"Hey Jerhyn!" I yelled up to my long time friend in greeting.
He turned around just as I grabbed onto the last grip on the ledge, and helped pull me up onto the rocky shelf.
Jerhyn grunted in reply to my greeting. He seemed to be in a bad mood, and I couldn't blame him. I tried to be positive for both of us.
"What's the report?" I asked.
"Hot. Very sandy. No villages in sight. Nothing out of the ordinary." He responded tiredly. "The same shit it has been for the last 45 days. Remind me, once more, why are we out here in the middle of the fucking Nazgrimah Desert?"
I obliged him, as I had every day for the last 45 days. "It was our choice to join the Imperial Army…"
"Choice? What choice? It was either that, or living inside a dusty library for the rest of our lives. And assigned out here of all places… There's nothing out here!"
I nodded in agreement. "That is why we are here. We are green, barely 2 months out of the Tower. They put us on a low risk mission so we can get the feel of how the army works. Tossing new recruits out into the front line is suicidal, and the commanders know it. Our time will come, my friend."
I sighed. We've gone through this argument every day for the last 45, and probably will for the next 45. You wouldn't know it by looking at us, but he had the second highest marks in the year, while I had some of the lowest. It isn't because I'm dumb, no, it's just that I value practical magic and common sense over knowing a repertoire of flashy spells that I would never get a chance to use anyways.
I've known Jerhyn since we were younglings We both grew up in a small village in Drecilia, all the way on the western side of the Gandrian Empire. My father is a blacksmith, and his, a carpenter. We both discovered our talent for magic at the same time, and we were both enrolled at the Arcane University in the Empire's Capital.
No one knows how one comes into magical powers. Much study has been done on it, but as far as I can tell, it is completely random. There has never been another mage in my family, and it is the same story in Jerhyn's as well. The odds of being magical are probably over 1000 to 1.
You see, I'm a runic mage. Not a wizard. There is a difference, although it is mostly one of occupation. Being in the army, I am a mage, and regardless of whether or not I stay in the army, I will be a mage for life, unless I gain a higher status. I'm a journeyman – that is to say, I am one rank above apprentice, and that means I get real world experience instead of scholarly lessons from one of the masters. I also use runes to express my magic, although there are many other ways, and you are not limited to just one. Runes just happen to be how I express my magic the best.
There are 5 of us in this platoon, legion, brigade, whatever you want to call it. Well, 4 journeymen including Jerhyn and I, and Sorcerer Zargeshi. That is just the mages though, and we are here as support. We don't wear the armor that the foot soldiers do; it restricts our mobility and casting.
That is why there are 50 soldiers with us. Or rather, we are with them. We are patrolling the Nazgrimah Desert in the aptly named Kingdom of Southern Nazgrimah. It is the south-easternmost Kingdom in the Empire. This is the largest Kingdom in the empire by far, but it is largely unpopulated due to the massive desert.
To the west lies the Kingdom of Gandria itself. There are 5 other kingdoms in the Empire; Drecilia to the far southwest, Pradge to the far west, Krul in the North, and then Northern and Southern Nazgrimah.
We left the nearest village of Krizzah 45 days ago, and the border to Gandria lies a further 10 days west of that. You could cut that time in half with horses, or camel if you are lucky, or maybe even two weeks if you have tigers, but our unit is on foot. To the east, somewhere beyond the jungles that lay on the other side of the desert, lies the Republic of Jurai. Or so I'm told. It is quite far away, but they are our ally and we do a lot of trading with them.
The Commander knows the desert fairly well. He is a political rival of General Koelinger, and as such, gets the shitty end of the stick, and has been doing perpetual patrolling of these deserts for the past 15 years. Politics isn't my game, even though my status as a mage gives me a leg up on those without magic.
I don't like to exploit my gift, although I am very much in the minority. Most magic users are haughty, snooty, assholes, and they never forget to remind the average person of their place in society.
That is one of the reasons why I am not well liked by my peers. I do not embrace my gift the way they do. I embrace it exactly as it is: a gift. I treat it with respect, because if you don't, you may just get burnt. It is more than just a tool, and sadly, most mages will never learn this.
It is a way of life.
I don't plan on being in the army for more than a few years. The most important life lessons are learned on the fly and by surprise, not sitting around a table being lectured. Being in the army is about putting what I learned to the test, and maybe learn a few new things along the way.
Working as a group, learning to follow orders, and learning situational awareness… That's all stuff I would never get to experience with city life.
I am not really sure of my ambitions. I am still young by mage standards, but an adult by normal standards. 17 years old. My father was already married by the time he was 17, and here I am, in the middle of a desert, never even having kissed a girl before, let alone have a girlfriend. The 50 men and 0 women in the platoon wasn't helping my case.
Still, Jerhyn couldn't say the same. He specialized in fire magics. Primitive, raw, powerful, and very flashy. And he has a girlfriend. Or perhaps 'had' is the right term nowadays, I don't know. One thing I do know is that it is much easier to be in the army without a significant other waiting for you at home, than it is to know that you will be going months without seeing them, like Jerhyn will be.
