The Burning Blue Mage

24

     I made sure to wake up early today; earlier than I hoped Sage would be up. And the reason is actually quite simple: today is Sunday.
     I haven't talked to Sage since the map room and he never specifically said that he would leave on Sunday, but I bet he will. He won't risk waiting for the maenad any longer. And it was my job to make sure that he doesn't leave alone.
     I quickly got dressed in my formal prince uniform, grabbed my sword, and headed out of my room and towards the front gates of the castle. It was around 4:30 in the morning so no one was awake as I quickly walked to the front gates.
    I had just slipped out of the castle when I noticed the shadowy silhouette of a person.
     I instinctively reached down for my sword, tucking myself behind a pillar so I couldn't be seen.
     As the person grabbed a horse and climbed up on it, I realized that it was Sage. What the heck?! How is he already up?!
     I slowly relaxed, releasing my grip on the sword, though I stayed behind the pillar until I heard the sound of hoofs riding off. I stayed there for a few minutes before I walked out from behind the pillar.
     "Sage..." I muttered quietly to myself. Our discussion in the map room flashed through my mind. I clenched my now shaking hands. "I'm sorry. I know I told you I would stay here, but I can't do that."
     I grabbed Starfall, boarded him, and started to follow after Sage.
     The sky was still a hazy dark. If it had been anywhere other than Azmar, it would probably be hard to see.
     Sage was too far in front of me for me to see him, but after riding with him so many times I knew his pace. Though I imagine he would be riding faster than normal.
     I roughly remembered the place where Sage had marked on the map. It wasn't too far away from Azmar, though it was fairly isolated and the nearest village was miles away. I hate to admit it, but it really is the perfect spot for a battle.
     I tightened my grip on Starfall's reins. I've tried avoiding thinking about the battle, or even the fact that Sage is going off to a battle. Because in a battle, there's always danger.
     "Damn Sage, why did you have to go off by yourself?" I mumbled quietly to myself. How could he just rush in to a dangerous battle with no one to help? Doesn't he know that I'll always stand with him?! "For being a sage, you really are stupid."
     Sage was the one who taught me how a real teenager acts; how someone not tied down by hierarchy would live. He was the only one who was willing to go up and talk to me. He teases me, calls me emperor, doesn't hold back when we're sparring, and even forces me to do cleaning and organizing. Actually, putting it that way, how the heck did we even become friends?
     "He's such an idiot." I felt tears well in the corners of my eye.
     I bet he didn't even give a thought to how it would effect me if he... If he...
     I quickly shook my head. "No. It won't come to that. I swear, it won't come to that."
     I quickened my riding pace. Sage might not trust me enough to ask me for help. Heck, maybe he just wants to get rid of me. But it doesn't matter. I will never, ever abandon him. I'll save him, no matter what it takes. And if he gets mad at me for disobeying him, then so be it. He can scold me as much as he wants. Just as long as he's alive.
     "Rook, I'm not even sure if I can take down a maenad!" Sage's voice echoed in my head.
     I should have told him then and there that I wasn't going to let him go alone. I should have been more stubborn. I should have never walked out of that room without telling him how I feel...
     A tear rolled down my cheek. "Please, Sage. Don't die. I'll never ask anything from you ever again. Just please, please don't die."
     A bright light suddenly went off in front of me. After my eyes adjusted, I saw a ball of fire shoot up into the hazy grey sky.
     I looked up, eyes fixated on the ball of fire. That was Sage. I just knew it. He did say he was planning on luring out the maenad. So this was his plan.
     I whipped the horse's reins, urging Starfall into a full on sprint towards the direction where the fireball was set off from.
     I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Stupid Sage! He is such an idiot! He's going to get himself killed by being so reckless, running off on his own. Stupid, stupid, stupid Sage.
     I rode up to a large clearing, in which I immediately spotted Sage. He stood perfectly in the middle of the large clearing with his back turned to me. And it seemed like he was looking at something. No, someone.
     I quickly jumped off Starfall and creeped towards the clearing, making sure to stick in the shadows where I could remain unseen.
     The person Sage was turned towards was extremely tall, towering at about seven feet tall. It was hard to make out, with charcoal black skin, but its flickering fiery hair danced in the hazy darkness. The being had glowing red eyes and a wickedly twisted smile that curled from ear to ear like the cheshire cat. Looking at the being was like looking straight into an abyss, a burning pit of darkness.
     So this is a maenad.
