Shadow Clone Sorcery

Unlike the rest of the party, Lukas was delighted when the caravan came under attack. At first, it seemed like a swarm of burrowers had found the road. Leisel announced it was unusual and commanded a defensive formation straight away. They avoided frequently traversed regions, preferring areas heavy in stone and solid ice. Her seismic magic forced the swarm out of the ground. Xander, Morph, and the clones took them out swiftly.

Much to Lukas’s surprise, Morph masterfully used Shadowsteel, making the constructs look like a part of Biomancy. The arm blades looked like burnt bone, and the air subtly rippled around their edges. He was vibrating the material using sound magic. It was a subtle but effective weapon. The hard carapace had given them trouble during their approach to the Gray. Now, they were little more than pests. He doubted things would’ve been as easy if not for Leisel’s magic.

“Don’t let your guard down,” Liesel announced. “This was a probing tactic.”

“What in Skadi’s name are you saying?” Xander asked, sounding annoyed. “Burrowers for probing? Nothing can tame—”

“Shut up and listen.” Liesel scanned their surroundings, ripples spreading from her feet. Her eyes shot to Lukas. “Anything from the clone?”

He scanned their surroundings before pointing at a nearby foothill. “Something ambushed and killed one of my golems up there,” Lukas said. “Warbeasts are coming.”

“Warbeasts?” Mira asked, her tone betraying a hint of fear. “Do we need fortifications?”

“Only barricades and pikes.”

Mira, once again wrapped in her firs, spread her arms out in front of her. Magic swelled inside her, and the familiar arcane signatures of dragonfire followed. Lukas expected her to shape and manipulate the stone underfoot. Instead, much to his surprise, silver constructs rose from the ground. A shiver ran down Lukas’s spine, and he felt all the hair below his neck stand on end. He knew the magic and had sensed the same far too many times before.

That’s a silver dragon’s fire.

Lady Silverspine’s fire at its full power didn’t burn, melt, or disintegrate. It was magic in its unadulterated form and changed the nature of whatever it touched. Lukas had seen it turn matter into pure arcane crystals far purer and more potent than anything he had encountered on Fracture thus far.

Final scouting and exchanging intelligence with Morph and the clones had kept Lukas busy the previous evening. He had missed Mira setting up camp and not sensed her magic in action, only the aftereffects. Now, he saw it.

She had awakened her dragonfire long ago without realizing it. It is the reason why her magic is so pure and reserves so deep. The black and silver dragon’s flames must conflict within her. That’s why she finds it so hard to control. That’s why it knocks her out.

The journal vibrated as the realization hit. It had a quest related to Mira and the black dragon’s flame. He was sure of it. Lady Silverspine’s interests would likely involve killing Mira, taking her under his wing, or somehow cleansing the Black Dragon’s Flame from her system. It wasn’t the time to think about such things. Something was coming. Since the clone had died without getting a good look, it was on him to figure things out on his own.

Einns and Zwei were locked in the workshop, finishing the glaive. Lukas left them an extra clone to watch the property, maintain, and improve the wards. The remaining five were with him. Morph was doing an excellent job as a party member, and the other four acted as his shadow golems. He recreated the destroyed clone, but opted for a Spellweaver instead. It manifested Shade’s Mantle at the moment of creation but stayed by his side.

The remaining clones closed in on the party, forming a tight perimeter around them. Two of them were Stalkers, and there was also a Stormtrooper. Unlike Morph, they had permission to use Stormfire. Lukas sensed four spheres forming. He created one, too, but opted for Shadowfire and injected it with fear. His already cold face got colder since the black flames sapped the heat from the air and his skin. He was immune to the effects of the fear—as were the clones—and couldn’t wait to see how it would affect his foes.

Fortification magic was slow to act. It wasn’t long before the silver constructs changed to match the surrounding materials. Lukas could tell without touch that they were far more durable than the equipment they now mimicked. The dragonfire was almost undetectable now, but the way the magic flowed gave it away.

How the fuck did I miss it last night? It's so fucking obvious.