I looked down upon the sand below us. The rock shelf we are on is part of a ridge that ran for a few thousand paces in either direction, before submerging back into the desert. Below us lay the encampment, and I see that they are starting to pack up and preparing to begin the days march towards the east.
I gave a look over towards Jerhyn, and he gave me a nod in return. At once, we raced over to the edge of the rock, kneeled down, and reached for hand holds. I pulled myself over and began my descent.
The ground was only about 50 feet below us. I lowered myself a few more feet, looking for better grabs, before seeing the cleft to my right. I teetered over to it, and was glad to see a lot of outcroppings. I took one in my right, and then quickly grabbed the one lower with my left, and began a fast decent to the ground.
I made a small leap to a precipice to my right, before swinging myself down to another small ledge. I got a good hold with my left hand and took a quick peek to see where Jerhyn was. Less than 10 feet above me, but 30 to the right, and facing a nasty looking section of rock.
My right hand made a solid grab onto the cliff, and I swung back to where I first came from, but about 15 feet lower.
It was a clean downwards climb to the bottom, and it took no more than 15 seconds to reach it. I brushed the dirt off my hands and was glad to see that I beat Jerhyn by a full 2 seconds. A ladder could not have got me to the ground faster.
You see, Jerhyn and I have always been competitive. He was the smarter one, and had the best looking girlfriend in the year (although to be honest, that isn't saying much), and was bound for a high paying, well respected, career. While I may have had some of the worst markings in the year, I was the best fighter. I put a marginal effort into maintaining my body, unlike most of the others. I had some hand-eye coordination, and I had a good sense of balance. I won most of my duels.
Again, this did not endear me to my peers. I did not follow the norm. I did not do magic for the sake of magic, or to impress people. I use magic because it is a part of me. I wouldn't be surprised if some of Jerhyn's other friends use magic to wipe their own asses, that's how entitled they think they are.
"I win again." I proclaimed. I extended my hand and Jerhyn shook it in acceptance of defeat.
"Good one, Travos. You know I'm not good at this physical stuff like you are, but that doesn't mean I won't try my damndest."
"I know, I know" I agreed. There wasn't much he wasn't good at, but unlike other mages, he had the ability to be humble and modest. Sometimes. Occasionally. Ok, rarely.
We made our way through the scattering of troops disassembling their canvas tents. They wore the 'traditional' armor of the Imperial Army. The Empire has only been in existence for 24 years, so I am unsure how much 'tradition' there really is. Regardless, their ensembles included chain mail suits over leather padding, and large kite shields. And green is our identifying color, with the symbol of a lion.
I took pity on that armor in these climates, but then again, they are lucky they are not wearing plate. At least the sand can sift through the chain, but with plate, there would be chafing all day long.
It did not take more than a minute to spot Commander Haephmos. It was not very hard to find him. His tent was identical to the others, as was his armor, so he did not stand apart in that regards.
No, it was his large size that identified him. He was easily a foot taller than me, and I was only a couple inches under 6. The man was huge by Drecilian standards, but then again, he did hail from Krul.
Krullians were sort of rare amongst the general populace. They were born in the frozen north, and they generally tended to stay there. Off the top of my head, I think I've only met 4 other people who hailed from Krul. And this winter warrior was in the middle of a scorching desert.
And the amazing thing is, on this planet, it gets a whole lot hotter the father south you go. So hot, that humans cannot live. So hot, the very ocean boils in a continuous cycle of steam to rain. Ancient texts tell of other races living down there, rumors of bipedal felines and tusked warriors, but if such things exist, they have had nothing to do with the empire.
All myths have some basis in factuality though. We know of the existence of dwarves, and we know where three of their kingdoms are in the north. We know of the existence of orcs, because until 24 years ago, half of the Empire was conquered by them. We know the myths and legends about the elves, even if they have not been seen in thousands of years, we have evidence of their lives in the ruins of cities all across the Empire.
Thankfully those days are history, and the orcs were routed back in their homelands of Groshka. I do believe though, that anything is possible. Being a mage lends credence to that.
We walked up towards the Commander, who was watching his men pack in an orderly fashion. He stood there; arms crossed and corded muscled bulging. He wore a plate helm, but his thick wiry beard stuck out the bottom of it. He looked tough and intimidating, and he was, but he was actually a very pleasant fellow, so I've found.
Then again, he didn't become a Commander collecting wool spools. He became a Commander because he was ruthless, authoritative, and most importantly of all, very effective at his job.
He nodded as he greeted us in turn. "Magus Oterian, Magus Mragan. We march in 15. Sorcerer Zargeshi is over there."
I looked over where he was pointing, noticing his voiced distaste at the sorcerer, and nodded my thanks. I did not like the sorcerer either, but in life, you are going to meet a lot of people you don't like. The Commander did not even have to greet us by our titles, as his position was above even that of the sorcerer. That was the kind of man the Commander was though. He treated everyone with respect, fought for what was right, and never complained. The world needed more of him.
