Thanks Judy and Oscar for the reviews. Sorry this is late posting. Real life continued to get in the way.

The moons had risen fully over the field by the time the battle was over. The two moons had risen but with being a new moon and the other a waning crescent it was dark. Aedan's blades created a glowing arch as he swung them from side to side. His actions reminded me to let go of the passive spells. The rock armor fell away, and the blades were no longer bathed in red flames.

"That was something else." Aedan said turning to me. "The fire sword? Your doing?"

I nodded.

"You know you could have warned me."

I turned on him from looking at the bodies on the ground intending to give him a tongue lashing when I noticed the grin. My face must have shown what I was about to do because his shoulders were shaking with laughter.

I twitched my nose and tried not to laugh myself. In that minute his teasing felt good. He was telling me at least for the battle he saw me as his equal. I responded in kind. "Well, I didn't think it wise to give our friends here the tactical advantage. "

He chuckled, "Well they would have had plenty of tactical advantage if I had dropped them in shock. It's not every day your blades spontaneously catch fire."

"Continue traveling with me and they will. I can also cover them in frost. It is an easy offensive enchantment," I said as I refocused my attention to the bodies of our attackers.

My curiosity had me squatting down next to one that looked human size and shape. His height and build was the last human thing about him. His head looked skinned down to the bone and then replaced with uncured leather. Even with all the books in the Tower I had never seen a creature before with a mouthful of such vicious teeth. His scorched chest left me unsure if the flames or the cut from neck to navel caused his death.

I stood shaken slightly by the gore and had to look away and swallow several times not to vomit right then. I only glanced at the other bodies noting that there were differences in size and shape.

"Here, you look green," Aedan said shoving a flask at me.

I took the container and wiped the mouthpiece despite Aedan's shoulders shaking with laughter. I tipped the container, so the liquid flowed into my mouth and fought not to spew it and the contents of my stomach.

"Swallow. It only burns for a minute."

He lied. I had already swallowed as an unintended reaction to needing to breathe. I choked unable to breathe. If felt as if I had swallowed liquid fire.

"Don't tell me mages have never drank alcohol?"

Through the coughing I said, "the typical cup of wine with most meals. Some mead at celebrations. A drunk mage could cause an accident or that is what the Templars say."

I hand him back the flask of liquid. And shake my head no with a grimace when he suggests another swallow. Aedan tilts his head in acceptance and toasts the air before taking a pull off the flask.

Rabbit is chewing on something Aedan called a crunch. He said it was for the Mabari what an injury kit is for us. That reminded me I had come over intending to give him healing balm.

"Not to be an arse but I had expected little help in the battle. But you held your own and killed several of them."

I scoffed. "All right then. Not sure you succeeded trying not to be an arse. But thank you for the compliment. The First Enchanter was an outstanding teacher."

"The Templars allow you to learn battle magic?"

"Yes and no. It's complicated. They allow us to know the basics. Often mages may travel as part of special parties. Or assigned to work with a Bann for a special reason. Like King Cailan's battle at Ostagar. Many of the Senior Enchanters get to travel from the Tower for many reasons. Sometime with a Templar escort other times without. I just depends on the Enchanter."

Aedan told me he understood, but I doubted because of our first encounter. Yet I knew no better way of explaining it.

"Could a Mage control someone's mind enough to order them to kill?"

"Your family?"

"Yes."

"One person, maybe two but not an entire family. And especially, not an entire household. To do that, the mage would have to be an abomination. And you and the Templars could tell if the mage has become an abomination."

"So, Howe wasn't thralled into killing my family, our men and our servants."

Sadly, I shook my head no. It explained a lot of the hostility Aedan showed me. He thought Mages were behind the betrayal. "I am afraid the person who killed your family did it for his own reasons."

"Then the mages that took part…?"

I shrugged, "He probably offered them their freedom from the Tower. Or maybe he found someone with magical abilities that mirror him in personality and desires. Mages are just like regular people some with honor and those without it."

I pretended not to hear the strangled question of why that Aedan choked out. I didn't have an answer, and I figured it was a rhetorical question.

"I know you were hungry, but I don't feel like making camp near the bodies. I have some hardtack and dried meat in my pack. I slept most of the day. Why don't we walk for a while before stopping for the night. The longer we go tonight the closer to Ostagar we get. And you can find your brother."

The grief was evident on Aedan's face as he tried to muster a smile. "Thank you. But I think it's a little dark to be traveling any distance."

"I would agree if you weren't traveling with a mage. I can summon enough light for us to travel without walking into traps or other dangers. We could add another five to six miles tonight."

I was already calling on my mana and saying the spell for my wisps. I placed two just above each of our heads and placed two more out about ten feet in front of us to light the way. I happily watched as Rabbit bounded around us trying to catch the wisps as we continued on the path to Ostagar. I wondered if Aedan and I could keep the newfound peace until we got to the camp and was this what Duncan planned for us when he disappeared for the last two days.