     The maenad cackled. "A puny human like you lured me here? Ha! How pitiful."
     "Certainly, for one such as yourself I probably seem quite weak," Sage replied calmly.
     The maenad clicked it's tongue and smiled. "You're an interesting one, aren't you?"
     "I have no interest in making you stronger," Sage said simply.
     The maenad laughed. "Let's see how long you can keep up that act! Not that it matters. I have more than enough power to squash you right now!"
     Flames burst off of the maenad in every direction, licking at the darkness. I jumped back, startled by the outburst of flames.
     Sage stood unflinchingly as he faced the maenad. He held out his hand and a ball of water formed in his palm. Sage closed his hand and the water turned into a long whip.
     "I've faced plenty of mages before and none have been able to beat me. What makes you think that you can?" The maenad purred with a sinister grin.
     Sage shrugged and nervously smiled. "Desperation?"
     The maenad launched towards Sage, claws reaching out towards his face. Sage flicked her whip in front of him, expanding it into a circular shield.
     The maenads claws hit the shield, bursting into a ball of flames upon contact, knocking Sage backwards a few steps.
     Smoke wisped from Sage's shield which had a large hole burned into it.
     "Wow, talk about one punch, am I right?" Sage breathed out, inspecting his shield.
     The water left from the shield reformed back into a whip. I saw a surge of magic ripple through the whip, like a white pulse beating through the blue water.
     Sage flicked the whip towards the maenad, wrapping it around it's wrist and whipping it to the right. The maenad went flying to the side, the whip unraveling itself at the last minute.
     The maenad landed and quickly stabilized itself on all fours. Before it could stand up, Sage flicked his hand at it and a ball of water surrounded the maenad and floated it into the air.
     I breathed out the breath I didn't realize I was holding. Unfortunately, I seemed to celebrate too soon.
     The water surrounding the maenad started to steam away before the water entirely evaporated and the maenad gently landed on her feet.
     "Damn, how hot is your fire? I mean, to instantly evaporate normal water it would have to be 14000°C or 25232°F, but I mean, this is magic water so shouldn't it have a higher evaporation point?" Sage mumbled.
     If I was stupid enough to reveal my location, I would yell at Sage that now is not the time for statistics, but for now I'll have to do with just face palming myself mentally and wondering why any person in their right mind would know this.
     "You certainly are good at masking your emotions. Even when you've seen me evaporate your pitiful water, I don't taste even a drop of fear or rage inside you," The maenad said curiously.
     "Ah, thank you. That's such a compliment coming from someone like you," Sage said with a dry laugh.
     The maenad narrowed its glowing red eyes at Sage. "You dare mock me, mortal?!"
     "So, I'm guessing you can't feed off your own rage?" Sage said smoothly, ignoring the maenad.
     "What the hell are you thinking?!" I whisper yelled to myself. Shit, Sage really is trying to get himself killed!
     The maenad darted towards Sage, faster than before. Much, much faster. Sage barely had enough time to summon a wave of water to crash into the maenad and send her flying. Most of the water evaporated upon contact with her skin but it seemed like there was enough that didn't evaporate to be able push her away from Sage.
     As the maenad quickly stood up, Sage jumped back in an attempt to create distance between himself and the maenad.
     I tightened my hands into fists, cursing myself for not being able to do anything. Sage was fighting right in front of me, yet I wouldn't even be able to get close with those flames. Why do I have to be so useless?!
     The maenad licked it's lips with a long forked tongue. "You know, this rage is delectable, but I would love to taste yours."
     "Sorry, but I want every chance of making it out of here alive," Sage said, the slight tenseness in his voice.
     The maenad cackled. "You still think you can make it out of here alive?"
     The maenad was on top of Sage in the blink of an eye, pinning his arms to the ground, burning his skin with the contact.
     Sage gritted his teeth, biting back the psin. My hand instinctively gripped my swords handle.
     "I... Think I can... I just... Got to try... Hard enough," Sage said through gasps of pain.
     The maenad grinned wildly. "Just give in. Let me feast on your rage and fears.
     "I've... Been a mage... For sixteen years. I... Can hide my emotions... Pretty well," Sage snickered.
     A sudden wave of water appeared, crashing into both the maenad and Sage. I lurked forward, prepared to run in if need be.
     The force of the water jerked the two away from each other. The water around the maenad started to evaporate quickly, but more water seemed to flood into the clearing. I had to take a few steps back so that I didn't get caught in the water as well.
