The bridge was long, and one could hear the waves crash against it, but nearing the college, the air became lighter. Magic pervaded even the air you'd breathe here... reminiscent of another place.
The Circles grounds welcomed me, as if I were entering another world. The grasses were vibrant, and the stone brick pathways seemed to glow faintly. Motes of light floated throughout the area... no need for torches or fire, and the towers loomed overhead like behemoths. But in the center of the grounds stood a man dressed in luxurious blue robes, his black hair pulled back in a tied braid as he held a book tightly, enamored with its contents. Students and teachers passed by him, and as I approached, he met my sight and grinned.
"Ah, my son." He said aloud. "So long it's been." He snapped the book shut and clipped it to his side. "Well... How have the years treated you?" He said. "Well, I hope?"
"G... Good," I stuttered.
"Why... look at you?" He said. "Broad shoulders, so tall, and you have an air of determination. They trained you well there, I take it?"
I nodded nervously.
"I must admit, I'm almost jealous," he said, taking a step forward. He embraced me for a moment, awkwardly, but I accepted it. All the years apart, culminating into this... I no longer knew him, but I knew I wanted to.
He breathed deeply and let me go, taking a short step back and smiling gently. "Well... with that out of the way. I suppose I could show you to your old room, and we could talk more over dinner? I do not wish to overwhelm you."
"Dinner would be nice..." I said.
He nodded and bade me to follow. We walked upon the grounds to the main hall, which was comprised of three chambers; the lowest was for classes and lectures, the second was the library and study halls, and the uppermost hall as well as the tower spires were for the Archmage and his family.
"Does it bring back any memories... walking these halls again?" he asked as we entered the lower chamber.
"In truth, I don't remember much." I told him, "The night the acolytes took me overshadows most of them."
He was silent for a moment.
"Though, I do feel some... nostalgia," I said.
"That is good..." He stated, "I am happy to have you back, Sebastien."
We made our way to the upper halls, where the nostalgia really set in. Regality was in no short supply as the floors were lined with luxurious rugs, and the walls were decorated with artifacts and ancient décor... items from my father's exploits over his lifetime. And soon we came upon the door to my room.
"Here we are..." he said, "I've kept it the same as when you left... save for some reparations. It may be a little childish, but I do hope it feels like home to you."
"I'm sure it will, Father."
"Well, I'll leave you to it then. Dinner will be in but an hour; I'll have someone fetch you."
"Thank you," I said.
He walked away, and I walked into my old room. It would have been a palace to a child, and even to an adult, its sheer size still made it feel like one. The bed was much larger than anyone would need and was covered with silks and rich satin bedding. Some toys lay strewn about the floor purposely... and a large toy castle resembling the Castle Kygaron towered in the room's center. I took it all in for a few moments. If seen through the eyes of someone younger, this would be paradise. Even so, it brought me comfort.
I sat on the edge of the bed and found myself wondering what Halcyon was up to. I doubt he'd have gotten into harm's way, not here of all places, and yet... I worried.
On the adjacent edge of the room, however, I'd noticed a crack in the wall that had stolen my attention. Underhand, it was deep, and for a stone of this make, reinforced by magic, it would take great force to cause it.
The crack continued to the ground and along the floor, under the large carpet in the center of the room. I pulled it away to see large cracks that had been filled and repaired, and only for a second, I wondered... though soon recalling that specific moment.
The acolyte grabbed my arm, their face wrapped in cloth, only making their eyes visible. Though filled with empathy, and though they spoke gentle words, my cries drowned out all else. Their grip was hard, as they tried to suppress my magic... it felt like a blanket over my face, suffocating and thick.
"Let me go!!!" I screamed, "Let me go!!!" The room shook, and the ground beneath me cracked. The grip on my arm was gone, and through my tear-filled eyes, the acolyte's body lay limp and lifeless. The cloth had torn to reveal the face of a young woman. Eyes bloodshot and terrified. I knew what I had done... Panic set in as more arrived to witness the carnage. My heart beat rapidly.
"Dad...?" I cried, as he walked in behind them. His brows arched angrily as my tears fell harder; he pointed my way, finger outstretched.
I shook the thought as it became hazy. This was me before I had control. The terrifying power of one of the Aspects, within an unaware child... I buried those memories long ago, and they would stay that way.
I laid the rug back down gently and fell onto my bed. It was soft, not unlike a cloud, I imagined.
Dozing off, I fell into a silent sleep, no thoughts, no dreams, just rest. After a while, I woke up to a knock at the door and jolted from the bed.
"Ah, hello," I said, greeting the young woman.
"I was sent to fetch you for dinner?" She said, giving me almost a judgmental look. "You're Sebastien... yes?"
I nodded, "And you?"
"Not important, follow me," she said snobbishly, walking away.
