Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Author's note: Chapter 23 and things start to get going.

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Neleh looked around the arena, while the four of them entered. The audience seats were packed. This was the first duel of the semester, and students were not yet swamped with work, so they had time to come and watch. In addition, the duelists were both fifth circle mages, and both of them were rather famous. In addition to being quite handsome, they also represented some of the more archetypical roles of male popularity in the academy. One was the dark and handsome badboy, while the other was a fiery and wild good guy that liked to stand up for the less fortunate. So it wasnt exactly a great surprise to see much of the female population of the academy in the audience. And where the girls went, the guys followed.

The arena had circles drawn on the ground to serve as the starting location for the duelists, although there was no requirement for staying inside the circle once the duel started. In fact, it was quite uncommon for a duelist to stay inside the circle, because dodging your opponents spells was an effective defensive measure. Some cocky people tried to show superiority, by not moving from the circle, but they were usually quickly defeated and humiliated. It was simply more efficient to avoid the opponents spells with a little help from a movement spell, than it was to try and shield against all incoming attacks. Darkness magic and air magic users were especially adept at avoiding attacks, while light magic and earth magic lent themselves more towards straight defense. All that of course assumed that the magician was proficient enough to cast spells on the move. Some people never quite got the hang of focusing on several things at the same time.

The closer one was to the target, the easier it was to maintain a strong shield, so the judges remained relatively close to their respective duelists, only maintaining enough distance to not get caught up in the duel. Attacking a judge was grounds for immediate forfeit, and heavy punishment from the academy, depending on whether the judge actually got hurt or not. Neleh and Kanako followed their duelists towards the starting areas when they separated. Lucian struck a conversation while waiting for the signal.

It seems the two of you are getting famous overnight. Quite a few people in the audience, wondering about your involvement in the matters. Most likely at least a few jealous people too. He said with a small smile.

No matter. Let them wonder. I have no use for people that resent others based on rumors and baseless assumptions. If they want to know, all they have to do is ask. And if they start to get all catty and territorialwell lets just say I wouldnt care about those people anyway, and would most likely piss them off one way or another anyway. Might as well get done with it. Neleh answered with a small sigh.

Well that is an interesting attitude. Ive never met someone quite like you. I cant decide if youre supremely confident with yourself, or just plain crazy. In either case, I think Im going to keep my eye on you. He gave her a look over, clearly appreciating her form fitting clothing. And I think Ill quite like keeping an eye on you.

Well, if you dont keep an eye on your opponent, you might end up losing. Now wouldnt that end up being embarrassing? Neleh answered with amusement.

Further conversation was cut by the start of the duel. A teacher came to the edge of the arena, ordering everyone to get ready, and then finally gave the starting signal. It became immediately obvious to Neleh that the two duelists were quite skilled, and represented two completely different types of mages. Micah was a more traditional mage, using his power and skill with swift incantations to launch off few but very powerful and high level spells. Any of those spells hitting a defensive spell cleanly was trouble. The celestial was unsurprisingly proficient with light magic, which he used as a main form of offense. He also varied his attacks by using air magic, but mainly using his air spells to quickly move around the arena.

Lucian on the other hand was into wordless incantations and high level of control, utilizing swarm attacks with lower level spells. For every powerful spell Micah lobbed Lucians way, he sent a swarm of thirty tiny attacks back. Then just to make things difficult, he mixed a couple more powerful attacks inside the swarm, just so the opponent could never be sure which of them were the real attacks. Thus Micah was forced to assume all of them were threats, and act accordingly. Lucian had obviously gotten training as a warrior, and used his internal strength to move around avoiding Micahs more powerful attacks, and those he couldnt avoid he used his own power to unravel, before they hit him.

There was a delicate balance between the two. On one hand Micahs spells were so strong, that Lucian was unable to unravel all of them, and thus the demon was forced into dodging heavily, and even had to take glancing hits to his protective spells, which drained his power heavily. On the other hand, Lucian swarm of attacks, made it impossible to unravel all of them, and he also guided the attacks in a way that made it impossible to dodge all of them. Thus Micahs defensive spells were under constant low level stress, punctuated by the occasional heavier hit.

One of the main points of magic duels was that it took several times the strength to defend against an attacking spell with your defensive shield, than it took to make that attack. And that was assuming you used a right strength shield against the attack. Once you put your strength into a defensive shield, that power was spent, even if the attack couldve been defended against with a significantly weaker shield. On the other hand, you couldnt put too little strength into the defense, otherwise the attack would overwhelm the shield, and you would end up dead. Or in the case of a duel like this, you would lose. Thus magical battles often turned into a battle of attrition, where you tried to force your opponent into spending too much of his strength on defense.

Alternatively you could try to find a way around the shield, by using a spell that the opponents shield could not defend against, or tried to overwhelm the opponents defenses with an attack of superior strength, like what Micah was attempting. It was soon becoming clear that the celestials strength was draining faster. Lucian still had to be careful against taking full on hits, but he was winning.

