The Mage’s Vengeance: A Sword and Sorcery Novel (The Orzare Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  This is a work of fiction. All names, places, and events portrayed in this book are fictional. Any resemblance to actual names, places, and events are entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2021 Richard H. O’Toole

  All rights reserved.

  CONTENTS

  MAP OF ORZARE

  CLASSES

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Epilogue

  MAP OF ORZARE

  CLASSES

  Paladin – A magic class that uses magic primarily for defense. Paladins are often utilized as guards for figureheads such as renowned nobles, royalty, or High Priests.

  Primary Element – Earth

  Secondary Element – Water

  Combo Element – Caementicium: A perfect combination of rigidity and flexibility; the strongest defensive mana type in the mage arts.

  Juggernaut – A magic class that uses its magic for heavy physical strikes with some complimentary defense. Juggernauts are the most sought-after mage class on the warfront, though, most of their nonphysical enhancing spells are known to be rather mana intensive.

  Primary Element – Fire

  Secondary Element – Earth

  Combo Element – Metal: A very rigid mana type good for both offense and defense.

  Berserker – A magic class that utilizes its magic in almost a purely offensive manner. Berserkers are the only class that can interlace their primary or secondary elements on top of their combo element. They are the hardest hitting mage class there is.

  Primary Element – Fire

  Secondary Element – Wind

  Combo Element – Lightning: with the option to lace another element into the spell-form.

  Warlock – A magic class focused on middle and short ranged magic attacks. Known for their ability to manipulate nature.

  Primary Element – Water

  Secondary Element – Earth

  Combo Element – Wood: The warlock’s wood spells are extremely mana efficient, costing almost as little as the class’s base elemental spells.

  Sorcerer/Sorceress – A magic class focused on long and middle ranged casting attacks with little to no physical combat abilities. Most mages of this class prefer to use wands or staffs to assist in their ranged spell focus.

  Primary Element – Wind

  Secondary Element – Fire

  Combo Element – Lightning: This class is the only class known for using lightning at a distance.

  Ranger – A magic class that uses its magic to enhance agility, accuracy, and senses. Rangers have the longest ranged attacks out of all classes, with the sorcerer/sorceress and elementalist classes following closely behind.

  Primary Element – Wind

  Secondary Element – Earth

  Combo Element – Crystal: The ranger’s crystal spells are extremely mana efficient, costing less than the class’s base elemental spells. Crystal mana is also very rigid.

  Seer – A magic class that is the perfect portrayal of versatility. Seers have a wide variety of uses, none of which are for combat, though some seers utilize their enchantments to do so, nonetheless. The seer usually falls into one of three categories: an enchanter, a mender, or a scholar.

  Primary Element – Water

  Secondary Element – Wind

  Combo Element – None: Though the class has no combo element to speak of, what seers do have is an abnormal amount of mental mana.

  Rogue – A magic class that uses a magical shroud to hide in plain sight. Rogues are seldom used as warriors in the north, instead they are often utilized as spies or assassins.

  Primary Element – Earth

  Secondary Element – Fire

  Combo Element – Glass: The rogue utilizes glass mana to reflect/refract light allowing them to perform stealth spells, and on occasion, shadow spells.

  Elementalist – A magic class with solely long ranged spells. The elementalist is the only class who can take flight and has the least mana intensive spells of all classes.

  Primary Element – Earth

  Secondary Element – Wind

  Combo Element – Sand: A unique mana type that can more easily be reshaped and redirected midflight than any other mana type.

  Sage – A magic class in perfect balance between offensive and defensive capabilities. The sage is mostly a middle and close ranged casting class.

  Primary Element – Water

  Secondary Element – Fire

  Combo Element – Mist: A mana type that can easily change in density, allowing it to store great power within its bounds. Many sages have also been known to use the mist as a form of stealth.

  Wizard/Witch – A magic class known for its middle-ranged casting capabilities. Wizards are more known for their spell potency and prefer to use staffs to focus their spells, while witches have slightly less potency with deeper mana pools.

  Primary Element – Wind

  Secondary Element – Water

  Combo Element – Ice: At lower levels, ice spells are used commonly as sharp projectiles that can cause nerve damage if they pierce the skin. At higher levels, ice spells are known to seep into skin and armor upon contact, causing great pain and slowing effects.

  Summoner – A magic class with mid-ranged casting spells of weak quality. A summoner’s true power comes from its pacts with powerful creatures, allowing the class to summon the beasts upon the battlefield to fight alongside them.