She walked faster than necessary, almost making it a chore to keep up. We made our way to the upper hall's dining chamber, where my father sat in a regal chair at the end of the table, with two chairs at his sides.
"Ah... my children. Come, sit." He said.
Children, I thought. The young woman next to me rolled her eyes and took her seat. I took mine to his right, and we sat in awkward silence as food was served.
"I suppose introductions are in order. Sebastien, this is your younger sister, Amoria."
She eyed me with a sharp gaze. Amoria, named after him, I surmised. Amoria La'Kar...
"And as you know, Amoria, this is Sebastien."
She seemed to grudgingly begin eating, ignoring the introduction. Halcyon would love her.
"So... you trained at the Arcanex?" She asked me.
I played off my surprise at her sudden question, "Um... yes," I said, "They helped me too hone my abilities. I'm very thankful for it."
"You don't seem very impressive for an aspect wielder."
She was very honest, if not a tad rude. "Very blunt..." I chuckled. "I can handle my own."
"The Arcanex is not for the weak of mind or body, Amoria," our father said.
She rolled her eyes again... seeming a tad immature as well.
"Amoria is top of her class," he said regarding me. "No finer student in all the Circle."
She smiled at him, glancing at me occasionally. My brow arched, as these comparisons felt unnecessary.
"I'm hardly competitive..." I said, "I'm sure you're a very capable mage."
"I am."
Petulant, I thought.
"That's quite enough; let us eat, and we shall speak more about it after." He said.
The food served was divine. Grilled vegetables and fish cooked richly and vibrantly, topped with exquisite roe. Before I knew it, my plate was gone, and the table was being cleaned.
"With that over, I wish to reiterate how delighted I am to have you back. And more so to have both of my children under one roof... A parent could not be more overjoyed."
It was nice to hear such a sentiment, after all that time... It could have quickly begun to feel like home.
Amoria spoke up, now in a somewhat kinder tone after our father's words, "As moving as this has been, I find these sentiments tedious... Apologies, Father."
"It is... quite alright," he said. "I'm happy you've stayed this long."
She regarded me, "You say you aren't competitive?"
"Oh..." I said, "Not exactly..."
"Father seems to regard your abilities highly, from what I've heard. Does that mean you aren't a fighter?"
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"I can hold my own." I said bluntly. Trying to get a rise out of me was what was truly tedious.
Father looked between the two of us with a questioning brow.
"I'd like to test out your abilities for myself," she said. "See if you're truly worthy of the La'Kar family name."
I hadn't thought of myself as a La'Kar in years. Her words stirred a fire in me, and as Father glanced at me... The desire to prove myself took over.
"If Father approves..." I said.
He seemed to hesitate before speaking again. "I sanction this." He said, "We built a training arena in recent years... Sebastien. It is well built and reinforced with protective enchantments; it should hold up."
"Should?" I questioned.
"I expect you not to hold back." She said with a grin. "I won't be."
I nodded, and Father exhaled exhaustedly. "I suppose we should get this started."
A pair of mages escorted us separately to two different ends of the arena to prepare. The room lay behind a closed door, leading to the grounds. Lit by torches of blue fire, it was filled with all sorts of equipment befitting a mage and training golems that would come to life when activated to help freshen up on skills. Bookcases filled with tomes on battle magic and the like lined the walls; any mage could do with a refresher at times. None of this would help me, however.
My father emerged from above as only a few moments remained before the match.
"Ah, Sebastien," he said, "I'd hoped to catch you before it began."
"Hi, Father," I said, still awkwardly.
He smiled, "I've already been to see Amoria. She's quite excited to see your skills and also quite serious."
"I gathered that," I said. "She seemed quite set on challenging my worth. I hope I won't disappoint."
"She is quite the accomplished mage." He said, "She's hardheaded and stubborn and will give you no quarter."
I held my hand up, "Don't spoil too much... I'd like to see her skills for myself."
He stood proudly, "I know you won't disappoint."
I stood just before the door, mere moments before it would begin... with Father standing just behind.
"Come, Magispear," I said, as it appeared in my right hand like a bolt of lightning. I held it at the ready as the doors opened before me.
The light was blinding for a moment, and the cheers of a crowd shook the ground. When my eyes adjusted, Amoria stood adjacent to me, on the other end of the arena, the crowd cheering her name.
This was a far cry from Elm and the adventure I'd known up until now. A new world and a new challenge; this was the start. My father now stood on a floating pedestal above the crowd regarding the entire arena.
"Greetings, scholars and mages alike. And welcome to the training grounds of the Circle Arcana. Apologies again for interrupting your studies and classes... But what you see before you will be lesson enough."
The audience cheered even louder at his words.
