Magi's Path

by Daniel Schinhofen

  “Yuki’s right,” Jenn said, coming up on Gregory’s side. “None of us worry if you’re there to help us.”

  Mindie looked from one to the other, her cheeks heating slightly. “Thank you, but I’m just a healer.”

  “A healer who cares is not just a healer,” Gregory said. “The ones in the hall are just healers. They’re just doing their jobs, not trying to make things better.”

  Mindie stood there looking between them, unsure of what to do or say.

  “We should get back to our clan and rest until we fight again,” Yukiko said after a few awkward seconds. “I hope the fights aren’t too bad the rest of the day.”

  They said goodbye to Mindie. She managed to say goodbye back to them, but was still standing there as they walked away.

  ~*~*~

  Gin discussed their fight with them, critiquing their actions and offering suggestions about what they could’ve done differently. They paid attention to him instead of the demonstrations taking place in the arena.

  As the next hour chimed, Nick led his clan out onto the sands. The crowd was louder than before as they cheered for the Eternal Flame, and some even called Shun and Argon by name. All nine members of the clan waved and walked as if they were already accepting their championship.

  “This fight will likely be short...” Gregory grumbled.

  “We’ll see. They have to fight Franco and his two clanmates,” Jenn said. “I was shocked that all three members of the Hardened Fist had signed on with the one clan.”

  “If they paid enough for it, I believe it,” Yukiko said. “That would’ve been the only way for it to happen. I was surprised enough that the Green Leaf clan had their alchemist in the tournament.”

  “Only one loss, and they’re here,” Jenn said. “Maybe we’ll face them?”

  “One can hope,” Gregory said. “I wonder how they plan to deal with the Eternal Flame’s tactics?”

  Franco Ichor led his clanmates and the alchemist for the Green Leaf clan out of the tunnel. The crowd cheered, but not as loudly. Franco glared at them as if they were insulting him.

  “Oh, that’s got him riled up,” Jenn chuckled. “Good. He’ll want to take it out on them.”

  “I wonder how they plan to protect the alchemist?” Yukiko asked, looking at the slight woman.

  “Maybe an enchantment?” Gregory suggested. “The Green Leaf clan isn’t poor, and that’s their only apprentice.”

  “There is that,” Yukiko agreed. “We’ll find out soon.”

  The two groups came to a stop next to Yunlo, who was speaking to them. He had them back up, then bow. The tension in the arena climbed as the apprentices finished bowing.

  The alchemist of Green Leaf backed all the way to the wall and knelt while the three members of the Hardened Fist stood together, their weapons out and ready. Gregory wondered what Parks would do, as the kneeling alchemist was well behind the others. He wouldn’t be able to put a back barrier up if he wanted to get all four of them inside a box.

  When Yunlo’s arm came down, a barrier started to form and Nick threw fire. The three Hardened Fist members ignited their aether and dashed forward, then out. Jason hesitated, as he could see them already out of the box and running as a unit.

  Nick yelled orders to his clan as he turned, trying to catch the opposition in fire. Petak joined him, though Petak’s fire was obviously weaker. Gina gestured and a small pit opened up in front of the apprentices, but they all broke away from it. Parks slammed a barrier in place to try catching them, but all it did was make the last of the three spin to the side to get away.

  Gregory glanced at the alchemist, who was covered in a hazy white dome. Wonder what the hell that is? He shook his head and looked back at the fight.

  The trio of physical enhancement magi were closing the distance in a zigzag pattern, making it hard for the Eternal Flame to pin them down. Nick was shouting more and seemed to be growing angrier the closer the others got to them.

  Earth spikes shot out of the ground and small wind blades swept at the oncoming apprentices, but they just broke apart and came in from different angles. Jason shook his head and began to shout commands. Nick’s mouth snapped shut and he stopped throwing fire as he glared at Jason.

  “Ah, a lover’s spat,” Jenn giggled.

  “Actually, that’s bad. Jason’s the smarter of the two,” Yukiko said.

  With Jason directing them, they focused on one of their opponents. Parks began hemming him in while the others threw everything they could at him. Nick went back to trying to pin down one of the others, and Jason rushed Franco, the last of the three.

  The next couple of minutes was chaos, as the split attention cost the Eternal Flame. Jason stopped Franco, and was fighting him while the others tried to get their targets taken care of, which had mixed results. The mass of them finally pinned down their one apprentice, who got just close enough to batter Fureno before he got stabbed with two earth spikes and Yunlo teleported him to Klim.

  The magi Nick was trying to handle was able to rush past him, letting him slam into the others from behind. Gina, Petak, Michelle, Zach, and Oscar all went down hard, with Zach and Oscar catching fire balls from Nick. Parks finally smashed the man flat and was about to crush his head with his maul when the apprentice screamed out. Yunlo teleported him into the tunnel, declaring him out.

  Nick and Parks turned back to find Jason flying at them. Nick ducked and Parks got slammed flat. Franco, dripping blood and grinning like a madman, rushed Nick. Nick threw another ball of fire and Franco did the near-impossible— he slapped it aside with his odachi, making Nick’s jaw drop.