We headed over to where the other 3 mages were. If this were the first week of the patrol, we would have traded jibes back and forth, but we simply fell into routine. I didn't really get along well with them, but I did not have to like the men in order to work with them. That is an important life lesson.
Each one of us are charged with setting up and maintaining a ward. A ward is a piece of protection magic cast around an area. They come in many shapes, sizes, forms, and flavors.
I was in charge of the insect ward. It repelled insects around the camp, and it was more of a luxury than anything. But I could do without being devoured by locusts during the night.
Jerhyn was tasked with the temperature control. The twin suns that circle the south end of our planet make the desert extremely hot at times, and with magic, our unit can suffer a little less. That was our prime reason to being assigned in this unit, it was to make the trip more bearable, not to fight in battle should the need ever arise.
Sorcerer Zargeshi handled concealment. He shrouded our campsite in haze, to distort our images. From anything more than a few hundred feet away, you would not even see us.
Magus Mikol had a similar ward, except it was a diversion ward. If you were looking at our camp from close up, your eyes would skip right over us. It was as if we blended in to the background, or were simply the most boring and bland thing in the world and undeserving of the seekers attention. The magic affected the onlooker, unlike Zargeshi's which affected the area.
Magus Branson's ward was also in a similar vein. He had a physical anti-tracking ward up. Physical, in the sense that it covered up our smell and noise, and the smoke from the fires. They helped hide our camp from a distance, but there is a threshold and if you got close enough the ward would not be effective at all. A more powerful mage could possible make one that was effective up to their very body. But Branson, being a journeyman like me, and the amount of people he had to cover, was good for about 250 feet. That is well within our visual distance, so it is not a problem.
Those were just the major wards that we have been putting up and taking down, every single day, and will continue to do. There were other wards as well, various sentry and trigger wards to alert us of outsider presence, and even smaller things like a freshening ward at the makeshift latrine.
The thing with warding is that it needs a physical object to be tied, or bound to. Perhaps physical is not the right word, but it needs a representation of intent.
For our use in the desert, circles are very useful. You simply draw a circle in the sand around the camp, and flow the magic through it. The magic prevents the circle from breaking, and the only one who can break it easily is someone on the inside of the circle. A mage on the outside of the circle could deconstruct the wards, but first they would have to discover its existence. Ward breaking is a very extensive and hard field of study, one far above my level. I can make and unravel my own, but to do someone else's would be extremely tricky. If you make a wrong step, you could be killed.
We don't have any defensive wards like that, as we are not expecting to be attacked at all. It also takes a tremendous amount of power to maintain a ward without an external power source- leylines and crystal powerstones and the like. A defensive ward is usually only cast on permanent structures, such as house.
What we have are temporary. Easy to put up and easy to take down, but effective. We choose a circle because of the ease of use, and the effectiveness. A proper circle has no weak sides, as they are all the same. No corners and no straights. A circle is stronger than a square. It is also much easier to draw wards concentric to each other.
My ward is on the very outside of the system, so I wait a few minutes while the other mages all deconstruct theirs. I simply lay a grounding rune, in case of backlash, and scrub the sandy circle with my foot, breaking it. Simple, yes, but only truly effective if you know the purpose of the ward and how it works. Otherwise, you might fry your brain with rogue magic.
Once all the wards were down, you could see the difference right away. It was hotter, drier, and brighter, and that is not to mention the sound of insects.
Still, it could be worse. It could be hotter, it could be drier. I could be wearing 40 pounds of armor, and another 30 in gear.
Sometimes, I was happy to be a mage. I got to wear a light padded tunic, in the traditional imperial green, and carry around 20 pounds of supplies. There are spells to reduce the weight of items, but maintaining it for long periods of time could be just as taxing as walking, depending on how powerful the spell was though. It's usually more convenient to just carry items the old fashioned way.
I was hardy even sweating in the morning sun. The soldiers gathered up into a loose column before starting the march off east. Commander Haephmos estimated that we are less than 2 days away from the jungle, and once there, we would set up camp for a month, before heading back, while another unit went out to take our place. It was one big circle.
No words were spoken as we started our march. It wasn't because we were shy, or had hangovers. No, it was a precaution. We had to be careful outside of the safety of the wards. We did not want to give our position away. We are the ones suppose to be tracking, not the other way around.
If the whole desert knew where we were marching, then that defeats the purpose since they could just go around our position.
Realistically though, it was just good practice. Never let your guard down. There are trade routes that cross the desert, and with trade routes comes bandits. That's why our unit is 50 men strong.
The trade routes never stayed in the same place though, but granted, that is more of a result of the constantly shifting sand than anything else.
Bandits were easy though, unlike the barbarian hordes of the north that the rest of the Imperial Army were constantly skirmishing with. Bandits came in groups of 5 to 10, and we had more than enough full trained warriors to take any on we came across, and we have. And let's not even mention the Groshkan slavers.
I sighed to myself. It was another day in paradise. Another day of using easy spells I learnt in my first year, and another day of learning that the real world is not all puppy dog tails and sunshine like it was back at the Tower.
But at least the pay is good.