"I, Archmage Amorick La'Kar, shall preside over the match of a century. In the west corner, I introduce Amoria La'Kar. Accomplished Mage, prodigy, and High Sorceress of the Circle...and my daughter."
Her name could be heard in the wind, such a warm and loud recognition of her fame and adoration... a celebrity, almost, in her own right.
"And in the east corner," he said. "Lies an individual who, though they have not been seen on these grounds in over two decades, wields a power unlike any other. A true match for our Amoria... and hailing from none other than the fabled Arcanex itself. Sebastien La'Kar!"
The mention of my name ignited speculation and curiosity in the crowd. I could feel the looks upon me, judging my worth just as Amoria would as she glared at me from the other end. The need to prove myself blazed brighter... I couldn't fail in this. Amoria readied herself, as did I, moving into my fighting stance. I would meet her energy; I wouldn't let them down.
"The match between Amoria La'Kar and Sebastien La'Kar..."
The crowd went silent as a transparent barrier rose between the arena's center and its patrons.
"Shall begin!" My father shouted. His voice echoed loudly, and suddenly, the silence broke.
Amoria began immediately, igniting the entire arena's center in flames... The sheer heat made breathing already difficult. She was trying to limit my mobility, a guess on her part... likely made by the spear I held and a mistake on mine.
From the flames burst orbs of condensed fire, which turned the ground red as they raced toward me. I could see her directing them with only slight movements of her hands. I dodged one and then two, but the third singed my clothing. They crashed against the barrier and wall behind me, exploding violently. She was quick to action, I began to notice, and wanted to leave me no time to incant or think. It might have worked... against a normal mage.
The flames in the room reached toward me like infernal hands. "Repel," I shouted as their reach was halted. "And converge!" I pooled them into a single point, merging them into an orb of super condensed fire. It was time I went on the offensive. "Release," I shouted as it barreled toward her, growing more unstable and shining brighter.
She held out her hand, trying to take control of it, but such dense flames rage against all. The orb burst with incredible force, even sending me feet away.
I landed, catching myself with my spear. The inferno caused by my attack shattered the ground around her, and naught but black smoke and flames of blue and red burned in the area she stood.
The crowd silenced in awe, but the black smoke began to swirl, and within its eye stood Amoria, encircled by a thin layer of wind magic. She must have used it to resist the flames... But now her hands waved to control the smoke like a black hurricane. I could hear her words on the air, an incantation!
"Black Wind: Vortex!" She shouted.
The smoking winds quickly rushed toward me, ensnaring me in a hot, choking void. I had to think quickly; I could not let her get the upper hand. "Purify," I said through choked words. A small area of air around me was purified, clearing away the smoke in my direct vicinity, but what was left, like a storm cloud, began to radiate with electricity, making my hairs stand on end.
Lightning arced like cracks through the air from the cloud, missing me by only a hair. It came endlessly, irritatingly so. I parried one bolt, then two, but I wasn't fast enough as three more hit me. The blistering pain of the bolts vibrated through me. I quickly grew angry.
"Disperse," I yelled! The clouds and lightning blew away swiftly, and wasting no time, I caught her in my sights. "Godspeed," I said, blitzing her with the blunt end of my spear. It meant her body like the shattering of glass. She was ice... a double! Her false body broke under my attack, and from behind me, I sensed a cold presence. Her hand hit my spine, and I was sent into the air with a blast of icy wind.
With a wretched thud, I meant the dirt, my spear stabbing into the ground at my side. The wind was knocked out of me; was I injured? I couldn't tell, but I could see her standing pompously. I pushed myself back up and mumbled, "Restore." Immediately, I could breathe again.
"Healing magic too." How impressive. "What else can you do?" She laughed.
I could have asked the same question: Fire, Ice, Lightning? Most mages had an affinity for maybe one or two, but her? She wielded many with mastery... such control.
Maybe I was holding back before? Or maybe I was simply scared to go too far. But something snapped in me in that moment. I pushed myself back up once more, retrieving my spear and doubling down on my resolve.
"Round 2?" I grinned.
She met my fervor with a beastlike leer. I would give her no time...
"Godspeed!" I raced toward her again, spear overhead. With a wave of her hand, shards of ice cut through the air. Recalling my battle with the Thralls, I readied myself, and with a great swing, I shouted, "Twentyfold slash!" The shards shattered against the assault instantly, and through the icy cloud I burst forth, closing the distance between the two of us.
She weaved a ward around her in preparation, but my attack came swiftly. "Twentyfold strikes!" I yelled. The strikes beat against her ward with deafening power, pushing her back many feet. I continued, "Thirtyfold strikes, thirtyfold slashes!" A combination I had never attempted, but with success, the sheer force of the attacks cracked and split the ground at her feet, and for a moment, she seemed to struggle maintaining the ward. I doubled back, moving my spear into a throwing formation, reinforced by Godspeed. And with one final lunge, I screamed, "One Hundred Fold Thrust!"
