timeframe is right, it couldn’t have been more than a couple of days after he got it. I remember his powers faltered for a moment and he got annoyed with this shard as if it was somehow its fault.”

That made sense, Dreya thought. Early days. He must still have been experimenting with how to use higher planar energy in conjunction with his wizard magic. Even for her, it had taken time and practice.

“Yes, I’ve seen it, too,” confirmed a wizard in White robes – one of Dagamir’s inner circle of friends. This was precisely what Dreya had hoped for. “I think it might even be a fragment of a bladed weapon. A dagger or even a sword like yours, Dagamir. Again, his power seemed to falter, as if he couldn’t keep it under control.”

“If this shard is truly so important, why haven’t more of us seen it?” a sceptic demanded.

Dagamir spoke up in defence, “Let’s face it: most who get in his path don’t live long enough to tell tales about it.”

Others murmured their agreement.

“Besides,” Dreya put in, “I suspect he mostly keeps it hidden, now. Probably worried about too many wizards noticing and doing exactly what we’re doing, now.”

“Darla’s right, Dagamir,” the Black robe sorceress by Dagamir’s side said softly.

“What makes you think so, Sephora?” Dagamir wondered.

Dreya noted the exchange with interest. The way they used each other’s name and shared a certain look – a look she had seen on Catriona’s face when she said ‘Dreya’ in her own special way. She thought the name Sephora was familiar, too, vaguely. Dreya wondered if perhaps they were a famous magical couple from this time. Although why she would have paid any attention to that over the years, she couldn’t imagine. Love wasn’t something she’d ever really thought about until she met Catriona.

“Only yesterday,” Sephora was saying, “I ran into Ulvarius. Or rather he ran into me.”

Dagamir’s reaction of shock and concern confirmed Dreya’s theory about them.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he demanded. “Are you alright?”

Sephora nodded and reached out her hand to caress his arm. “I’m fine. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“If you don’t mind, Sephora, could you tell us what happened?” Dreya asked gently.

The sorceress swallowed nervously, but agreed, “Of course,” she replied. “First, I should explain that I specialise in using magic to manipulate metal objects.”

“Interesting,” Dreya remarked. She couldn’t imagine anyone in her time specialising in such a narrow field, but this was still very much a time of experimentation and discovery for wizard magic. Plus, wizards of the pre-Council era guarded magical knowledge jealously, which hampered progress. Nevertheless, Dreya was not going to underestimate Sephora or her abilities.

“When I used it on Ulvarius, this metal shard that we’ve spoken about seemed to cut its way out of a pouch on his belt, in response. It flew away from him, but he was pretty quick to run after it and grab it, I can tell you.”

“Which suggests it’s important to him,” Dagamir mused.

Sephora confirmed it. “Lucky for me, retrieving that shard was more important to him than killing me. If I’d realised its value, I could have made it fly to me instead. As it was, I simply got away while he was distracted.”

This was better than Dreya could have wished for. In Dagamir and Sephora, she had one wizard who was a natural, charismatic leader and one sorceress who had already relieved Ulvarius of his control device fragment once and could easily do so again.

“Would you be willing to have another go?” Dreya asked Sephora. “If we could take it from him, then his magic would be back to where it was before. Powerful, but ultimately beatable if you can work together.”

The sorceress gave her a determined smile. “Get me in range with some decent shields, and I’ll do it, no problem. Like Dagamir says,” she added, taking his hand in hers, “it’s time we did more here than stand around and talk. We need to do something about Ulvarius and thanks to you, Darla, we have a way to hurt him.”

“Maybe we could use his own shard against him?” Dagamir’s white-robed friend suggested.

Dreya shook her head, emphatically. She had anticipated such an idea, and she needed to crush it quickly.

“From my studies, it seems unstable,” she asserted. “That’s why it’s so powerful but uncontrollable. It also means it’s liable to blow up in our faces if we try to use it. ‘Power wielded in ignorance is dangerous, regardless of intent’,” she quoted. She may be devoted to Dark magic now, but she had trained with Master Xarnas as a Red robe and understood the value of his Balanced teachings.

Dagamir looked impressed. “I like that!” he boomed. “That would make an excellent motto for the wizard group I’m trying to create.”

Dreya hoped there wouldn’t be some dire consequences of him gaining that from the future. She figured it would probably be OK, as long as Dagamir took full credit, and he seemed the type that would.

“If it’s going to blow up anyway, why not let it blow up and destroy Ulvarius and the Black Tower along with it?” asked the sorceress in pink.

Dreya was understandably not a fan of that idea, for several reasons – not all of them self-serving.

Thankfully, Dagamir’s white-robed wizard friend came to her rescue. “How long do we wait? And how much of Elvaria will be left when it happens?”

Dreya grabbed that seed of thought and nurtured it.

“It might explode tomorrow, or next year, there’s no way to know. When it does, I can’t even guess at how much damage it will do. That’s why I came to you today. Remember, I’ve been spying on him for some time, so I’ve had a better chance to study him and this shard than any of you. I know I can dispose of that shard safely, but I need your help to take it from him in the first place. Even after his shard is gone, Ulvarius will still be a threat, but if we can at least make him run back to his Black Tower and lick his wounds for a while, other wizards will see that he’s vulnerable and they will come here.”

“Then this place could start to mean something, Dagamir!” Sephora gasped, with infectious enthusiasm. “Just like you’ve said. Just like we’ve dreamed! This could be the start of a properly organised system of magic. If we get this right, we can lay the foundations of the future. Our names will live in history!”

“I think you’re right,” Dreya agreed. Maybe that was where she’d heard the names: two of the Founders of the Council. She’d never really paid attention to things like that. She was interested in the history of magic as a whole, not individual mages.

