Chapter 129 Traeliorn Kelran POV (Patreon Vote)

  After arriving ielhian wilderness, Traelior his apprentice Vaeril and Ranger Raelia and flew north on the back of Kylma. The ice drake was a good mount and friend, she moved with his body and did most of the work as they flew north, so he didn’t even require a saddle. His pn was simple. He would summon the rgest wyvern he could and attack small towns south of the Telhian capital. The wyvern would kill the peasants, making the Emperor look inpetent and uo protect his citizens.

  His goal was actually to get the Emperor to leave his pace. Then Traeliorn would attack him, putting his life on the lio end the Void Mage. The Emperor had caused him so much pain and grief over the st two turies that he was willing to risk his life to finally kill him.

  Traeliorn nded between two rocky summits a Kylma to one of the peaks to watch over him as he worked. Summoning a wyvern was always a difficult task. Luring ohrough an open portal took a lot of aether and a powerful summohe draic beasts also had very primal desires: hunt, kill, eat, and reproduce, and the iation with the beast would usually have to satisfy those needs.

  He spent aire day ying out the rgest formation he had ever structed. He ughed, thinking it was big enough to summon an actual dragon. He was not stupid enough to try that, though. A dragon’s will was to and would not eveer iations. Traeliorn preferred to bypass the iation phase of a summoning and instead domihe mind of the creature when it came through the portal.

  He spent aire day resting in preparation, and Kylma brought him a rge fresh fish to eat. “I suppose you wao cook it for the both of us?” The ice drake puffed a frozen cloud at him. “Fi is a good twenty pounds. I am taking the best fillet for myself.” The drake puffed another cloud before curling into a ball and watg him work closely.

  The summoner skillfully descaled and sliced the fish. He found a rge ft rod held out his hand as he wove the spell forms together. A fme erupted from his palm as he bsted the stoil it turned an angry red. The heat was wele as the weather was turning. It was not turning fast enough for him. He wao see the fruits of his bors. He had targeted fields and farms across the eastern Telhian Empire. This wihe peasants of the Telhian Empire would starve and bme the Emperor.

  The stone cooled enough to cook the rge fillets. He reached deep into his belt poud pulled some salt and herbs to season the fillets with. When he flipped them after a few minutes, Kylma got up and eagerly approached, “Old girl, you should be eating this raw. I have spoiled you too much with cooked food.” The ice drake gave an indignant puff. “sider this your reward for flying my old bones around.”

  Traeliorn took a small piece of the fish after it erfectly cooked, and the ice drake quickly ed what was left behind. Kylma then unched herself into the air to keep watch from one of the peaks again. The summoner shook his head and sidered sending the drake away if the Emperor left his pace to front him. It was something that was uo happen, though.

  He begaual summoning with the watery-blue moon, giving him strong light. The wyvern scale at the ter was the focus as he poured aether into the runes he had carefully inscribed on the ground to focus his power. The magic would search for a match to that scale on all of Desia and sometimes beyond. He liked to think of it like fishing, casting out a line and hook, seeking out the fish on its own. It was almost an hour before he finally got a bite.

  He had devoted two-thirds of his aether so far and was slightly worried when the portal finally anchored and opened, showing a wyvern oher side. Even before the beast stepped through, he k was formable. It came fearlessly through and immediately lu the mage. The dragonkin’s size and the attack’s ferocity made him flinch. It ractically the size of an actual dragon.

  The tai runes fred blue, green, and red as they held the massive wyvern in pce. It strained and roared defianside the circle. Traeliorn tried to establish a e to its mind, but the creature was strohan a wyvern should be. It was like wrestling an oiled pig from his youth. He kept grabbing at it—only to have it slip away. Traeliorn was sweating as his aether was slowly ed in the fight for dominanbsp;Finally, the wyvern made a mistake, and Traeliorn slipped into his mind and subdued his thoughts.

  The elf summoner sat heavily on the ground, his heart still rag from the struggle. He had almost lost the struggle. He only had about oweh of his aether remaining. Kylma nded o him now that the difficult part was done. He hat she used him as a buffer to the wyvern. He scratched her ear holes to let her know he was fine. He drank his eerskin before slipping bato the mind of the impressive wyvern. trolling a beast through its mind was not easy; he would give it bae trol to make it easier on himself and allow himself time to recover some equilibrium.

  The wyvern unched into the air, and Traeliorn began the search for the rgest farming unities north of him. He found a farmer in a field harvesting squash. A horse pulled a cart while the farmer and his children deposited squash into the cart for winter. He set the wyvern loose on the people and lessoned his e to the beast.

  The summoner colpsed on the ground, cheg in on the wyvern periodically as it terrorized and killed peasants. Even after it had satiated its huhe summoner to tis rampage of the people. It had been a few hours sihe summoning when he received a message sending from his apprentice Vaeril.

  “Master Kelran, the legionaries have found us! They have a drake and more than one mage with them! We are running, but I do not think we will st long. Please send help.”

  Traeliorn’s heart pounded. He was going to lose another apprentid friend. Not to mention, the ranger’s death would ahe General as well. He reected with the wyvern that was massag a pasture of sheep. The creature tried to resist Traelorian’s mind, but the link had already been anchored. He forced the creature into the air a it south to find his apprentice.

  Suplete trol drained his aether rapidly as he searched through the eyes of the beast. He headed for any rge flying creature in the skies. He was searg for the drake. Vaeril had an anchor stone for a portal, making it somewhat easier to determihe dire, but it was more of a feeling than a true dire. He knew he was not going to make it in time. It was just too far. But at least he could get his revenge.

