“Life is anathema to the Others. They don’t understand it, and they can’t coexist with something they don’t understand.”

Chapter 63

The legion commander’s activities for the day had ruined Wil’s original plan of practicing his new spells, forcing him to stay up late in the evening practicing in the muddy fields outside of town.

Standing knee deep in the mud, Wil tried to cast ‘Misty Step’ first. Using nearly a third of his total Mana reserves, he channeled it into a surprisingly basic spell matrix.

‘Misty Step’ was intended to be used instantly, as a lifesaving spell. It would remove the caster from immediate harm but had a very short range.

To cast it so quickly, the spell replaced the usual complex Tier 2 matrix with a combination of raw power and intense concentration. It was draining and, at his current rank, he could only cast it once. The focus required was mentally exhausting and repeated casting would be dangerous.

Flooding his body with Mana, he was covered in a fine, white mist as he took a step forward while concentration on his destination, over twenty feet away. It was as if space itself compressed around him and his vision turned white for a blink of his eye, before he reappeared at his chosen destination.

To anyone watching him, it would seem that he disappeared into a cloud of white mist, before reappearing instantly twenty feet away.

Wil laughed in exhilaration at the feeling teleportation gave him. He longed for the day when he advanced in Rank, allowing him to cast long range transportation magics. He could imagine the freedom he would have with the ability to travel wherever he wanted.

He tried Web next, which had a more typical spell matrix. A complex weaving of threads, forming a vast spider web over his chosen target.

Wil channeled the mana into the matrix he drew in his mind’s eye. It solidified into reality, covering a large area in sticky webs.

With a thought, he summoned a mote of flame above his hand, gently tossing it onto the webs. They ignited in an intense blaze of fire, before the webs were burned away.

Just by casting each of his newly learned spells once, Wil felt completely exhausted.

He trudged through the mud back to the paved pathway, before cleaning himself with a minor spell. He walked the short length of road back to his lodgings, passing out, completely drained.

Wil woke up early the next morning, refreshed from his evening’s rest. He packed his belongings and headed to the barred gates of the grey stone wall, intent on meeting with his legion contact.

Making his way downstairs, bathed and dressed for the day, Wil sat at a table in the common room.

Digging into his breakfast, he looked around at the others doing the same. It appeared everyone was ready for a week’s duty on the wall, they all had their equipment ready, and bags packed.

Listening to the conversations around him, Wil learned that the legion provided simple lodgings on top of the wall. The width of the wall surrounding Aachen allowed them to have stairways, guardrooms and even resting areas inside, with hallways and corridors that could be collapsed if the undead made their way inside.

Filing that information away, Wil got up from his table and followed the rest of the room out into the street. They traveled over the elevated wooden platforms, heading towards the main road to the guarded gate.

The town was bustling, people were moving quickly in preparation for the Night. Guards in full armor, Auxiliaries bristling with equipment and weapons, even clerics and mages were all heading towards the gate.

When Wil had arrived in town a couple days ago, the gates were closed and guarded.

The guards remained this morning, but the gates now stood open. He could see a stream of people entering the rough stone passageway.

Wedged into a group of his fellow newly arriving auxiliaries, Wil saw that the gate led to a long stone passageway, with magical lights placed at intervals. It stretched for twenty or thirty feet, before ending at another well defended metal gate, with heavy wooden timbers placed across it.

Even from where he stood, he could feel the strong magics holding the gate closed. It would only be opened during the day, for brief periods, to allow groups to enter and exit the city.

Walking down the hall, the group turned left a few feet in from the open gates. They were led to a set of stairs, built into the cold, grey stone walls.

Climbing upwards, each stairwell would lead to a landing a story above, forcing the group to walk through another hallway to a second set of stairs. It was a maze of corridors, stairwells and well defended hallways.

Wil assumed it was for defensive purposes. If the gate fell, the enemy would be forced to slowly climb upwards, through heavily defended hallways and secondary stairwells that could be collapsed.

The humans could still scale the walls in the event that they collapsed the interior. Or they could have the mages levitate them, but the undead would be unable to leave Aachen. It was an effective defense against the mindless undead.

After five separate stairwells, each with a hallway filled with rooms for lodgings, supplies or storage, Wil climbed the final step, leaving the stairwell and reaching the top of the wall.

The wall stretched in front of him for miles, with a long line of people marching to different sections. The wall was wide and was even busier than the garrison town below.

Lines of archers and crossbowmen kept watch, and Wil could see clerics and mages already setting up additional protective wards.

Wil followed his group along the wall. The stream of newly arrived Auxiliaries were directed by yelling legion soldiers.

“Keep moving, keep moving!” The soldiers would yell to the crowd, trying to keep the stairways free from the hundreds of people climbing up. It seemed to Wil that most of the Aachen’s defense would be led from the top of the wall.

‘Strange, what would they be guarding against up here?’ Wil thought to himself.

The wall repelled the undead, so they couldn’t climb the grey stone. That only left digging under the wall or breaking down the gates. Neither seemed feasible to Wil, not with the magic he felt from the gate. And the guards would notice massive holes under the walls.

So, what were they defending against?

The group continued to walk, and the crowd thinned as people were pulled into the stations or areas where they were assigned. The wall was so wide that Wil, who was walking in the center, couldn’t see Aachen itself. He could only spot the tips of some of the taller buildings and the endless wall around them.

After walking for nearly half an hour, he heard a familiar cursing voice.

“Halt, you dimwits!” Garman cursed. The group stopped and gathered around him.

Garman was standing alone, still wearing his armor and sleeveless tabard, as they gathered in a half circle around them.

Looking around, Wil could see that they were on a section of wall the bordering the sea, at the far edge of the city of Aachen. He still could see the ground from the center of the wall, but he could spot the ocean, stretching endless to his right.

Garman stood next to a small stone building, with an open door. Wil could see that it was another stairwell, leading into the interior of the wall.

To the right of Garman was an intricate warding spell matrix, engraved onto the stone. It spread out in a circle, nearly reaching the edges of the wall, and lines connected it to other markings along the length of the entire mile long wall.

From Wil’s limited knowledge of Wards, he spotted the symbol of the goddess, as well as a rune for protection. In the center of the wards was an empty spot, rectangular, as if something was missing.