For a week Adrex enjoyed the comforts of the castle, while having to occasionally dodge the Chamberlain Thrall if he wandered about. The High King had made it clear that he and Vista were only welcome as visiting dignitaries which suited them fine as it meant that Vista could spend time alone to teach Adrex. Not just magic either, she started to explore history with him, and what they would be doing when they travelled.

She sat down with Adrex one day with five pieces of parchment and wrote out the same message on each.

To The Fellow Meisters of the Schools of Magic

I am requesting several Meisters to join the North Watch with a new force about to reinforce the current watch and investigate the reasons why communication has stopped. We have an obligation to assist to keep up treaties with the Kingdoms and to protect us from the Demonic Horde.

I ask for volunteers as I hope we don’t have to force anyone to perform these duties.

I will brief those who take on this responsibility personally, and hope to see them in two weeks.

Grand Meister Vista

She held her hand over them and cast the spell that turned each message into a little firey bird. The birds started hopping around and taking small little pecks at each other before Vista snapped her fingers and they lined up like little soldiers. Adrex watched in fascination as she said, “You know where to go. Fly now with haste.” She said.

The birds flew over to the window then took off; shooting across the sky flying faster than any bird could, becoming streaks of fire. “You’re going to have to teach me that.” Adrex said in wonder.

“What, so you can message your friends constantly?” Vista said eyebrow raised.

“I hadn’t even thought about that.” Adrex said honestly.

“Later, perhaps. How are your studies going?” She asked redirecting him back on task.

“They’re going, slowly.” Adrex said.

Vista waved her hand for him to go back to it.

Adrex also spent time that week with Tinn when possible, Thrall kept the boy busy with constant tasks and study however he was able to get away every so often and he and Adrex would meet up and share insight on magic. Thrall had trained with the Healing school, but he was gifted with defensive magic too so had trained with them. Being from the Central Kingdom he always had intentions to return back and had used his family’s wealth to end up as Chamberlain, Chief Medic and Advisor to the current High King, in a line of Kings that were becoming more concerned with internal power than the unity of the Kingdoms.

Tinn had shown promise as a healer from an early age so Thrall had taken him as an apprentice and as a slave, to do all the things he considered below his station. Adrex, on several occasions said he should just leave, but that was harder with the servants either fanatically loyal to the High King or terrified of encountering his wrath or Thrall’s who could be more cruel, so there was no way to seek support to escape.

Instead the two boys talked, despite having different backgrounds they both shared the experience of lives spent in castles surrounded by the powerful, having to stay out of the way, and having a servant like life, and training to become Magus. Thrall, despite his cruelness, was an excellent teacher and Tinn had shown major promise from an early age.

-

The week at the castle was a luxury compared to the next week, riding from dawn to dusk, camping hard with a full company of soldiers from all Kingdoms. The soldiers themselves were great company and by day two had all but adopted Adrex as one of their own, he watched them at night with their combat drills and even had one or two soldiers given him some lessons in swordplay.

Still, it was a long day in the saddle. It was tiring, it was dirty, it was rough, and it was a side of warfare that was never covered in the heroic tales they had been told about. He was grumping about it one day and one of the soldiers, Kern, laughed as he walked past with his squad. “We all had the same dream, protecting the lands from evil and saving the girl. We all realised it’s not like that.” He said. “Welcome to the Northern Watch.”

The others laughed too patting Adrex on the back as they continued on. Adrex couldn’t help but grin slightly as the soldiers continued to make him feel welcome and part of their group. He continued to walk through the camp until he came to the command tent; he sat down on a log next to Vista at the fire pit. Orange flickering light painted her face in odd patterns as she listened to the commander speaking.

“We still have two days travel at least, but I’m likely to stretch that out to four days. I want my men fresh and ready to charge should your worst fears be realised.” He said.

“It’s concerning that we have not come across anything that would have held up communication.” One of the senior officers remarked, “No sign of bandits, or bodies, or of attempts to stop magical communications either.” He added.

“That would mean that the problem is at either end of the chain. Either the messages are coming through and there are problems there.” Vista said. She was cut off before she continued.

“Careful, you speak treasonous words.” The Commander said.

She looked at him from under her hood, “As an outsider I don’t, but even more concerning is the option that the Northern Watch was defeated.” Vista responded.

“That is the real fear here, and why we must be ready.” One of the senior officers said.

The Commander looked round at his men and Vista, and then looked down at his feet. “Grand Meister, what do you think we should do?” He asked, defeated.