When the warbeasts appeared, everyone reacted except for Lukas. His instincts told him that the burrowers were a probe and the giant chimeric lizards a distraction. There was something more coming. He didn’t know their objective but was determined to find out.

Stormfire crackled and boomed as a pair of spinning spheres shot into the first hexapedal monster. Its head was like that of a snapping turtle but more geometrical. The hide was elephant-like, and wispy tufts of fur covered the monstrous body. It was long, almost like an iguana, and seemed built to snake through tunnels but also had heads meant for ramming walls. Lukas had read about them while studying under Esther. Her magic was initially designed to create such beasts.

Warbeasts were designed to infiltrate fortifications and break through them, creating tunnels or acting as living battering rams. Now, Xander faced one of them head-on. He zoomed forward with his door-like shield held in front of him. Battering ram met battering ram. Neither bone armor nor enchanted steel won. The creature recoiled, rearing onto its hind and mid-legs. Xander remained immobile, steaming. His exposed sin glowed, like there was fire within.

No. He’s rapidly regenerating. The heat and steam are byproducts of the healing.

The second vanguard—Lukas hadn’t yet bothered to learn his name—dashed forward, proving his worth. The man grunted, swinging his weapon of metal and ice up into the warbeast’s underside. Parts of the giant hammerhead reshaped itself, turning one side into an ugly pick. It ripped through the thick, grey hide, and the bone armor underneath cracked audibly. The creature roared, retreating. The second warbeast rushed forward, seemingly desperate to lend a hand.

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Esther’s records claimed they were cold and emotionless. Now, he wasn’t so sure about the literature. The cry that escaped the warbeast seemed full of rage and sorrow. Stormfire assaulted the pair seconds later, filling the air with booms and clangs. The smell of ozone filled the air.

It was nowhere near enough to put the creatures down. But it did an excellent job of slowing and stunning. The rapid sonic explosions did a fantastic job of disrupting the creatures and giving the rest of the party the time to do their jobs.

Luminous blades made of magic manifested along the outer edges of Xander’s shield before he split it into two halves. He attacked the second warbeast with a combination of slashing, thrusting, and bludgeoning attacks while his supporter took on the injured and bleeding specimen.

The ground under the closer of the two monsters rippled. Its hindquarters sank into the stone. The other fell not to Xander’s assault but Mira’s constructs. The silver didn’t seem to do much damage, but when they replicated the surrounding stone and, surprisingly, bone. Blood poured from the wounds, and its movements slowed. Then a blow to the face from the hammerpick put the warbeast down.

Another clone died. El-Three sacrificed himself shielding Mira from a lightning-wrapped crossbow bolt. The projectile was as long as Lukas’s arm. Leisel was right. They were dealing with probes and distractions. Something more intelligent and more dangerous was targeting them, and if they could afford to throw away assets like a swarm of burrowers and warbeasts, the enemy group also had considerable resources.

The clones moved without prompting, rushing toward the source of the bolt. When another one of them died, he got a better look at the foe. They were human but considerably bigger, almost giant. Their pale skin carried a blue hue, making the group look like they were on the verge of freezing to death.

No. You’re on a world where they connect magic to Yggdrasil and Norse mythology. Those fuckers are precisely what you think they are.

“Frost giants!” Lukas yelled, recreating the killed clone. He rapidly closed in on Mira. “Party of four. Shieldbearer. Twin axes. Crossbowman. Mage who might be controlling the beasts.” Lukas turned to Morph. As the rearguard, it was his duty to protect the mages, and he had rushed to the two women as soon as a stalker perished protecting them. “Go get them with the golems,” Lukas told Morph. “I got them.”

“No—”

“Trust me.” Lukas cut Liesel off. He raised a waist-high shadow barrier to protect the duo. The armored wagon carrying their supplies and the auditor stood behind them. She and her apprentice had retreated into the vehicle. “My constructs will hold until Mira can raise more defences.”