Neleh noted with interest that Lucian was using the opposing elements of Micah, for his attacks, namely darkness and earth. She also noted that while darkness magic suited the demons style really well, earth magic wasnt as great when it came to precise swarm attacks. Earth element was great for defense and large area attacks, but precision and numbers werent its forte. She surmised that air and darkness would have been a more effective combination, but one had to work with what one had. Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

The duel was just approaching a bad conclusion for the celestial, when Neleh noticed him casting a spell she was rather shocked to see. The celestial brought his hands together in what looked like a finger pistol, and a small, narrow and fast projectile shot towards the demon. Why was the celestial casting Piercing in a duel not meant for death? Piercing was a spell designed to penetrate defensive magic shields, with the principle that the stronger the shield, the faster and more powerful the projectile got, shattering the shield while passing through. The problem was that not only would Lucians shield be pierced, so would her shield, possibly killing the demon!

She quickly twisted her shield, altering its nature. The projectile destroyed Lucians shield as expected, leaving the demon stunned, but completely disappeared when it hit Nelehs shield. It was as if Nelehs shield had eaten the spell. Neleh raised her hand and called for a halt. One way or another, the duel was over. She turned towards the teacher watching over the duel, who also looked surprised.

She raised her voice in question. A question to the teacher. What is the policy when the judges shield is hit by a spell that in a normal situation would most likely penetrate her shield, possibly injuring or killing her duelist?

That caused a bit of a commotion, and Neleh noticed the shocked look on Micahs face. He looked like he had no idea his spell would be that effective. It seemed the guy hadnt used the spell seriously before.

The teacher answered. In order to simulate a relatively realistic combat situation, the duel doesnt have limitations on what kinds of spells can be used. If the judges shield was hit, then that duelist has lost the duel, and it is the judges job to keep her duelist safe, no matter what spell is used. Of course, should the opponent be deemed to have purposefully used a spell that he knew would kill or injure the opponent, then he would be punished severely, for willfully inflicting harm upon another student. Render your judgement.

Now, this is interesting. Im quite happy to get a priestess that can hold her own in combat, and she certainly fits the bill. On the other hand, I also know she isnt a full priestess yet, so can she handle the job? Dalyor was quite sure that the girl could, since the mission was fairly routine, but he had to ask anyway.

Shell be able to hack it, and then some. Id trust her with any mission at this point, and her rank is pretty much just a formality. Speaking of missions, theres something you need to be aware of, as the leader of this expedition. Nimue knew Dalyor would need to be told, just so it would not be too obvious for Neleh to disappear from time to time, to complete her job as an Inquisitor.

Dont tell me, I can read between the lines. I know from Solana that Neleh just started her studies as a mage, so you wouldnt pull her out on a trip like this if she didnt have a mission of her own. Im guessing a mission from Yunalesca or Lysanthir? Lysanthir was the leader of the Templars.

I see you can still use that head of yours. Yunalesca sends her regards. Nimue wasnt too surprised. The reason she enjoyed surprising Dalyor was because it was difficult. The man could be sharp at times.

Well that should make this milk run a bit interesting at least. Ill see to it that shell get the time she needs. It should be more interesting trip anyway with her coming along. At least I can waste some time teasing her about Solana. He finished with a wide grin.

Oh? Do I sense some jealousy old man? Neleh teased back.

Hah! Solana is like a daughter to me, and you brat are young enough to be my granddaughter. He was quite enjoying the ribbing.

Well, I suppose theres no accounting for tastes. If imagining Solana as your daughter and me as your granddaughter gets you going, then who am I to judge? Different strokes and all that. Neleh continued.

That got both Dalyor and Nimue laughing loudly. Just be ready bright and early tomorrow morning. The hunters are used to early mornings, but you dainty mages might find it hard to leave your satin sheets. Well pick you up at the academy gates. Just make sure to pack some supplies.

On that note, anyone coming along that I should know? Neleh asked, not really expecting to know any members of the little expedition.

From the mage side you might know one or two. I heard Micah got into a duel or something this morning, so you might have seen that or heard something. Also knowing you, youve probably already gotten into trouble, so the leader of the disciplinary squad Aneirin should be someone youve had dealings with. If not, soon you will. Dalyor was surprised to hear Neleh crack into a huge laughter. Im guessing those names do ring a bell? He asked wryly, somehow not surprised at all.

Oh Ive heard some things. Neleh said with a grin.

Well, Ive got a small surprise for you with the hunters, but Ill save that for tomorrow. Dalyor finished, quite smug at the opportunity to surprise the girl the next day.

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Later that night, Nimue was called again to see the seers. Before this, she hadnt visited them personally for years and now she had been called the second time within a day.

Obviously something has changed. Talk to me old friend. What is going on? Nimue asked deathly worried.

The vision had become clearer. Now the vision shows us a woman clad in flames. Her huge wings of fire fan the flames around her, while she cries tears of mourning and sadness. The world burns with her mourning, while she holds the body of someone in her hands. The priestess was afraid. Nimue, the priestess who saw the vision passed away after dictating what she saw. Her body showed sign of burns, and from what we can tell, her body overheated so badly that she died to shock. None of the other seers wants to brave looking into the future any longer.

And Im guessing the fact that the vision has become clearer, means that the likelihood of that future has grown. Did the seer manage to give any description of the woman that might help us recognize her? Nimue asked, with a growing sense of dread. She had an idea, who the woman in the vision might be.

She said something about a long hair of flames, and burning red eyes, but that might have been something brought on by the setting. The priestess said, knowing that visions werent precise, and often didnt match the reality exactly.

Somehow that description didnt help Nimues sense of dread.

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