  Franco drew back his weapon as he closed the last few feet and Nick screamed as a ring of fire flew out from around him. The fire caught Franco, who dropped to the ground, rolling and trying to put the flames out. Parks and Jason had been behind Nick, so they had to do the same.

  Yunlo stopped the fight and called for the healers. Mindie and Klim rushed out to help the three burning magi. Nick motioned, and the fire on Jason and Parks vanished. Yunlo barked something, making Nick sneer, but the fire disappeared from Franco a moment later.

  “Well, that’s good and bad,” Gregory said. “They got injured that time.”

  Yunlo was announcing the Eternal Flame the winners, explaining that the alchemist had told him to call the fight if the three Hardened Fist members were taken out.

  “Damn... I doubt Franco and the guy who got spiked will be fighting Hayworth, which gives them just one to deal with,” Jenn sighed.

  “Maybe Parks and Jason will be out? The two with Franco didn’t hit them lightly when they got to them. Multiple broken bones, I think,” Yukiko said.

  “We’ll find out when it’s our turn,” Gregory exhaled. “At least it’ll be a little easier.”

  “We hope,” Jenn said.

  Chapter Seventy-six

  With the Eternal Flame’s fight over, Dia and Bishop rose from their seats. “We will be back after the demonstrations,” Dia said.

  “We’re looking forward to them,” Gregory said.

  “Do we even know what kind of magic Dia has?” Jenn asked. “I’ve never seen her use any.”

  “I think it’s fire,” Gregory said. “I’ve seen her light her pipe with her fingertip.”

  “I remember that,” Yukiko agreed, “but I’ve never seen anything else.”

  “The Eternal Flame disliked Dia during her time in the academy because of her magic,” Lightshield said. “She used it as sparingly as possible and has never been one for showing off.”

  They fell silent as they watched the arena clear of apprentices. When they were gone, Yunlo announced that the first demonstration would be by Magus Samantha Bishop. Bishop walked out of the tunnel, her kimono gently swaying in the lightly blowing breeze. As she approached Yunlo, a few adepts brought out metal training dummies and placed them around the arena. The adepts were burning aether on their limbs as they carried the dummies, letting the crowd know how heavy they were
.

  Yunlo handed over the disk and vanished from the arena floor. Bishop looked over the crowd, then raised the glowing disk to her lips. “I am Magus Bishop, physical enhancement magi of Aether’s Guard. I’ve been a proctor for the empire for a score of years. I’ve faced down bane beasts of nearly every type, killed bandits by the drove, and fought in skirmishes along the borders. I know how violent the world is outside of the empire and, as a magi sworn to protect the empire, I will show you some of the skills used to help defend us all.” Placing the disk into her belt pouch, Bishop turned to the closest dummy.

  Over the next quarter-hour, Bishop put on a display of what she could do. She cleaved a dummy’s head clean off, then punched through another. She showcased how her aether let her cross distances in a blink, going from one side of the arena to the other— the most people could see was the streak of blue flame she left behind her. She finished by coming to a stop in front of the last intact dummy, her sword blurring from her sheath before returning a few heartbeats later.

  Pulling the disk out of her pouch, she addressed the crowd, “I hope this display helps you better understand what we can do to keep the empire safe.” As she finished talking, the dummy behind her fell into five separate pieces. “Even if this display just cost the academy a lot of vela.”

  Laughter came from the crowd at her joke.

  Yunlo appeared beside her and Bishop handed the disk to him. She was nearly back to the tunnel when she stopped and looked at the man leaning over the railing toward her. Gregory was surprised that she’d gone to the far tunnel, and was even more surprised to see Harrison speaking with her.

  Bishop motioned to him, then to the arena. With a shrug, she turned and walked back to Yunlo. After a moment, Yunlo raised the disk to his lips. “After the third-place fight for the apprentices, we will be seeing a challenge between magus-tier magi. Magus Guthrie Harrison of Swift Wind has challenged Magus Samantha Bishop of Aether’s Guard to a duel. The fight will be blades only, and the stakes are a future favor between the magi, as well as a favor between the clans.”

  The audience all began to murmur, but Gregory looked at Lightshield. “This is what you spoke of at breakfast?”

  “Harrison does not like that Bishop was the one to put on the display, as his request to put on a display was rejected,” Lightshield said. “His pride has been battered by her for many years, but he refuses to acknowledge her as his superior in any way.”

  Yukiko shook her head, wondering how Harrison had grown so twisted when it was obvious Bishop still viewed him kindly, in her own way.

  “Dia,” Jenn said, leaning forward slightly as Dia walked out of the tunnel beneath them.

  Her kimono bearing the same clan motif as Bishop caused a stir through the crowd. Her panda ears twitched slightly as she walked smoothly forward to Yunlo. The two spoke for a moment before Yunlo handed her the disk, then vanished.

  “Greetings to you all. Thank you for coming to see our young magi learn valuable lessons. I’m Magus Dia Ursinda, a magi of fire and a member of Aether’s Guard. I have been with the clan for nearly six decades and in that time, I’ve done many things for them and the empire. I am here to show you fire magic. We’ve seen some of it from the novices and apprentices, but I thought you should see what a magus can do.”

