However Many Must Die (1) by Phil Williams

Author:Phil Williams [Williams, Phil]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 0000000000000
Published: 2023-10-11T08:11:11+00:00

26

The divergent 3rd-century trajectories of witlacing and earth-touching can be attributed to two key individuals who emerged when persecution of mages was at its peak. Lord Hep Hattrik of Ernth, a noble whose son was born gifted with witlacing abilities, and Fin “the Biter” Baston, a Khib rebel who radicalised earth-touchers. The former made it his life’s work to normalise attitudes towards witlacing, using his influence to establish an academic discourse around mortal magic. The latter did his utmost to threaten the status quo, prophesying that mages would inherit the Rocc. Their goals, strategies and characters were vastly different, but both men had in common, at least, that they were fiercely competitive, and incredibly dangerous.

We the Mindless: a Brief History of Ostracised Magic, Lombardo, p. 32

Wish had started to wonder if separating from the others was a mistake. It was just her, Emi and Four Skills perched by a rock, with Rue, Pound and Angles (somehow) spread out in the trees to support them, the rest of Boot Squad having moved on ahead. Ordinarily she trusted that between herself and Four Skills they’d have no trouble catching up to the Blood Scouts, but who was to say if trails worked the same in Eardung. They might have worms that rubbed out footprints, or worse. But she tried to stay focused on the task at hand, studying the ugly Drail ship. It floated away from the bank and the wreckage of the barkmen’s boat, presumably too large to get much closer to land. Barkmen were gathered around their own vessel, tending to debris and their fallen comrades –

which, frankly, looked the same. Only a handful of Drail soldiers had come to shore, clustered around a rowboat, two in green coats, one in a crisper uniform with a flat, important hat, and one in a cloak – a witlacer, most likely, brought to communicate with the barkmen.

A single barkman kept lurking nearby, distracting Wish like a watching dog, very judgemental for a plank of wood. Wish murmured, “How do we know he’s not sending tree-vibes to his mates over there right now, warning them about us?”

“There’d be commotion if he did,” Four Skills said.

Wish shifted, checking again to see if there were more of them, or any Drail soldiers sneaking about to flank them, but Four Skills was right: they were safe, for now. She took a breath and eyed Emi. The mage had calmed to a point of near-normality, but her pupils were big as plates and her smile hung somewhat sickly open. “Emi. You sure you want to do this, so soon after?”

“Please, Wish,” Emi said. “I could throw down all day, it’s just riding a high.

You’re the ones who don’t like what it does to me.”

“She’ll be worse, second time round,” Four Skills warned more soberly. “But she’s right to a degree. Worry about her when we’re safe. You ready? I make it a hundred thirty feet, here to the bank.”

Wish scanned the boat and the soldiers through her scope one more time, impressed by the men’s arrogance.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.