Genesis: War Mage: Book One (War Mage Chronicles 1) Read online

  Genesis

  War Mage: Book One

  Charles R Case

  Illustrated by

  Manuel Castanon

  Edited by

  Jen McDonnell

  Case By Case Publishing

  Copyright © 2018 by Charles R Case

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Prologue

  Birgit Frisk, newly elected President of the United Human Confederation, looked over her notes one last time, and fought the urge to loosen her collar.

  She reflected on the last year of her life leading up to this moment. The worldwide vote, only the third of its kind in human history, had gone without major incident. She was seen by the majority of humanity as the best person to lead them into the future. She was honored. She was ready. The briefings of the last four months weighed heavy on her mind, though. There was a war over the horizon, one that humans had agreed to fight in exchange for the advancements provided by their alien benefactors, the Elif. A war she was not sure they could win.

  The promenade at the newly constructed capitol building was a square mile of green grass and concrete, suspended from the side of Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii, and it shook with the cheers of the assembled people from all around the globe. The capitol had been built in less than a year after the treaties were signed with the Elif and the world had become a unified government. Humanity had been visited by an alien race, and the need to come together had been obvious.

  This was the new golden age of humanity, but President Frisk was afraid it was going to be all too short.

  “They are ready for you, Madam President,” her aide said, motioning beyond the curtain to the podium at center stage.

  “Thank you, Frank,” she said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

  As she stepped out onto the stage, the roar of the crowd was deafening, and she fought to keep the tears of appreciation at bay. After a full minute of adoration, the crowd finally quieted.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you.”

  The crowd roared again, and she waited patiently for them to settle.

  “2021; the year the future arrived for humanity. The year the Elif’s warped into our skies. And now, a mere thirty years later, we have come to a new age. The magical age. And with the magic comes space. Our deepest hearts’ desire. Humanity is now able to begin expanding throughout the galaxy. No longer are we held to our tiny blue dot, to toil and fight over the limited resources of this one planet. We have come to a point where all our needs are handled through the magic of molecular printers. Anything we can dream of can be provided with the press of a button. This is a good time to be alive.”

  The crowd applauded. Most of them had come here to the big island through hyper-loops and shuttle flights. Nowhere on Earth was off-limits to humanity. Power was no longer an issue, with the implementation of the fusion reactors the Elif provided. Food could be printed just as easily as starships from base elements in molecular printers. The people of Earth no longer needed to worry about the trappings of monetary gain, or struggles of economic power. Everyone had been provided with a roof over their head and food on their plates, and work was now done for the joy of completing it. They had achieved what the Elif called a ‘Level One Society’.

  “We do have a challenge to address, however,” she continued, when the crowd allowed her. “Our new friends, the Elif have provided this great new society at a cost. Not a hidden cost, but a very real cost nonetheless. They need our help with a galactic war that has been raging for thousands of years. They are desperate, and in their hour of need, they’ve come to us.

  “The Teifen are a voracious race that will never be happy with what they have. They seek to take from their neighbors through force of arm, never willing to let those around them live in peace and harmony. Even now the Elif fight for their lives in a conflict older than our last Ice Age. The enemy is relentless in their pursuit of war and expansion. They even fight amongst themselves and with their once long-time allies, the Galvox.

  “Humanity will not be known as a people who do not keep their word, but as a people who will make a difference. We will take the fight to the Teifen and eventually to the Galvox, if need be. We will make all the difference to the men, women, and children of the First Empire. As we speak here today, the last ship of the first fleet has joined its brethren in the heavens to protect our Solar system. The second fleet is even now under construction, and will be complete in less than a year. Our brave and intrepid men and women of the United Human Forces are training hard in the Naval Academies that the Elif have set up across the globe, to be the first to join the battle for peace. We will fight like demons and protect like angels.”

  The crowd shouted their approval.

  President Frisk waited for the crowd to fall completely silent before continuing. “There will be casualties in this war. Men and women will sacrifice their lives to make the galaxy a better place; a safer place. Our Mage Twin Sets will captain and control our warships with a grace and ferocity the galaxy has never seen before, even with the threat of death looming. But those who make the ultimate sacrifice know it is for the betterment of all. They are brave souls who will ride with the Valkyries in triumph.

