Chapter 7 The Captive

"Walls, chains, bonds. The very antithesis to my being."

-Lycian, War of Four Sides

Teran walked with a steady gait, fighting the limp he had recently acquired. The Flame Haste spell had saved his life, but cost him a few broken bones from being tossed around by the explosions. Under his leathers were splints along his leg, foot, and chest. He had not even noticed the injuries until after the hold spell faded, as the shell it created acted as a splint.

"Teran, you are going to injure yourself even more by walking. Let us wait until you are better healed. At least ride on a horse."

Teran shook his head firmly. "No. They will notice. Weakness in me will become fear in the ranks. What is one fighter to the morale of the entire army?"

"You are not just one fighter. You are Teran. I doubt we will be able to face Chira's complete strength with you hobbling on broken legs."

Teran shook his head again. "I will keep back, then. We will not halt, and I will not stay out of a battle."

Forten did not reply. He knew that Teran was as important as hundreds of men, and kept the soldiers marching. However, he feared that Teran would figuratively and literally burn himself out. Forten had seen great warriors take too much upon themselves, and bury themselves under the burden. His only hope was that Teran was smart enough to notice when the load became too great.

As they approached the castle town of Gludio, the outskirts of Chira's main fortress, they were greeted by the rattling of thousands of armored soldiers. Each shield bore the crest of Chira, and each a fiery plume decorated every other helm, giving an image of some creature made from flame and steel.

Forten cursed the luck, as did Teran. Teran's injuries were just healing, and if he was called to do anything spectacular, he would undoubtedly be crippled. Just then a circle of mages blinked into view in the middle of the plains.

"Turn back now. We have no quarrel with you. We wish to parley with Teran."

Teran scoffed. "I'm sure they would love to talk. A few words of power to silence me forever, I would guess."

Forten looked closer at the mages. None of their robes had Chira's crest, but several robes were marked with intricate symbols. Forten turned his head to Teran, who was unsheathing his new sword, having stowed the foreign blade on his back again.

"What do you plan? You can't be seriously thinking about confronting them, not in your state."

"No. No, of course not. I plan to kill or scatter them while our army crushes Chira's force. Wish me luck."

Before Forten could utter a word, Teran charged at them, wounded bones forgotten in thoughts of duty to his men. Before he could make it halfway, the mages flashed away from view, and Teran was left standing dumbly in the middle of the field. The sound of arrows whistling brought his head up, and he quickly performed an explosive magic, knocking them from the air. He backpedaled, casting dozens of small bolts at the front lines, but their shields dissipated them with not a scratch.

When he reached Forten, he cursed. "Damn them! Those mages must be with Chira. Those shields are enchanted; my bolts should have melted holes in them and their wielders."

In a moment of surprise, the circle of mages appeared again, surrounding Teran. Before anyone could react, they were gone, leaving a familiar spell around Teran. He was able to move against the hold effect, but his actions were sluggish. Forten saw this and ordered his troops to charge, then turned to Teran.

"I ORDER you not to use that flame spell. You'll break every bone you have if you try that madness again! Here, on my horse!"

Forten pulled Teran off his feet in a show of strength and placed him on the rear of the horse. Riding into the fray, he began slashing at the plumed helms, creating a swath through the chaos. Teran felt the hold effect fade, but just as he was about to jump off the horse the mages flashed in again. The horse was felled by one spell, and the other mages finished the shell surrounding Teran, fixing him in place. Despite Forten's warning, Teran began to cast his flame haste, but a voice rang out behind him.

"Not this time!"

A heavy object hit against his temple from behind, and he went down like a stone.

An eternity was filled with the roars and howls of the battle. He couldn't see or think straight, but his battle instinct kept him listening. The next eternity swarmed in. Damp, cold stone walls everywhere, and the rattling of chains. His mind filled with fire, and he was lying on his back, staring out past the ceiling into space. A voice rose against the grating noise in his head.

"A great day, a day for history. The binding of the devil dragon!"