My spear flew toward her like a bolt of divine lightning, uprooting he ground under its path and striking her ward with the force of one hundred impacts. And as it broke, I could see her eyes fill with surprise as the shards fell and dissipated at her feet. Her expression quickly twisted into anger.
My spear disappeared, and my arm radiated with an incredible stabbing pain... Whatever came next would have to be the end of it; I had already pushed myself so far. I looked up at the crowd and saw my father, a wide smile beaming across his face, almost prideful. Had I performed to his expectations? Was I worthy?
But a searing heat pulled me from my state, and across the arena, Amoria stood, an aura of intense flames, once again setting the ring alight.
"Your power is unique... but this is over." She said.
The sheer intensity of these flames felt as if I could melt metal. Could this be... a Greater Spell? Few, but the most accomplished and oldest mages could perform such a feat, but the inferno that surrounded us began to grow taller and hotter. She began to incant, "O' Flame, O' Fire, I call for thine aid. Grow, and engulf all."
Her words seemed to sing life into the inferno. The flames began to dance and scream, catching even the air aflame. I looked upon the hellish surroundings now as they blotted out the crowd... Only the two of us, caught betwixt. The flames reached their zenith, engulfing the entire ring, "World... in ruin!!' She yelled.
The earth began to crack and melt, growing red and molten. "Protect!" I said, before the heat could touch my skin. But even this ward would only last so long against a spell of such magnitude. She stood watching as I struggled, laughing as the flames danced around her.
What could I do? I could already feel the heat through my ward; it was failing, within seconds... scant few seconds. I recalled my past fights, scouring my thoughts for even a glimmer of hope.
The ward cracked, fire pouring in from it, and sweltering with heat. "Come on," I thought, falling on the sharp edge of frustration. Perhaps... I couldn't overcome this. All those years of training, only to come back and disappoint. All the memories from that place, now faded, only to be replaced with ones of failure? No...
I steadied myself, and my breathing under the intense heat... releasing my ward. The flames quickly enveloped me, but my skin resisted, my resolve solid, standing true in the ruin. Something old and something new to create something stronger-that was all I needed.
I outstretched a hand and whispered, "Converge!" My words echoing as if a God's own. The flames pooled from all around us, as before, forming into an orb at my palm. It rang loudly as it grew, fed by the inferno, which seemed to grow yet endlessly. Amoria's smile faded, and her stance seemed to grow heavy... as if realizing her spell was failing.
I held the orb above my head, and the flames began to pool more swiftly, faster than she could keep up. She fell to a knee releasing the spell... And when the remainder of it gathered, and the smoke and noise of the inferno died, an awestruck crowd gazed upon us as the orb sang in my hand, shining like a small sun.
Amoria stood back up, breathless, yet furious. Was she done? She outstretched her own hands, lightning gathering between them... her last stand.
I clenched my hand. "Condense," I said. The orb imploded, collapsing in on itself and shining vastly brighter than before; the song turned to a deafening high-pitched ringing, causing the crowd to cover their ears.
Lightning burst from Amoria's hands, arcing toward me. It split upon impact, unable to cross the event horizon-like area created by the star. I held it out to her like an offering, and she stood, at first surprised, and then... she grinned. "Collapsing... Star." I said calmly.
The star barreled toward her, the ringing growing louder and louder and the air vibrating. A great light blinded everything, and then... nothing. I opened my eyes, and before us stood, father, the star encapsulated in a spherical ward.
"That is quite enough... I think," he said. The crowd was again quiet. "I think you have both done justice to our name today and proven yourselves." He held out the star to me, "Sebastien... would you see this put out, please?"
"Oh..." I said, panting, "Of course... Dissipate." Over a few seconds, the star grew dim, morphing into but an orb of fire, and then after a second more, fizzled into nothing, along with the ward.
Amoria limped exhaustedly to our father, as did I. "I apologize if I went too far." She said.
"Normally, I might scold you, but you've both put on quite the display today. It is rare to see a greater spell in action, rarer still to see one countered. Those here today have seen what striving for mastery can achieve. I hope it shall serve as an inspiration."
The crowds roar at the display was perhaps louder than the fight itself. Their wide smiles and approval were apparent, but I had begun to feel faint.
Amoria caught me as I almost fell. "I'm sorry..." I said. "I've never used so many words in so short a time."
My father turned to us, "You're likely both exhausted." He came and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Let us depart from here for now and get you both healed up."
In an instant, we disappeared. The crowd cheers faded as we passed through space. I felt accomplished, for once. What would come next...I wondered.
What is your opinion on Sebastien's desire to earn his father's respect?