  There! Not the drake but the anchor stohe massive wyvern nded in an open grassy area, dotted with trees. Underh one of the trees, he found Vaeril alive. When the wyvern did not attack, relief filled the young elf’s face. “Master Kelran, is that you?”

  Traeliorn used weak telepathy to unicate through his bond with the wyvern. “It is me. Where are The Ranger and legionaries?”

  A pained look came on Vaeril’s face, “She gave me more time to run. They caught her. The legionaries killed the two hill giants I summoned and are ing after me. They have a powerful fire mage with them, Master Kelran.” Their versation was interrupted when a drake zipped over the trees. A man was riding it. The wyvern uself into the sky in pursuit. The summuided its rage at the much smaller creature.

  The aerial pursuit quickly got frustrating. The wyvern had filled its belly, not helping its agility. The rider and drake were too agile and fast. And the rider kept trying to anchor his own dominan the mind of the wyvern. It was being futile, and Traeliorn’s aether was almost empty. He o take a risk. He pushed his mind to a er of the wyvern ahe rest for the mage to subvert.

  He owerful human mage who soon grappled the remaining mind into submission but didn’t realize Traeliorn was still present. The Empire Mage nded his drake, thinking himself victorious, and approached the wyvern wearing a sneering grin. quering this beast was an impressive feat. Traeliorn had almost failed himself. If Traeliorn had not already weakes defehe human mage would not have had a ce. But here they were.

  He waited as the human approached to cim his prize. The human even foolishly left his drake behind. When he was in striking distaraelorian pushed his mind out tain trol. The mage realized his mistake too te, and the wyvern’s long neapped out and ed him ie. Some defensive magic fred ihe wyvern’s mouth, but the angry wyvern ground the mage with its teeth, g bones and f him down his throat to an already full belly.

  The drake took exception to its rider beien and charged the wyvern. The massive wyvern easily swatted it down and tore out its throat in seds. The wyvern roared in victory, and Traeliorn smiled far away. He had saved his apprentid killed a powerful mind mage of the Empire. Traeliorn took trol of the wyvern, pnning to have it carry Vaeril ba in its cw. He walked the beast toward the tree, and his blood froze.

  The wyvern rushed the tree and batted it over, unc the dead appreh a sword pierg down into its body. The pained look on Vaeril’s face made the summo inte. He had been so close. He had been so distracted by fighting the drake that he had left Vaeril unprotected. The wyvern’s head snapped up, looking for movement. There! He forced the wyvern to chase the two fleeing legionaries. He would get some modicum of revenge.

  One of the men made it into the trees, but the wyvern cut the other one off, like a cat cutting off a mouse. The legionnaire was halted in his tracks, separated from his panion. Arrows uselessly bounced off the scales of the wyvern as Traeliorn stared through its eyes. Ielhian speech, the legionaries defied the wyvern and his fate, saying, “You prefer to py with your food! Well, bring it on!”

  Traeliorn approached slowly a a message into the legionnaire’s mind, “You killed Vaeril, my apprentice?” He looked shocked at the message but seemed to uand the wyvern was talking to him.

  Surprise crossed his face. He asked, “Traeliorn?” So, the young legionaries knew who he was. He must be a Houo find him, and he found Vaeril instead.

  The wyvern’s bck eyes focused on the legionnaire. Traeliorn wanted firmation he was getting his vengeance, “Did you kill my apprentice?” He repeated.

  “Yes,” the legionnaire answered with a clear and ft tone, not denying it. He was brave to be standing before certaih. Most men would have cowered, begged for their life, or soiled themselves. Instead, he stood defiantly, weling his fate.

  Far away, Traeliorn aowledged his bravery ahe final message to the human, “Then legionnaire, know that it was I who sent you to your afterlife for your crime. Traeliorn Kelran, Vaeril’s teacher and friend.” The wyvern roared and lu the legionh its powerful legs and neck.

  Traeliasped as the backsh from his mental link with the wyvern was severed. He fell to the ground, and Kylma nudged his exhausted body worriedly. His aether ent, and his head had an intense pressure. He was in disbelief. The wyvern must have been killed. How was that even possible? So instantaneously? Only ohing could have dohat—void magic. It must be another accused void mage like the Emperor. How powerful would he have to be to sy a wyvern with just a spell form?

  Traeliorn needed rest—a lot of rest to recover from the backsh and the ordeal of the day. He was not going to return to Bartiradian nds until he got his revenge on the legionnaire who killed Vaeril. He rationalized that killing a void mage would help the Bartiradian war effort.

  A few days ter, Traeliorn was watg through a wolf’s eyes as two legionnaires searched the wyvern and Vaeril’s body. He was still too weak to attack. He had e here in hopes of returning Vaeril’s body to the earth but found the legionnaires here instead. He should have known they would want to harvest the wyvern. He watched and waited for them to leave. When they did, he had the wolf follow them. Kylma stayed on the lookout while Traeliorn buried Vaeril. He actually shed tears as he pleted the task, promising the corpse he would ave.

  The wolf followed the legionnaires back to the city of Sobral. The day, it followed them along the road and then north along the old abarade road. There were over twenty of them in the pany but only tarent mages in the group, and that legionh void magic was among them as well—so three had strong magic. Traeliorn nded and dismounted Kylma a good distance away. He was still much too weak to front them, but it would still take them days of travel to reach the capital. A dire wolf came out of the brush to challenge Kylma.

  Traeliorn smiled as the test of wills with a dire wolf, even in his state, was not difficult. He sent the dire wolf to repce the on wolf and track the mage pany. He figured they must be returning to the capital on the old road. He wouldn’t let them get there, though. He just o recover more before he could summon again.