Dagamir swept Sephora up in an enormous embrace. “Always the visionary!” he exclaimed. Breaking the hug, he subjected Dreya to a handshake so vigorous, she thought he was going to pull her arm off.

“Thank you, Darla. I can’t begin to estimate the value of the information you’ve given us, but to make it truly worth anything, we need to act on it.”

His attitude was compelling as he once again addressed the company of assembled wizards.

“Friends!” he bellowed, “I’ve always said we need to talk less and act more. Haven’t I always said that?”

The crowd cheered.

“Well, finally, we have a clear idea of how to act. We can stop Ulvarius, rob him of this unstable power of his and set a course for the future of magic!”

The cheer was louder this time.

“These are troubled times, my friends, but our troubles will soon be behind us if we can just work together to forge the future! I’ve wanted to see co-operation in magic grow for a long time. Haven’t I always said that?”

The noise level was enough to raise the roof, Dreya thought. It would never be tolerated in her time, but here and now, it was a marvellous thing to behold.

“You all share that view – that’s why you helped me create this Forum. Now it’s time to take things a stage further. Now it’s time to show the world just what magic can do if only we band together, each with our diverse, individual talents, working as one. Together, we can end Ulvarius’ reign of terror and light a beacon that will blaze a trail into the future and last forever!”

The crowd was so loud, now, that Dreya had to discreetly cast a spell to muffle the sound and protect her sensitive Faery ears. While she was at it, she shielded the entire building with sound-dampening magic. There was no telling what powers of detection Ulvarius might have, and she didn’t want him descending on them here and now.

“Friends! Are you with me?”

The crowd was in such a frenzy, now, that Dreya thought they’d probably agree to do just about anything Dagamir asked. She stepped down from the box and almost unconsciously, Dagamir instantly took her place, still holding Sephora’s hand while holding his sword aloft with the other.

“I said: Are you with me!”

Somehow, the crowd managed to grow even louder.

Dagamir stepped back down from the box, and the assembled mages took that as a cue to be quiet and listen carefully as he dropped his voice. He certainly knew how to work a crowd.

“Then let us make plans,” he urged them, “starting with where to confront him.”

“I vote not the Black Tower,” Sephora asserted. “No point giving him home advantage.”

Dreya quickly agreed, again for many reasons.

“Do you have any suggestions, Darla?” Sephora wondered.

Dreya found herself briefly distracted by activity in her head, so it took her a moment to recognise her assumed name, but she covered it by appearing to consider the question.

“Well, I’d say not here, either,” she offered. “We want this building to be a beacon for the future, not a pile of rubble that gets caught in the middle of this battle.”

“I definitely second that motion,” Dagamir concurred, “but perhaps close by, so that this can serve as an assembly point prior to the battle?”

“Or a refuge for those who need protection,” his white-robed friend suggested.”

Things were beginning to shape up nicely in line with the history Dreya knew. She knew exactly where this battle was fought – everyone would remember for the next three hundred years and, she was willing to bet, a thousand years beyond that. But she had to remain in character, and she didn’t think a Sylfranian Faery from this age would have detailed knowledge of every human village in this part of Elvaria.

Therefore, she asked, “Does anyone have a map of the local area?”

Dagamir’s white-robed wizard friend volunteered to fetch one from an adjoining study room.

“Thanks, Hodge,” Dagamir acknowledged.

Now, that name Dreya was certain she’d heard before.

Hodge of the Light, Sephora of the Dark and despite his attire, Dagamir was definitely aligned with the Balance. The first Triumvirate, perhaps?

She made a mental note to do more research in future, before travelling to the past. She was sure Cat would come up with a way to make essential records Timeless. Still, for now, Dreya would simply have to work with what she had, keep the broad brushstrokes of history as they should be, and hope history could take care of the fine details by itself.

Hodge unfurled the map of the Walminster district, and Dreya made a show of studying it, letting her finger hover over a few places before settling on what she knew was the correct answer according to the history books.

“How about here?” she asked, pointing to a nearby village.

“Not bad,” Hodge mused. “That could work nicely.”

Dreya carefully explained her choice.

“I thought it looked like a small rural settlement, close by, not too many people I would guess?”

“Excellent reasoning,” Hodge approved. “They’re quite pro-magic there, as well. They’ll probably be pretty easy to evacuate.”

Sephora summarised their choice. “They can evacuate for us, or they can wait until Ulvarius enslaves and slaughters them.”

Dreya found herself warming to her. Frankly, she felt she could do with more mages like Sephora on the Council in her time.

Making a show of scanning the map, she read, “Compton village.”

In truth, in that age, it was little more than a hamlet, with only a few families living there. It would grow substantially over the next century, but for now, even the offending ‘FaerWay Tavern’ didn’t yet exist. It was tempting for Dreya to stick around in the past long enough to see to it that the name changed, but she supposed that would be an irresponsible use of time travel. Besides, it wouldn’t do any good to change the name. What needed to change was people’s attitudes so that names like that would be a thing of the past. That would take more than Time magic.

“The Battle of Compton,” she mused. “Has a good ring to it, don’t you think?”

Dagamir grinned and agreed it did.

Dreya felt another piece of history slot back into place. She was getting the hang of this Time Intervention business. Still, Hodge wondered how they would get Ulvarius there when they wanted him.

“Is there some way we could ‘leak’ our plan to Ulvarius?” Sephora suggested.

“Well, we can’t just roll up and tell him,” Dagamir mused. “He’d get suspicious.”

“Leave that to me,” Dreya offered. “I’m not working alone. If you lot can assemble in Compton and evacuate the place quickly, my friends will be only too pleased to send him your way.”