Vista slowly pulled off her hood before she started to speak, a pause to collect her thoughts. “You are the soldiers, not me. However if the Northern Watch has fallen then each day that passes more evil could escape into the world. I would suggest three days, not four to get there.” She said,

“Either way, we may still be too late.” One of the group said.

“Only if organised, rabble will be hunted down.” Vista said.

-

The Demon King’s head rose up. He looked dead ahead, anger building inside him at what he felt. One of his Lord’s came running up to him, and dropped to a knee. “My Liege, they have sent reinforcements.” He said through deep breaths.

The Demon King just growled, not only had reinforcements arrived, he was prepared for that. He needed more sacrifices for the summoning, but one of his plan’s had come too. Was it leading them, or had it been captured. He growled a low sound that caused all who were close to look at him with fear. “General!” He barked.

A Demon walked in, dark wings wrapped around him forming a cape and he bowed before the king. “Yes, My Liege?”

“Find some pawns to die for the cause, the more feral the better.” The King said, before turning to the Lord kneeling before him. “Everyone else is to retreat north; it’s time to start the next step of the plan.”

“As you wish my liege.” The Lord said standing, “Is there anything else?”

“Yes, I want you to stay here until the battle starts, Athridon has arrived and I want to know why and in what capacity.” The King said.

“A-Athridon?” It asked stunned, “of course. I will do as you command.”

-

After two days of hard riding and a day's rest the company made it to the fields of the Northern Kingdoms castle ruins. Vista turned to Adrex and asked, ‘What do you see?” She asked.

Adrex looked out at the ruins and surveyed the lands, he saw castle walls that had fallen and were now half buried and moss covered, beyond that he saw the tree line of a forest that seemed to go on forever, aside from the landscape though he saw nothing. “It’s empty, of everything.” He said.

Vista looked at him, her eyes glowing red with magic, and Adrex realised that she wanted him to look at things magically, not just observe the mundane. Adrex summoned the magic to his eyes and looked out over the fields once more, and this time there was something to see. “I see what looks like black wisps of smoke rising from the former castle.” He said.

He grimaced slightly as Athridon seemed to perk up when he mentioned this, but he quickly hid the feeling. “It looks like demonic magic.” He said.

Vista gave him a side-eye, but nodded. “My apprentice is right, and has confirmed my fears. There appears to be no sign of the former Watch, Commander.” She said,

“Understood Grand Meister,” The Commander said before walking his horse out front of the company and facing them. “Form up men and prepare for battle, archers in the back, spears in front. Charge them down if they are still there and remember your training.” He said.

The soldiers formed up into four rows of twenty, the spearmen at the front took their spears out of the stirrup that supported it when riding and the archers knocked their first arrows, and the rest drew swords. The horses started to shake their heads and stamp their hooves, breathing hard. They could sense the battle approaching.

 “Form up either side of the formation; we will follow them in as cover.” Vista said, turning to Adrex.

Adrex nudged his horse into position and Vista rode around to the other side of the company. Adrex could feel his heart beating hard in his chest; his last fights had either been a surprise in the forest or were part of training. One of the soldiers gave him a nudge, “You okay?” He asked.

Adrex looked to his right and saw Kern smiling at him. “Just a little nervous.” Adrex admitted.

“Relax; take a deep breath and stick close to us, the spearmen in front will do the most damage if anything is still there.” Kern said, “Just follow the lead spears instructions.” He added.

“Flanks will split and pincer, while the centre will punch down the middle.” The Commander said out loud, giving his final orders.

“That means we will ride off away from the other groups then swing round and charge through.” Kern informed Adrex.

The Commander swung his sword above his head. The horses started to walk forward. Slowly at first, then getting faster. Momentum seemed to be building even as the company split into its three separate groups. The lead spear, the soldier at the front left of the group raised his spear. The horses all seemed to jump forward cantering. Adrex held on tight to his horse as it took off. His heart was beating hard; he could hear pounding in his ears as hoof beats thundered into the ground. He looked to his left and saw the determination on Kern’s face, sword held ready, leaning forward and focussed on the lead spear. Adrex, holding on tight to his horse, did the same.

The lead spear pointed his spear to the right. The group rounded a large chunk of masonry. Adrex looked up as they charged in towards the centre of the former castle grounds. Ahead was a hulking black brute. It looked like a Bear, but was twice the size, great big white tusks stuck out from its mouth. It was covered with black fur with a white mane, green emerald eyes stared at the approaching horses. It roared a challenge.

