I sat in lotus position, trying to coerce my mana into the pattern that Aeron had taught me. The mana moved, forming a circular pattern. I had done this about twenty times already, so the mana moved without much resistance. With the easy part done, I strengthened my focus. The mana began to twist and turn, trying to escape my control as I forced it into a form outside of its nature. I was seconds away from completing the spell when the sound of footsteps broke my concentration. "Your presence has been requested in the command tent, Captain Drakkus." The private saluted me when I opened my eyes.
An annoyed sigh escaped my lips as I got to my feet. I was already fully armored and prepared for the day to come. For the past four weeks, the entirety of the seventh battalion of the 1st legion had been marching towards the Yemen border near the frontier. Relentless rain pelted me the second I left my tent. One of the perks of being a captain was the fact that I received my own personal tent. I almost finished the spell this time. I think the next time I try will result in success.
"Good, soulwell is quite the nifty spell. I would not have suggested it if you did not have such a strong affinity for soul magic. But be warned, the crafting of the spell is the easy part. Grafting it onto your soul will be a test not only for your resolve but your pain tolerance as well." Ever since I started learning wizardry, Aeron had become far more animated. His heart truly belonged to magic. Whenever he explained something or lectured me, there was a passion that bordered on obsession in his voice. "Of course," he scoffed. "Without obsession, you will never reach the peak. Although the peak is but a distant dream for you, with that atrocity you call a core. If I had a body, I would find the person who designed it and strangle him myself." I passed many pitched tents on the muddy road while walking towards the center of camp.
I saw soldiers carrying supplies or relaxing after training. As a captain, I was given command over a five-man squad. I made sure to get the entirety of my personal team within my squad, but that left one position open. To my great misfortune, that decision was made for me. Alexander was named sergeant for our squad, making him the second in command. Even if I had the majority vote within my squad, when high command decides something, I have no choice but to shut up and obey.
Speaking of the devil, Alexander was waiting for me outside the command tent. His smile grated on my nerves. Instead of focusing on him, my eyes were trained inside the tent. All commanding officers of the seventh battalion were gathered inside. There were twelve major squads similar to my own that were specialized in specific areas. Mine, for example, were shard breakers. Our job was to ensure that all the wild shards in the area would not impede military operations. That's not to say that we would not see battle. On the contrary, in the event that there were no shards to break, we would fight alongside the vanguard to clear territory.
I was the last one to enter. When I stepped inside the tent, Colonel Bargrave nodded to the officers that the meeting would commence. The command tent was filled with a large table covered in dwarven runes. Above it hovered a holographic map showing the topography of our future battlefield. It was quite the nifty device that allowed for far deeper planning. Twenty men sat around the table, twelve of whom belonged to the specialized units. While the remaining eight were in charge of the largest number of troops. Being the leaders of the foot soldiers, they had just as much, if not more, authority than the rest of us.
Yet the one who drew the most attention was the Colonel himself. He was a broad-shouldered older man. He looked to be about forty with his salt and pepper hair and slight wrinkles. His eyes were sharp like those of a hawk, as his piercing gaze wandered the room. "I assume we all know what our role will be in the coming days?" He was not asking; he framed it as a statement. His voice, in contrast to the rest of him, was calm with an undertone of kindness. Not for a second was I fooled by his tone. Growing up, I read of some of his 'escapades,' and he was not called the butcher for nothing. When everyone nodded, a grandfatherly smile graced his lips. Yet it never reached his eyes.
His predatory gaze remained sharp, trailing over everyone present. "Good, we will arrive at the border fortress of Newbank within the day. From there, we will formulate a plan to counter the Yemeni dogs. Ready your men, we leave in an hour, dismissed." We saluted the colonel before leaving the tent. I opened the tent flap and left; the other captains streamed out to go alert their men. While I walked leisurely towards my tent. Alexander was still following behind me. "They left something out. I feel there is something they are not telling us." He spoke calmly, yet it still irritated me. He was the embodiment of court intrigue, and that irked me to no end.
"Of course they did. Do you think some low-ranked captains are privy to all the information?" he tried to speak further on the topic, but I just ignored him. I wanted to finish the spell before we left, so I gave Alex the command to alert the rest of the squad while I went to my tent.
Almost immediately, I sat down in lotus position. I did not have much time to finish this. Closing my eyes, I focused on my internal world. After my lessons with Aeron, I now knew that the internal world was where the soul was tethered to your body. What I was attempting to do was to graft a spell directly into my soul. From what Aeron said, even amongst high-level wizards, this type of spells are not widely used. As a faulty spell could ruin my mana circuit. But with great risk comes great reward.
Mana flowed through my veins, all coalescing above where my heart would be. I diverted the normal flow into a circular motion, forming a whirlpool that drew in more mana from the atmosphere. When my body could no longer contain the mana, I began forcing it into a pure circle. With the easy part done, I began with the precision work. It began to feel like my brain was frying. The problem with this spell was that it required me to work on four different patterns at the same time. Lest the spell begins to fall apart. I lost all awareness of the outside world. My entire being was consumed by a single moment. When I reached the halfway mark, my concentration slipped for less than a second, but it was enough to almost ruin the spell.
I had to redo an entire section, taking even more of my strength. When the spell was completely built, I had to change the properties of the mana to spiritually burn it into my soul. When I say that this was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt. Not even my execution could compare to the soul-rending pain I was experiencing. It felt like the spell was ripping into my soul with reckless abandon. And just like that, it was gone. I never knew how deafening silence could be until that moment.