MAGUS INFINITE

The fire crackled between us, and I felt the warmth of it seep into my bones. For a long moment, no one spoke. In my new eyes, the weight of Ruggah’s story hung in the air like smoke, and I could see the shape of Serrath in the eyes of everyone here.

I could see the walls, the siege, and the slow unraveling from within, a bitter taste filled my mouth... I knew this taste, it was of death.

This talent that I had seen from touching the void was becoming more mysterious, and I wondered what I would see once this skill reached Adept or even Arcanist... I hope this would not be the final stroke that drives me insane.

The question that Tam asked me was still in my head. I thought about telling him the truth, that I was a mage from a future where his world had been reduced to ash and memory. But something held me back. These people had lost enough. They didn’t need to know that their world was already doomed, that everything they were fighting for would one day be forgotten.

The thing was that I did not know if I had the power to change what was to come, or if changing the past would cause an unknown catastrophe in the future... there were too many unknown factors to consider, and I was just one man, struggling to survive and find the truth.

"Power can be found in unexpected places," I said to him finally. "Sometimes it finds you when you least expect it. And sometimes, it comes with a price you never imagined you would have to pay."

Tam’s eyes narrowed, and bitterness crossed his features. "That’s not an answer."

"It’s the only answer I have," I said, and looked away from him. "I am still learning what I am... I am still learning what I can become."

Ines looked up at me, and I saw the tears drying on her cheeks, and I could see the light of curiosity in her brown eyes. "You speak as if you are not sure you want to be what you are becoming."

I met her gaze. "I am not sure," I said. "But I know I have no choice. The world is changing, and I have to change with it, or be left behind."

Ogg made a low sound in his chest. "That is the truth of it. The world does not wait for anyone to catch up."

Thurrim grunted. "Ah, so we are not the only ones. You’ve seen a great deal for someone so young. And here we all gather, in front of the mountain of a god."

"I have seen too much," I said. "And not enough. That is the burden of being alive, I think. You always see too much of what you do not want to see, and never enough of what you need."

The dwarf was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "That’s the truest thing I’ve heard in a while."

Ruggah stirred the fire with a stick, and the flames leaped up, casting long shadows across the camp. "You asked about Serrath," he said. "I told you about the commander. But I did not tell you about the others."

He gestured toward the camp with his one good hand. "Thurrim’s clan was the reason we could even hold on and gather survivors after the betrayal of the commander. The Deepstone dwarves held the eastern tunnel for six days against an army that should have overwhelmed them in hours. They held because Thurrim’s father refused to retreat, and his refusal cost him his life. Thurrim was the only one of his bloodline to survive."

Thurrim did not look up from the fire. "My father was a stubborn old goat." He smiled sadly. "He would not give up an inch of ground, even when there was nothing left to hold. He died with his axe in his hand and a smile on his face. When I die, I want to go like that, or how could I hold my head up in the halls of my ancestors?"

I looked at him, and I saw the grief in his eyes, hidden beneath layers of gruffness and sarcasm. "He sounds like a man worth remembering."

"He was," Thurrim said. "And I will remember him. That is the only thing I can do for him now, until I meet him again."

Ruggah nodded, and he turned toward Ogg. "The trolls were the backbone of our defense. They held the gate for two weeks, and they did not break until there was no hope left. Ogg lost his arm to the corruption of a fallen god. This wound would have killed ten lesser trolls, yet he still stands with us."

Ogg looked at me, and I saw the weight of it all in his ancient eyes. "I saw the change in the commander," he said. "My people are brutish, but we are loyal, and we did not move until it was too late. I am a coward, but they think I am a hero... I should have given the warning earlier, but I was too loyal to a man that had fallen."

I blinked as another vision entered my head, it was of a Beastkin with the same lion head as Ruggah, but his mane was white and long... he stood in his armor, and resembled an unbreakable mountain.

I looked at Ruggah, and thought that there was a resemblance between him and the commander that was uncanny. Could they have been related?

I shook my head and focused on what Ogg was saying. He had been one of the first to notice something wrong with their commander, and he felt guilty for not speaking up earlier.

I thought about the Soul Flayer, and the way it had infected my dreams and my thoughts for three months. I understood what Ogg was saying. "The enemy uses doubt as a weapon," I said. "It is more effective than any blade."

Ogg nodded. "You understand."

"I have seen it before."

Ruggah’s eye flickered. "You speak as a warrior... we would hear your story if you would give it."

I was careful with my words. "I have fought similar wars. I have seen what happens when doubt and fear are allowed to spread unchecked. I have seen cities fall from within, and I have seen the survivors carry the weight of that loss for the rest of their lives."

The camp was silent. I could feel their attention on me, waiting for more, but I had said enough.

Coin had not moved from the edge of the camp, and the hood still hid whatever was under it, and I could not tell whether she was facing me or the fire.

Ruggah gestured toward the Shades. "Sil, Sef, and Sen sensed the corruption before it took hold, and they warned us. But we did not listen, and we paid for it."

The Shades did not move, and none of the three of them looked up, and I had the sense that they had heard this told before.

"Who are you?" a voice asked.

I looked up. It was Coin. Her voice was soft, barely audible over the crackling fire. She had not moved from her position, but I could feel her attention on me like a physical weight.