Read Online Battle Mage: The Dark Mage (Tales of Alus) by Donald Wigboldy Jr - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Donald Wigboldy Jr
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man often referred to as the Grimnal, Gerid Aramathea. He had been believed immortal. Wounds could bring him to the point of death and still he would rise unharmed. He was over a millennium old when the Cataclysm tore Alus apart and sometime after that he disappeared. No one knew for sure if he was dead in Southwall, but words like this made Palose wonder.
The older warlock shook his head, “Too bad he was so resistant to magic. That body would have been ideal otherwise.”
“His tissues were used to help make Garosh. The magic resistance was not only circumvented, but reversed to the point that this so called mistake is more powerful than any of us.”
“But he isn’t strong enough to hold the emperor’s full might,” the elder replied with a sigh. “I hope that Garosh doesn’t intend to try and prevent the master from taking his proposed body. I worry that others may hear of your success and try to destroy your work before the master can take it for himself.”
Such ideas made Palose wonder. Rumors of the slow collapse of the emperor’s power and hold over his empire had made it to his ears even in the short time the mage had lived in Ensolus. This powerful being that couldn’t find a body worthy of his might seemed to be dying if he understood what no one was willing to say. If the emperor died before finding a body, what would become of his empire? Perhaps the decay had already begun?
The last warlock left and even Listher had been sent away by Atrouseon before his master gave the apprentice his full attention. “Palose, for the next several days, when I am not here you will be guarding this chamber. I need someone I can trust and once I give you this order, I know that you will guard these creatures with your life.”
Nodding at his master, but cringing on the inside at the ease with which the warlock could override his will with a single command, Palose let his eyes wander to the three tanks. “Garosh said only the one was worthy.”
Following his gaze the two men found their feet leading them to the three tanks. The liquid surrounding the three adolescent forms was a viscous green that was still fairly clear. Two boys, one declared inferior and one destined to hold the emperor, as well as a girl that was untested but also declared unfit, hinged the hopes and fears of not only this empire but the rest of the world. The world at large didn’t know how important this experiment truly was and in fact knew nothing of the weakness of the emperor as he decayed.
Atrouseon placed his right hand lovingly on the glass as he stared at the being who could be emperor. “The first two blanks were based off of old models that had been declared inferior, but Etriak and Alimus had believed the two paths valid. Thielius and I always told them that we doubted that those paths held any real promise. In the end, we worked with the two most successful test subjects in the history of the project. One was Garosh and the Grimnal, as you might have guessed by now.
“The other never had life breathed into it, but had been a sample taken from the emperor in an attempt to strengthen his current form. It was an old sample taken two centuries ago and before the decay progressed to what it is now.
“My belief was that both creations had been valid, but that by themselves they were inferior, so I have been working for a decade to find a way to bring the best of both bodies into one. I have had my failures, but I always believed.”
“How did you come to have the Grimnal’s flesh to sample? Does he still live after yet another two centuries?” Palose asked wondering as all from Southwall had about the immortal’s disappearance when they had needed him most.
Like an alarm had gone off behind his eyes, Atrouseon looked unwilling to divulge the answers to one of Southwall’s greatest mysteries. Finally he released his breath in a sigh and shrugged, “As far as I know, he still lives. Our most recent samples are less
The older warlock shook his head, “Too bad he was so resistant to magic. That body would have been ideal otherwise.”
“His tissues were used to help make Garosh. The magic resistance was not only circumvented, but reversed to the point that this so called mistake is more powerful than any of us.”
“But he isn’t strong enough to hold the emperor’s full might,” the elder replied with a sigh. “I hope that Garosh doesn’t intend to try and prevent the master from taking his proposed body. I worry that others may hear of your success and try to destroy your work before the master can take it for himself.”
Such ideas made Palose wonder. Rumors of the slow collapse of the emperor’s power and hold over his empire had made it to his ears even in the short time the mage had lived in Ensolus. This powerful being that couldn’t find a body worthy of his might seemed to be dying if he understood what no one was willing to say. If the emperor died before finding a body, what would become of his empire? Perhaps the decay had already begun?
The last warlock left and even Listher had been sent away by Atrouseon before his master gave the apprentice his full attention. “Palose, for the next several days, when I am not here you will be guarding this chamber. I need someone I can trust and once I give you this order, I know that you will guard these creatures with your life.”
Nodding at his master, but cringing on the inside at the ease with which the warlock could override his will with a single command, Palose let his eyes wander to the three tanks. “Garosh said only the one was worthy.”
Following his gaze the two men found their feet leading them to the three tanks. The liquid surrounding the three adolescent forms was a viscous green that was still fairly clear. Two boys, one declared inferior and one destined to hold the emperor, as well as a girl that was untested but also declared unfit, hinged the hopes and fears of not only this empire but the rest of the world. The world at large didn’t know how important this experiment truly was and in fact knew nothing of the weakness of the emperor as he decayed.
Atrouseon placed his right hand lovingly on the glass as he stared at the being who could be emperor. “The first two blanks were based off of old models that had been declared inferior, but Etriak and Alimus had believed the two paths valid. Thielius and I always told them that we doubted that those paths held any real promise. In the end, we worked with the two most successful test subjects in the history of the project. One was Garosh and the Grimnal, as you might have guessed by now.
“The other never had life breathed into it, but had been a sample taken from the emperor in an attempt to strengthen his current form. It was an old sample taken two centuries ago and before the decay progressed to what it is now.
“My belief was that both creations had been valid, but that by themselves they were inferior, so I have been working for a decade to find a way to bring the best of both bodies into one. I have had my failures, but I always believed.”
“How did you come to have the Grimnal’s flesh to sample? Does he still live after yet another two centuries?” Palose asked wondering as all from Southwall had about the immortal’s disappearance when they had needed him most.
Like an alarm had gone off behind his eyes, Atrouseon looked unwilling to divulge the answers to one of Southwall’s greatest mysteries. Finally he released his breath in a sigh and shrugged, “As far as I know, he still lives. Our most recent samples are less
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