  Primary Element – Fire

  Secondary Element – Water

  Combo Element – None: While this class has no combo element to speak of, the summoner can call upon the aid of beasts it has made a pact with.

  Chapter 1

  Rubble tumbled beneath as Kwame took careful steps down the hill. It was a good thing he started early because the sun was setting, and he was only halfway down the mountain. It would be well past dark by the time he arrived in Kamzabe. Kwame continued his journey down as the combination of the Millen army and the Dohashi Alliance began to come into view. As he neared the bottom, some Millen troops pointed up to him, and the bowman turned on the walls. Kwame raised his hands and held his position.

  “Come on down,” a soldier yelled out.

  When Kwame made it to the bottom of the hill, he surrendered himself, and some soldiers led him to the tribal leaders.

  “One of yours?” a guard at the hut in the center of the square asked.

  The guard nodded, and the soldiers released him. “I will let the council know you have returned.”

  The guard retreated into the hut and a moment later returned.

  “They’ll see you now.”

  Kwame entered and offered the typical Dohashi salute before taking a seat. He sat down next to George Boudreaux, who gave him a friendly nod.

  “Kwame,” Negashi Girma started. “We are very pleased to see you. It pains me to hear about your team. You have my condolences.”

  The other three tribal leaders and the four militiamen nodded in agreeance.

  “Glad to have you back, buddy,” George spoke.

  “Thank you,” Kwame responded.

  “The last we heard, you were chasing a half dozen mages up the mountain,” Jemal Okoro noted. “You some sort of a crazy man? It’s a good thing the Millens arrived when they did, driving away the mages like that. What were you thinking chasing them down by yourself?”

  “I was thinking I was going to kill every last one of them,” Kwame said with certainty.

  “And did you catch any of them?” Iyawa Audu asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “They are all dead,” Kwame answered.

  The room was silent for a moment. Many of the men looked at him with questioning stares, but George stared at him in wonder, knowing there was no dishonesty to find in his words.

  “Well, the council is just wrapping up,” Negashi Girma stated. “Perhaps you can debrief us on your adventure in the morning?”

  Kwame nodded. “Of course. I could use a good night’s rest.”

  “One thing, though, if you wouldn’t mind,” Jemal Okoro started. “Were you able to recover the Kobold Gem?

  A moment of panic lined Kwame’s face. He remembered back to the fight in the hut, just days ago.

  Kwame turned to George. “Could you give us a moment? I think matters such as these, best be kept to the tribes’ ears only.”

  Muttering and disapproving so
unds came from other members of the militia.

  “Of course. This council’s been strong. We work well togetha, but some things should be kept sacred,” George said, more to reassure the militiamen than anyone else.

  The militiamen left the room, and the guards were asked to keep away listening ears.

  “What do you have to tell us?” Obi Usman pried.

  “When I left,” Kwame started. “The Kobold Gem had fallen back to the pedestal of this very hut. I cut it from the cloth that the enemy held it in, right before Millen troops began flooding in and driving the mages away.”

  The room grew quiet for a moment, considering.

  Iyawa Audu leaned forward and squinted her eyes. “Do you have reason to suspect the Millen soldiers of stealing the Kobold Gem.”

  “My only reasoning is that they was here when no one else was, alone with the gem. Furthermore, the mages I chased called it a Seer Stone. It is apparently a powerful relic. Knowing that, I believe we have reason to question our would-be allies,” Kwame stated.

  “This is a very concerning accusation Kwame,” Obi Usman noted.

  “I know, but I can only tell you what I saw. When I left, the stone was here, and so were the Millen troops,” Kwame spoke.

  Again, the room was silent.

  “This is a very concerning predicament,” Negashi Girma stated.

  “We should question the Millens on the matter and see if we can determine their guilt,” Jemal suggested.

  “I think that would be unwise,” Obi stated.

  Jemal shot the man a glance.

  “I agree,” Negashi spoke. “We have the militia, but let’s be honest. We had all planned on dying just days ago. With the Millens showing up, and word that Cherubrook is in route, we finally have hope. We could possibly topple the Dragonborn completely, with the aid of the North.”

  “Cherubrook is on their way too?” Kwame asked.

  “Guoine and Dudenburgh move to Middletree too. The North is finally invested in the war effort, and for the first time in a long time, we may be capable of vanquishing our foe,” Iyawa spoke.

  “Then what’s the plan?” Jemal asked, agitated.