     The whole clearing was filled to the tip of the trees with water, yet none of it leaked out of the cylinder it was contained in. Seeing it, I couldn't help but ask myself: Was Sage always this powerful?
     Through the cylinder of water, I could only make out the blurry silhouettes of Sage and the maenad. Sage seemed to be better with maneuvering in the water and managed to put a good amount of distance from the maenad.
     Sage stayed near the top of the tall cylinder of water. At first I thought it was because he needed air, but then he didn't come up for air and seemed fine so I figured that wasn't it.
     I looked at the maenad and noticed the small evaporated bubble around it. That's when it clicked. The maenad can't reach Sage because she can't swim up to him. The water would just evaporate around her so she has to stay on the ground.
     "Ha, you think a little water will stop me? I can just burn at you from long distance!" The maenad shouted.
     A burst of flames suddenly sparked around the maenad, evaporating the water, though the further away from the maenad, the slower it took to evaporate.
     A flames hottest point is always the center, or the base, and it seems that the same goes for maenads.
     "Of course you can. But you'll have to find me first," Sage's voice echoed eerily across the clearing, despite him still being underwater. And despite the distance between us, his voice sounded so close, close enough to touch.
     The water cylinder suddenly started to get dark and murky. It was getting harder and harder to see what was happening inside, as the clear blue water turned to a brownish black.
     "You think I can't harm you if I can't see you?!" The maenad shouted. "Watch me, I'll burn the entire area if need be!"
     A tall pillar of flames shot out from the water and slowly started to expand.
     It was frustrating that I wasn't able to see what was happening, but I'd only put myself in danger if I tried to go into the water. If I didn't drown then I'm sure the maenad would easily kill me.
     My hands figetted as I silently waiting. There was a few minutes of nothing before the maenads flame flickered out.
     "I'll hand it to you, it's quite impressive you have the stamina to keep this water up. But it won't last forever. And you can't win without attacking," the maenad snickered.
     "Ha ha, thank you. I've been really good with elemental magic so it uses little stamina, you see," Sage's voice echoed, surrounding me from all sides.
     I sighed. Now was really not the time for small talk, but I guess if it helps him to not get angry or scared, then go for it. Just don't make her too angry in the progress...
     Through the dark waters, I saw a faint how before a stream of fire blasted through the water, throwing Sage forcefully against a tree a few yards away.
     All the water suddenly turned to blue sparkles before fading away completely. The maenad stood completely unharmed or fatigued as Sage used a tree to help himself stand back up.
     "Looks like you bit off more than you could chew with that spell. You couldn't conceal yourself properly," the maenad said happily.
     "Yeah, I kinda noticed that," Sage mumbled to himself.
     I noticed large burn marks along Sage's arm from where he tried to protect his torso from the fire blast. The skin looked dark red with a bit of black around the edges and almost looked like something tore into the skin.
     Sage slowly lowered his arms back down to his side, wincing every so often. "I'm not sure if I should be grateful that my nerves didn't burn since I can still move or be disappointed because damn, that hurts."
     The maenad shot a fire ball towards Sage. Sage quickly jumped up, a wind current appearing under his feet. I recognized the same magic from when Sage defeated the dryad and needed to avoid the flames.
     "Trying to switch up your magic?" The maenad mused.
     "I'm pretty good at elemental magic, and wind magic is perfect for mobility," Sage answered simply.
     The maenad sent off two more shots of fire, making Sage jump out of the way and onto newly created wind currents.
     "Yikes, I'm glad I'm far away. It seems the further your fire travels, the cooler it gets. Pretty convenient, wouldn't you sa-"
     Sage got cut off with another fire ball that blazed past his head, barely singeing the tips of his hair.
     Sage scoffed. "That was rude! You could have waited until I was done talking! And you weren't even aiming directly at me!"
     I mean, he has a point, but you shouldn't be focusing on that right now.
     The maenad started to run towards Sage. Sage suddenly climbed upwards, jumping on wind currents. The closer the maenad got to Sage, the higher up he got.
     When Sage was standing directly over the maenad, waves of water from all directions suddenly came crashing down on the maenad.
     The water turned to steam instantly, and maybe I just imagined it, but it seemed to evaporate quicker than before. So either the maenads attacks are getting stronger or Sage's were getting weaker.
     "Running out of energy already?" The maenad taunted.
     "Nope. I'm just getting started," Sage called back, still standing above the steam on the wind currents he had created.