  “Do not despair, for we will be working back home to expand our presence in the galaxy, as well. The Elif have identified three systems with Earth-like planets compatible with humans, and have already begun the construction of cities and homesteads. In six months’ time, we will be sending out our first interplanetary colonists. Humanity will survive—nay, it will thrive in the open galaxy.”

  Again, there was a roar of approval.

  “My people, this is the dawn of something amazing. The dawn of expansion; of prosperity. In time, we will be a great power in this Milky Way. We will make our footprint in the sands of time, and those who share our galaxy will know and respect us. For we are humans, and we shall be great.”

  Admiral Setti, High Commander of the Elif armada on Earth, closed his eyes as the mountain shook with applause, his long, pointed ears sensitive to the roar. His tenure on Earth as the contact point for the High Council
back on Effrit, the homeworld, had taught him to endure the human’s loud applause and raucous behavior. A slight grimace marred the admiral’s elf-like features as the crowd’s cheering increased when the president stepped around the podium and gave a wave to her people.

  His second, Admiral Dosin, leaned in and, in a quiet voice, asked, “Sir, have we made a mistake, unleashing humanity on the stars once again? The Teifen will strike with renewed ferocity when they learn what we have done here.”

  Setti opened his eyes, but kept them trained on the newly elected president. “Mistake or not, the empire needs them, if not for victory, then revenge. Our time basking in the glory of our treachery has come to an end. Besides, the Teifen are already pressing us to the limits. I fear Effrit is far too exposed with our ships spread so thin. Our Fleet needs to return to the home system as soon as possible.”

  “What will such a small number of humans accomplish in the face of trillions of Teifen? This contingent of humanity has had magic for less than thirty years; surely they will not stand a chance against the thousands of years of practice the Teifen bring,” Dosin mused.

  “One human ship is worth a hundred Teifen. It took the combined might of the Teifen and Galvox to subdue humanity, and even then, at great cost.” He looked over at his second, a weary expression on his face. “Be glad they are so few, or their fury would surely engulf us, as well. We are not innocent in their defeat. We were an ally to them until it suited us no longer. We may not have plunged the knife in their backs, but we did give it a twist. We were the cowards in that war, but we now have a chance to make amends. Let us pray that those amends have not come too late to save our people from complete annihilation.”

  Dosin was quiet for a moment, “Truly, a hundred to one?”

  The admiral nodded. “Have you never heard of the War Mages?”

  Dosin’s normally light complexion paled further, but he did not comment. He didn't need too.

  1

  Sara let out a sigh of exasperation.

  After reading the dry text for the last half hour of class to avoid listening to Mrs. Dontis drone on about the importance of Aether management, Sarah had had enough. But right as her finger brushed the power button, she caught sight of a word that intrigued her.

  ‘Familiar’.

  She leaned over the tablet and began to read with renewed interest. It was a summoning spell that would supposedly bring an animal companion to her side and provide a large amount of power as a side effect.

  Interesting; I’ve always wanted a pet. Sara furrowed her brow and wondered, Why wouldn't everyone have a familiar, if it was free power?

  She scrolled to the next page to find out, but a sharp elbow poked her in the kidney.

  “Ow, what the hell, Cora?” she hissed, rubbing her side and turning to her twin. Her sister, lips tight and green eyes wide, jerked her head to the front of the classroom, where Mrs. Dontis, their Elif teacher was waiting, hands folded over her military dress uniform.

  Sara's face reddened, her pale complexion making the flush all the more obvious, and she quickly switched off the tablet. “I’m so sorry, Mrs. Dontis, could you repeat the question?”

  With a sigh, the tall Elif woman raised an eyebrow, her almond-shaped eyes piercing through Sara. “I asked if you would demonstrate a force shield for the class, along with the subtleties used in modulating the spellform for differing attacks. Finals are tomorrow, and power management is the only way you will conserve enough Aether to make it to the end. Most of you will be moving on to a ship assignment, and that placement will be dependent on your performance. This class of 2052 will be the first to graduate from this academy and we plan to have the finest officers the fleet will ever see.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Right away,” Sara said, standing so quickly her long legs got caught in her chair, banging it into the row of desks behind her. “Sorry,” she whispered too loudly to the empty desk and then loped down the long steps of the lecture hall to the front.

  Mrs. Dontis indicated that she would stand opposite her, a frown on her severe face. “The Sonders’ twins have shown mastery of several battle grade spellforms, so I feel confident in pushing Sara more than most.” Turning back to Sara, she said, “I will attack with various spells, and I want you to modulate your shield, keeping the power needed to defend at minimum. Are you ready?”