  “We keep quiet,” Obi suggested. “We act as though we think the enemy took it and let the war play out. When all is said and done, we send someone to find the evidence we need.”

  “And then what?” Jemal questioned in a contrarian tone. “Are we to go to war with Millen?”

  “No,” Obi responded. “We are part of the Northern Alliance. We bring it to the attention of the other nations, but not until the war is over.”

  “And you think the north will support us?” Jemal asked. “They abandon us when we call for aid. When’s the last time the North has tasted Dragonborn steel?”

  “But they are answering now,” Negashi said. “And from what our militia allies tell us, the rest of the North hasn’t been too happy with Millens either. Obi is right. We finish this war; then we deal with Millen.”

  “I agree,” Iyawa spoke.

  “Jemal?” Negashi asked.

  Jemal took a moment to answer, clearly uncomfortable with being outnumbered, but it was already a majority, so there was no reason to argue further. “Very well. Let’s focus on what we do best. We fight. Then we decide what to do with the Millens.”

  The group nodded in agreement.

  Chapter 2

  “You may call me…Ifrit,” the demon sounded.

  The mages looked up in astonishment. Ifrit was well known to the people of Orzare. He was famous for reaching into the realm, clinging onto the dying and the sick, and spreading his evil to those closest to the victim, those filled with grief. There are many stories making a claim as to his true standing and power, but what they all agree on is that he is one of Lucifer’s elite. Though, what Ifrit is likely most famous for, are the stories of his strong affinity to fire in the mortal plane. Many a building have gone up in flame with only his name to blame. Now seeing him stand there before them, in all his blazing glory, suddenly the stories seemed to hold a little more weight.

  “We are only here for the Seer Stone,” Yarzallin called.

  Elena glared at Yarzallin but knew he was right. Each one of the mages had to keep their auras blazing at full tilt just to keep up with the passive heat that the demon was delivering. There were five mages here, though, and one of them was a First Order mage at that. If the other mages were determined enough to pursue the demon, then maybe they would help her kill it after all.

  “But how effective will our spells be against a beast of this magnitude?” Elena wondered.

  Ifrit turned to look at the dead body of the necromancer and the Seer Stone next to him.

  “Take it,” Ifrit spoke, smiling. “If you can.”

  Yarzallin looked down for a moment, then at each of the group members, including Elena. “It would seem you have left us no choice.”

  Yarzallin took up a combat stance, and the rest of the group followed. Flames rose from all around Ifrit, causing the mages’ auras to flicker. Elena looked around at the group, and Leon looked back, nodding. Reggie was the only one not taking a typical combat stance. Instead, he stood with two feet spread square apart and lifted both hands over his head. Suddenly a mist began to fill the air, quicker than one would expect. In a moment, it grew too thick to see further than a foot ahead. There were audible sighs of relief from the group as Reggie’s spell cooled the room. Reggie often preferred to use his mist abilities mixed with heat, but pouring more water or fire mana into the spell after forming it, allowed him to control the spell’s temperature.

  Ifrit was no longer visible. This gave the group the advantage they needed. Yarzallin summoned a fairy with blue wings, outlined in pink. A glimmer of golden light emanated, and she phased into existence from the bottom up. She was no larger than Yarzallin’s hand, and she fluttered about him. A shimmering aura dripped like a liquid from her wings as she landed on the shoulder of her master. Then in a single swoop, she flew over the rest of the group and dripped her aura over them as well. Each member of the group sparkled with a renewed vigor.

  Yarzallin began tossing blasts of water in the direction that Ifrit had stood prior, in the shroud of the mist. The rest of the group followed in suit, tossing ranged spells toward the demon in hopes that they could catch him off guard. Ifrit roared, obviously having received damage. A moment later, his fiery aura flared to life, and the mist began to thin. Once more, the mages began to sweat, and a giant fireball was hurled toward them.

  Having been blinded by the mist, the group found themselves unable to dodge the fireball the demon hurled toward them, large enough to encompass the entire group. Had it not been for the fairy’s magic, the group would’ve surely perished. The fireball broke through the fairy’s magical barrier spell, and each member of the group fell to the ground, leaving them plagued with intense pain from the spell’s immense pressure and heat, minor burns lining their skin. The fairy quickly reapplied its magic, then healed the group. Calen raised a giant water wall, fully encompassing the demon, allotting the group just enough time to rise to their feet and dodge the next fireball before his spell broke.