The younger mage had already erected barricades to provide the panicking goats with cover. Now, she did the same for herself and Liesel. Lukas turned his construct into Shadowsteel and increased its weight as much as he could. Moments later, another bolt clanged off the barrier. If he hadn’t raised it a couple of inches in the moment preceding, the projectile would’ve skewered Mira.

“I don’t want to step on your toes and tell you how to direct the party, Liesel,” Lukas continued. “But we don’t need two mages and two vanguard fighters to deal with the warbeasts.”

“Right!” Liesel exclaimed before raising her voice. “Xander!” She yelled. “Follow Morph and the golems. Disable the enemy party’s mage.”

“Do I have command?” Xander roared, thrusting the end of his shield deep into the warbeast’s neck. Blood sprayed when the magic growing out of the edge flared. “Give me command!”

“You have command. Now, go!”

The shieldbearer laughed maniacally, speeding off in the direction Morph had gone. “Tell your golems to obey.”

Lukas recreated the killed clones and sent them after Xander. “They already know!” He announced, before launching the Shadowfire ball at a third warbeast that appeared from the rear. Without the clones keeping watch, he had missed its approach. The sphere exploded on its face, bathing the monster’s head in black flames. It roared, rearing up on its hind legs. “Liesel. Behind us!”

The seismic mage finally released the spell she had started preparing as soon as the burrowers attacked. A circle of stone rippled around the third warbeast, and then a rumbling began. The ground shook violently, preventing its retreat, legs falling into cracks. A fissure opened under the monster soon after, and it fell into the hole. The stone began to close soon after, slowly crushing the beast. It roared and struggled, trying to flee. The giant, saucer-sized eyes betrayed the terror coursing through the monster.

A Shadowsteel lance formed, floating in front of Lukas. It was as long as his arm and rotated rapidly, picking up speed until the shape seemed to change. Lightning crackled. Air rippled. A bubble of magic formed around the rear, compressed, and then exploded, assisting in the projectile’s launch. The lance shot forward like a ballista bolt. Flying straight and true. All the training with Spellweaver was paying off. He had never packed as much power into a projectile before.

The lance struck the warbeast’s lower jaw and shattered it. It pushed into the back of the monster’s skull but failed to put it down. However, the thrashing weakened, and Liesel’s spell gained superiority. Bones cracked loudly. The grating of stone and popping of organs followed.

As entertaining as the sight was, Lukas didn’t get ample time to watch Liesel’s magic in action. Besides, it wasn’t the tectonic spells that interested him. Lukas was more interested in her vibration and shockwave spells. She had only displayed the weakest of spells while helping him with sound magic.

Instead, Lukas focused on the new threads of magic he detected. They didn’t come from the mages in his party. The spell snaked its way through the ground, racing toward the cart.

No. It’s heading for the goats.

Spellweaver’s active effect came into use. He used the spell not to modify his own spells or enchantments, but to assault the enemy’s creation. It was surprisingly simple. All the controlling elements and essences spiralled around a solid single thread that fuelled them all. Lukas redirected the energy into a spell of his own, a giant Shadowfire sphere pumped with fear.

“Get clear!” He yelled at the vanguard fighter struggling with the two still-surviving warbeasts.

“HAMMER!” Liesel yelled when the man didn’t react straight away.

The man swung his weapon in a wide arc, spraying ice spikes from the head. They didn’t have much power, but the projectiles exploded, leaving behind a cloud of debris. He used the cover to retreat.

The Shadowfire lance struck soon after, exploding instead of penetrating in combat and bathing the monster in black flames. They clung to the monsters but inflicted little damage. The power to sap heat wasn’t particularly potent. However, the fear did its job, making the pair roar. In their panic, they rapidly retreated into the cliff face. Boulders rained from above, crushing one and pinning the other’s tail.

The party exerted minimal effort, ending the warbeast. Unfortunately, their fight was far from over. Two more emerged from the flanks.

It was an intriguing tactic. If all the monsters attacked together, fortification spells and all-out attacks would’ve helped take them out together. Staggered attacks from multiple directions were supposed to keep the party off balance. Lukas disagreed with the strategy, but it didn’t matter. Morph and the clones were going to turn the tide in their favor.