Melody of Mana

It took only a few seconds for the first of the staff to charge into the ballroom declaring that the castle was under attack. She was shortly followed by guards from several directions, both to check on us and to inform others of the danger.

Soon enough the attackers came, but unlike the memory from my youth these fools weren't attacking spoiled nobles, most of which barely trained. No, they were attacking the leaders of a battle hardened army, and they hadn't brought anything comparable to a mana-eater to lead their assault. The first unit that burst into the room died to an onslaught of spells that could shake city walls, the second came more carefully, with half being destroyed by potent physical magic users.

"Back fools, you've lost the chance at surprise," a loud voice called. It was old, and quite familiar.

I watched as through the smoke and debris of the now destroyed entry a single man appeared. The cloud of dust and magical particulate flowed away from him in a light wave as he sauntered forward. The former dean, Lorrae walked before us as if he hadn't a care in the world, looking over the assembled fighters like he's examining his old students.

"A magnificent formation, truly well done. Now, where is..." his eyes scanned over us, finally settling on Mystien. "There you are, knew I'd find you somewhere around here. Do tell me, are you the one who killed my grandson Rooke? Not many could have managed that feat."

"That was me," I responded before my mentor could, drawing the eyes of the other ancient mage to me.

"Is that so? He cared for you you know? Wanted you to join us, even if it seemed unlikely, and you killed him?" The old man seemed mostly saddened by that, not that I could blame him.

"I didn't have much choice, and after seeing how Selene was treated I'll stand by that decision," I replied.

"I can respect that my dear, but sadly I must say goodbye now."

Things didn't slow down a bit, all happening in an instant. My former dean raised his hand lazily towards me, and I felt the magic move. A wave of force bore down like a mountain, and then the sea rose to meet it. I didn't see him move, but Mystien just was there beside me, a shield pulsing forward to break the attack meant to smear me into the floor for killing the man's grandchild.

"I'm afraid you'll need to deal with me first," said the most powerful wizard under the imperial rule, his eyes hardening like the very depths of the abyss.

"Very well," Lorrae answered.

Powerful hands grabbed me, pulling me back as the two archmages launched at each other. I'd never seen their like fight before, and while I was no slouch, I certainly wasn't at that level yet. Lorrae charged forward on a pillar of light and force, only to be met my my own mentor sheathed in a meteor of blue water, the two crashing against each other and towards one of the walls.

Our formation broke, it had to. As the two titans of magic tore out from the room and into the nearby sky they left a wake of destruction. As they made their exit another party of warriors entered our room. It was a shame, as several of the wizards here were students of Mystien, and now had to meet the enemy war mages on their terms rather than help our mentor.

The fighting couldn't stay here, not with the war spells that were now being spun into existence. Huge balls of fire, and water clashed into one another, exploding in massive clouds of steam. Bolts and lines slammed into shields and counters as one by one the wizards joined the fray. I could even hear singing here and there as attacking bards tried to bolster their defenses.

I barely had a chance to get my own shields up as a bolt of lightning crackled across the room. It slammed into them, discharging harmlessly around me as my father and brother blurred forward at the caster. Beside me Ulanion caught a charging physical magic user, a quick silver flick from his sword separating head from body.

Quickly the fight devolved into a melee, partiers meeting the soldiers who were entering in shining armor in groups. These had to be the former nobles, as they seemed to fight in almost retinues, groups of three or four who moved as one. Our own people had been caught with their pants down so to speak, and while we had numbers we lacked gear that they were all well equipped with.

After a few more seconds the ceiling above us finally started to crack and break, sending boulders tumbling into the melee. Somehow dad and John made it back to my side as Ulanion scooped me up and ran to one of the many side entrances.

"Mom!?" I asked frantically as our little team rushed down a hallway, only passing one or two quickly dispatched soldiers.

"You mother was near the exit with the other non-combatants. They'll have fled and our enemies will want to capture them anyway, focus now," dad said, leading us forward. "We need to find the emperor, he wasn't in the ballroom and I fear he'll need backup."

"He said he had to go deal with something, and left" I informed them.

"His office here then, this way." Father led us onward, my own singing quickly building the magic around me.

We arrived in a hallway to see several guards in imperial armor being dispatched by a group of attackers, the last receiving a death blow just as we approached. The boys seemed to slow in their charge for a second before I loosed my own power. It had been some time since I'd really let go with lightning on someone, and the bolt that arced through the men in our way left little but charred corpses in its wake.

"Damn Alana, remind me not to pester you so much in the future, yeah?" John said, looking at the dead men as we passed.

As we were led into a little courtyard another group came to intercept us. They easily had numbers, but again, we were more of a powerhouse. A pair of knights stepped forward. Dad and John moved to take position. Before the fighting could start there was an explosion from the tower in whose direction we were headed. Even I knew that was where our emperor kept his office for this location.

"You two move on, sounds like Durin does indeed need backup," dad told us.

"Right, we'll meet up when we've dealt with this lot," John agreed.

As we moved into the portcullis opposite us I let loose a wave of light at the men who'd come. It wasn't much, but the brief flash gave dad and John a moment to move.

Ulanion kept carrying me as we flew through a hallway up a square stairwell. More dead and dying lined the floor and walls. I could see attackers, as well as some who I recognized as bodyguards only by their armor. Sadly as we neared the top I heard the doors below being bashed in.

"You lot, towards the courtyard to reinforce there, the rest of you, with me to help His Majesty, go!" Someone yelled.

Ulanion finally put me down, we were only two or three flights from the top. "Go invisible and see if you can help him," he said before leaning in to kiss me.

"You're not leaving me!" I nearly screamed, the sound of boots on the stairs below growing louder by the second.

"Can you hide both of us well enough?" He asked, knowing well the answer.

I could, but it would be awkward, and moving at speed like that, or if he moved too far away, it would make him visible again. It also would be weaker against others who might see us.

I leaned in, meeting his lips with mine for a few precious seconds.

"I love you," he said.

"Don't die," I replied, then turned to keep going.

The invisibility spell wreathed me as I kept up the ascent, noticing the open sky above the stairs. More bodies, and blood pooling into the carpet or splashed across the walls showed the way, up, up, up, the final meeting place approached.

When I made it to the top floor I found it missing. Debris of what was once an office were strewn about, splintered bits of wood and crushed stone, metal pieces were bent and broken like modern art. Around I could see in all directions, the wind whipping my hair about me and pressing the ballgown that I was very glad I'd had made easy to move in against me.

The palace was in flames, fighting everywhere. One section of the sky had the two archmages still duking it out, potent magics clashing as they struggled to see who between them was the mightiest, or most skilled. The sky in every direction had flying wizards of lesser strength hurling projectiles down onto enemies while bowmen below tried to swat them from the air from beneath what looked like bardic shields.

Even the city wasn't spared. I could now hear the alarm bells ringing. The old academy had shields up, and appeared to be under assault from another force, impacts resonating against the wards. Above part of the lower city a swirling cloud of stars flowed, the burning houses under them speaking to the nearby combat. Near one of the far walls green flames licked upwards from some unknown battle.

As I looked up above it all was the moon, a pale shadow slowly beginning to creep across the orb; the eclipse had begun.