  There was a small commotion from where the Eternal Flame clan was sitting, as they clearly disliked her speech. Dia gave them a smile, but went on addressing the crowd.

  “As you can see, the destroyed dummies have been left in place. Truthfully, they can still see some use as my targets.” With that said, she put the disk into her pouch and closed her eyes for a moment.

  Dia stood still in the center of the arena and moved her arms. A ball of fire came shooting out from each hand. Two of the more intact dummies were struck center mass, and the metal went from dull to heated in a moment.

  Gregory was shocked as he watched Dia. She tossed balls of fire from her hands, had streams of fire blazing from her fingers, and was even able to shoot small balls of fire from her eyes. Fire washed out from her in a full circle, then in small segments, as if she were showing that Nick could have avoided his friends if he’d tried. For the finale, she coated herself in fire and proceeded to snap off a three-attack kata before the flames went to the mostly empty dummy stand, turning the solid wood into ash in an instant.

  The crowd was silent when she stopped, but then loud cheers erupted. Yunlo appeared beside her and accepted the disk back. Dia waved to the crowd before heading for the exit.

  “We will have a small break for the trash to be removed and the sand to be cleaned before the champion novice match begins,” Yunlo announced.

  ~*~*~

  Dia and Bishop came back during the break. They were greeted with wide smiles and many questions. Bishop explained that she’d accepted the challenge to see if Harrison had improved over the last year and a half, and Dia told them how difficult it is to control fire magic to the degree she’d shown.

  “There was no chance for Shun to leave a gap the way I did. Maybe when he is an adept, but not as an apprentice,” Dia said.

  “The fire didn’t burn you?” Jenn asked, shocked that Dia had been coated in it.

  “When you have control over fire, it can’t burn you. Fire magi fighting each other is ridiculous for that reason. It always comes down to who runs out of aether first.”

  “Yunlo is back,” Gin said, having been watching the arena while listening to them.

  “The tournament will now continue,” Yunlo announced. “I hope you all used the break wisely, as it will be the last until the tournament ends.” He paused for a few seconds before continuing, “We come now to the novice championship fight. Novice Nessa Jimae, magi of wind magic, is to fight Novice Daciana Lyall, magi of earth magic. Novices, come forth.”

  Daciana and Nessa appeared from opposite tunnels, each waving to acknowledge the cheering crowd. Daciana strode forward with more confidence— her head was up and her toothy grin gleamed in the afternoon light. Tail wagging excitedly from side-to-side, her ears were up and her eyes were focused on Nessa. Nessa was wearing a more reserved smile and her steps were a little shorter and slower. Her tail twitched slightly, as did her ears, but she was looking straight at Daciana.

  “I can’t root for one of them over the other,” Gregory said as he watched. “It’s like watching you and Jenn fight.”

  Yukiko smiled and leaned into his side for a second. “I’m glad you feel that way for our friends, dear one.”

  “I can’t pick, either,” Jenn said. “I just hope neither of them gets severely injured.”

  “I’m with you on that,” Yukiko said. “I wonder if Vicky is taking sides?”

  “I doubt it,” Gregory said, “though she might slightly favor Daciana. If Daciana won, that means Vicky lost to the champion. Someone once said something similar to me.”

  Jenn laughed and nudged him. “Then I won the next one.”

  “Maybe Vicky will next time, too,” Gregory chuckled.

  Yunlo had the two novices bow, and the crowd grew quiet as anticipation of the fight settled over them. Daciana took an aggressive stance and Nessa settled into a defensive one as Yunlo raised his hand.

  “Fight!” Yunlo’s command was easy to hear over the quiet crowd.

  The crowd erupted as Daciana rushed toward her friend. Nessa waited, expecting to feel the sting of earth balls at any time. She didn’t wait long before they started to pelt her from behind. The moment the first one connected, a sudden gust of wind picked up, flinging sand into Daciana’s face. Because she had to turn her head and close her eyes, Daciana missed Nessa stepping aside.

  The next two earth balls that should have hit Nessa went flying and caught Daciana as she came out of the sandstorm. Blinking her watery eyes, Daciana dove away from the last of them.

  Nessa grinned, as Daciana had come toward her unknowingly. Jumping onto her friend when Daciana tried to get back to her feet, the two of them punched, knee
d, and elbowed each other as they rolled on the ground.

  “That devolved faster than I thought it would...” Gregory said.

  “Nessa has an advantage here. She’s better with grappling,” Jenn said.

  “Daciana needs to break and get back to her feet,” Yukiko agreed.

  The fight continued for a few minutes as the pair of novices kept trying to get a better position on each other. It looked like it might be over when Daciana managed to get Nessa’s arm, but a moment later, Daciana’s head jerked back and she let go.

  “Air to the face?” Jenn asked.

  “Might have given her a blast, making her worry about having her lungs flooded,” Yukiko suggested.

  Nessa grabbed Daciana’s leg and was just starting to lock her in place when three dirt balls hit her, making her lose her chance. Daciana jerked her leg free and kicked Nessa in the chest.