     The maenad was just a dark blurry silhouette through the steam surrounding it. I waited for the steam to clear away but it didn't.
     I instinctively took a step forward into the mist to check if Sage was okay when I suddenly felt felt my skin burning up.
     I quickly took a step back, covering my mouth with my hand so I didn't make a sound. I noticed my hands looked slightly reddish and burned from where the steam touched me.
     Steam can get incredibly hot when in the right atmosphere, and I'm sure steam created by two types of magic can get even hotter. So Sage was using the fact that his water evaporates instantly to his advantage. Or, who knows, maybe he just got lucky. Knowing Sage, it could very well be both.
     "You think you can hurt a maenad with heat?" The maenad shouted.
     Sage shrugged. "Worth a shot?"
     The maenad created a large circle of flames around her, in which Sage responded with a wave of water. As soon as the water touched the maenad's flames, both the flames and the water were put out and all that was left was steam which replaced any that the maenad's may have gotten rid of.
     "I think I prefer to keep you stuck in there for a little longer," Sage called down to the maenad's, which got him a frustrated growl back. The maenad tried to burn her way out a few more times but each ended with Sage countering and making more steam.
     Sage bended down and grabbed an iron dagger from his boot. He stood up and held the dagger out in front of him with both arms. I saw him takes a deep breath and close his eyes before whispering so quietly it was almost inaudible, "water, encompass me and be my shield."
     I looked at Sage, confused. I didn't recognize what he was trying to do, and as far as I've seen, Sage doesn't need to say anything to use magic.
     Water started to form from where Sage gripped the dagger. It slowly started creeping up his arms, down his torso and up his neck, up to his head and all the way down to his toes, encasing Sage completely in a water skin.
     I stared at Sage, startled by his spell. I guess I don't know much about magic, but to think you could perfectly encompass yourself in a moving, flowing element!
     The wind current underneath Sage slowly faded, letting Sage land gently into the steam. With a reinforced water skin, Sage should be able to get close enough to strike the maenad's, and the steam only worked in his favor. With this, Sage can-
     A scream cut through my thoughts as it echoed through the clearing. I immediately froze.
     It wasn't the maenad.
     I instantly started running into the steam, ignoring the sting as the steam lightly burned my skin. I headed to the center of the steam where I could see the silhouettes of Sage and the maenad.
     The maenad had gripped Sage's arm, burning away at the water skiing that Sage had meticulously crafted. Sage's skin was blackened and blistered where the maenad grasped it, and it was already severely burned to begin with when he was knocked back from that fire blast.
     Sage struggled to get out of the maenad's grip, his face twisted with pain. A column of water suddenly appeared and came crashing down on the two.
     The maenad's grip loosened on Sage's arm but Sage was knocked off his feet by the water. As Sage started to fall, the maenad's quickly gripped his throat and slammed Sage to the ground.
     The air got knocked out of Sage from the force of slamming into the ground. I saw Sage's skin start to burn where the maenad's hand wrapped around his neck. Sage desperately clawed at the maenad's hands, only burning his fingers.
     My eyes widened as I saw him. "Sage!" I shouted.
     The temperature suddenly dropped and the steam surrounding us started to clear away. Both Sage and the maenad turned to look at me.
     "R... Rook... Run," Sage gasped.
     I froze where I stood. Run? I just couldn't. I couldn't run away and leave him... Not like this, I couldn't.
     The maenad smiled her cheshire cat smile. "The whole battle I haven't been able to get this little mage to feel fear, yet just you being here instantly made him afraid. Now, I wonder..."
     Sage's eyes widened. "Run!" He shouted.
     I took a step back, but before I could even think of running the maenad was off of Sage and standing right in front of me.
     I reached for my sword but it was too late. The maenad stabbed her long claws into my abdomen.
     I gasped for air as the maenad pulled her hand out of my chest. My red blood shone brightly on her charcoal black skin and made her look ever the more sinister.
     I fell to my knees. I started coughing up blood on to the grass. My hands instinctively touched the wound, my pale skin staining with the deep crimson blood.
     I glanced up to see Sage. His face looked deathly pale and the temperature steadily started dropping  as he looked at me with wide eyes. I could see his hands trembling, his face flooded with fear, an emotion I usually only see him express through the temperature.
     Sage had told me not to come because there was nothing I could do against a maenad. Sage had told me to run because the maenad has a twisted sense of humor and was dangerous. I really should listen more to Sage.
     "Rook!"