  A firebolt screamed toward her face before Sara could answer, yet years of training and practice jump started her brain. Without flinching, she constructed a three-dimensional spellform in her mind and instinctively poured Aether into it. A shield snapped into existence just in time for the white-hot plasma to splash across its golden surface.

  The room full of students collectively gasped at the ferocity of the attack. The Elif tended to be less aggressive in their casting, unlike the humans they taught. Apparently, that would not be the case today.

  Sara had never seen the normally reserved woman even break a smile at a student, but here she was, teeth bared in a growl, and forehead wrinkled in concentration.

  “Holy shit, Sara. She’s really going for it,” Cora's voice cut through the class’s murmuring.

  Grunting with effort, Mrs. Dontis slashed a hand in front of herself, and a blade of force rolled from her fingertips.

  Sara held the shield spellform and instinctively softened its surface by rounding the corners of the construct in her mind. The blade of force sank into the shield, and spent its energy before it got more than five centimeters in.

  “Keep it focused, you’re blurring at the edges,” Cora shouted over the now raucous class, filled with students who were standing and loudly commenting on the duel.

  Sara noted the blurring and refocused her spellform, making the image more defined in her mind. The shield the spellform represented responded instantly, drinking at her Aether reserves and becoming solid to the edges.

  Her teacher’s deep-throated yell made Sara take a step back, as the tall woman flicked both hands forward at the wrists, sending silvery, metal slivers from her hands like fistfuls of knives. However, unlike throwing knives, these blades moved at incredible speed.

  Instinctively, Sara again reshaped the spellform, and the soft bubble shield changed to a diamond-hard cone, pointed directly toward Mrs. Dontis. The slivers deflected off the surface of the shield and embedded themselves in the wall behind their target.

  Sara's eyes went wide. “Are you trying to kill me?”

  She had nearly shouted, but the Elif woman heard none of it as she conjured the largest fireball Sara had ever seen.

  The classroom quieted, as the students were awed into speechlessness. Sara focused on the shield to make the necessary adjustments that a fireball of that magnitude would require.

  Sara thought fire was an odd thing to throw at her, as she had already demonstrated her ability to deflect fire in the opening round; though stopping something this large would take a lot of Aether.

  The ball of fire grew between the woman’s hands, lighting her face in an evil red and orange light. Her normally beautiful elf-like features began to take on a sinister look, and sweat rolled off her forehead.

  When the ball was larger than a basketball but smaller than a toddler, it shot from her hands, trailing white smoke and orange flame.

  At the last second, Sara focused all her Aether to the front of the shield, doubling its thickness and leaving her back exposed.

  There was a gasp from the class as the fireball exploded against the perfectly fireball-proof shield, turning the golden color an angry orange. The orange and white flame winked out just in time for the class to see an eraser from the whiteboard tray streak across the room and bounce off Sara’s unguarded back.

  Both Sara and Mrs. Dontis were breathing heavily, though Sara’s breathing was noticeably less labored. When Mrs. Dontis recovered enough to speak, she asked, “Do you know what you did wrong, Ms. Sonders?”

  Sara's face was red, not all from exertion. “Yes, Ma’am. I was so focused on what was in fro
nt of me that I forgot what could be behind.”

  “No. You flinched. I scared you into leaving yourself open from behind. The Teifen are a vicious race and they will try to intimidate and bully you into making mistakes. Your shield did not need to be doubled; it could have taken the blast just fine. But that one mistake cost you. You may be seated.”

  Sara sulked her way to her seat, and the rest of the class found their own.

  “You can all learn something from Ms. Sonders, despite her lack of attention during class.” Sara reddened at the admonishment, but Mrs. Dontis continued before too many sniggers could reach her. “She has a mastery most of you don't bother with; her sister being the only exception. Any one of you could have defended against my attacks; you would not even need to change your spellforms to compensate. You could have just fed more Aether into them, but that is lazy and dangerous. The Elif are not good at attack spells. We are, in fact, quite terrible at them. But you will not be fighting against the Elif. We are your allies in this venture. You will be facing the Teifen, and they are as good at offense as we Elif are at defense. A human’s ability to adapt a spellform to fit the situation is what gives you an edge over both our species. By changing your spells to fit the attack or defense as needed, you can save valuable Aether you may need later.