The Soldiers replied with a yell. Spears gleaming as they were pointed at the demon. Adrex looked ahead in fear. They were closing fast. Self-doubt crept in. Then the two sides clashed.

Spears hit the demon. Shafts bent and snapped. The group charged past. The demon swung a powerful arm and knocked three soldiers from their mounts. The soldiers got up and faced the demon. Adrex turned his horse round. He had to act. He cast a large fireball. It hit the demon and the creature seemed to just brush it off. Several arrows whizzed in and most bounced off the thick hair.

“Charge it down.” Someone yelled.

The rest of the mounted soldiers charged forward. Swords flashed and clanged as they surrounded the demon and struck. The beast roared, and was answered by two others. Adrex looked behind him, and his horse pranced away from the Demon as it looked at him, those green eyes piercing through him. Anger washed over him, and he created a huge lightning spell. “MOVE!” He yelled to the soldiers.

The men moved back from the beast and Adrex cast the spell. A bolt of electricity raced forth from the spell and hit the Demon, tendrils of electricity ran over the beast and it took two steps backwards. The spell ended and the demon looked up, smoke rising from its body. It roared at Adrex and thrashed its head using the tusks to dig up clumps of earth. It got ready to charge before several arrows struck it. It looked down, confused for a moment. The arrows had pierced it. Adrex hadn’t killed it but had managed to create weaknesses in its natural armour. It looked at Adrex, then the archers, then back to Adrex. Then the soldiers rushed forward, stabbing at it, as the archers on horseback continued to move and fire, circling the Demon. The demon thrashed about and two soldiers went flying into the masonry. One soldier drove his sword into the demon's chest and it howled in pain. The soldiers fell back and Adrex struck it again with another spell. This time the electricity was drawn to the sword sticking out of the chest of the demon. It fell forwards onto its knees. Several more arrows pierced it before the demon collapsed.

“Come on men, to the others.” One of the soldiers yelled.

They hauled on the reins of the horse, turning it around and rounding up the men. Then they took off, cantering through the ruins. They came across another demon, smouldering and surrounded by four dead soldiers. They carried on towards the sounds of clashing arms and the sounds of roars.

They came to a small clearing where soldiers were herding the demon back. Arrows stuck out of its body and it was bleeding a purple ichor on the ground staining the grass it stood on. Vista stood just behind the advancing soldiers, a massive spell being crafted. It combined lighting and fire. “I smite you, vile creature!” She declared and cast the spell into the sky.

She brought her hand down to face the demon that now had a spell underneath its feet. It roared in counter before three bolts of lightning crashed down on its head and a bolt of fire pierced it landing at the centre of the spell circle underneath.

Its body smoked and smoldered by the demon refused to collapse. Adrex grimaced in pain as Athridon pushed into his barriers, glee from the demon leaking through. Adrex stifled a yell of pain.

The soldiers didn’t wait another moment; arrows thudded into the creature once more. Then several soldiers lunged forward and drove their swords into the demon. It gave a half-hearted yell before it fell backwards against the wall it was being boxed into and went limp. Adrex looked up just as it let out its last breath. Athridon stopped trying to escape, but the glee was still partially there.

Vista looked behind her, concerned until she laid her eyes on Adrex. She looked relieved and raced over to him. “How did you go?” She asked worriedly.

“Several lightning spells and teamwork took care of our demon.” Adrex said, “But you know who tried to push out.” He added.

“Not many thirteen year olds have had to face down one of these brutes in quite some time. Well done apprentice.” She said as she rested a hand on his shoulder. “Very well done.”

-

After the battle Vista sent a message to the Four Kingdoms about what had happened, she also added that the Northern Watch required more men to hold, not just to replace those who had died retaking the area but to properly reinforce it against future attacks. She also sent a separate message to the magic schools requesting some strong Meisters to help protect against the Demonic Horde.

That night the survivors gathered to bury those who had died, they had lost nine men and twelve horses to the brutes including Kern. They also commemorated those that had already died to defend the land including the previous Meisters Bo and Inca. Adrex felt numb through the whole thing, struggling to process what had happened in the last week. He felt Athridon flexing his power inside but he didn’t try to break out.

A few days later several Meisters from the Defence and Battle schools arrived, Vista gave them a briefing and put them under the command of the Northern Watch Commander. She also promised that she would arrange a rotation to coincide with the North Watches rotations. 

The day after the reinforcements arrived and the magical barrier was remade, Vista and Adrex rode off for the battle school, and back to a more normal experience.