I feel so embarrassed about what happened with Aryn and Father last night. To have the guy who saved me get punched… it's unforgivable. Last night’s events are all I can think about as I head to Avalon Academy; I'll have to apologize when I see him next time.
I can see the gates to Avalon Academy; as I get closer, I see Aryn and Barin standing at the entrance of the academy conversing.
"Good morning," I greet with a smile.
Aryn smiles at me while Barin just glances. "Took you long enough to get here," Barin remarks as he starts to walk to the arena.
I walk behind him with Aryn. I keep looking at him, wondering when I should apologize… How should I apologize?
"Your dad really cares about you, doesn't he?" Aryn asks, looking at me. "He was about ready to kill me when he thought I meant to do harm to you." He chuckles.
Aryn really does seem to be such a nice guy, but can someone really forgive what happens just in one night like that?
The three of us make our way back to the arena for the second day of matches. Once everyone takes their seat, Headmaster Regin appears.
"We will now begin the matches," he announces.
The first match is Barin and one of Princess Isla's bodyguards. Barin stands to make his way down the stairs.
"Good luck," I say.
He turns and nods…did Barin just do something nice?
They get to the stage and prepare themselves.
The match begins and the elf is the first to make a move.
"Suffocate!" the elf chants.
I'm sure that's the move that was used on Aryn the other day. For some reason, nothing happens to Barin; he isn't gasping for air or showing any pain.
"So, you are the one who attacked my brother the other day," Barin says as he walks towards the elf. "I think I have to pay you back for taking good care of him for me," he states as he stops.
I can feel the malice from Barin… it’s quite an unnerving feeling.
"Earth Prison," Barin chants.
Suddenly, the elf is wrapped by the ground and pulled downward until only his head is above the ground.
The elf starts yelling as he struggles to break free.
"Water mask," Barin chants.
A ball of water engulfs the elf's head, then there's silence. We watch as the elf holds his breath as long as he can. His face starts to turn red; eventually, he starts drowning.
Barin releases the water spell. I'm thankful he isn't one who can kill so easily.
"Clay choker," Barin chants.
Some red stuff comes from the ground and forms into a circle in his hand. Barin walks over, puts it on the elf's neck. "You will now be strangled to death," Barin remarks.
The red circle starts to tighten around the elf's neck... and it's only getting tighter.
A short time passes… the elf is gasping for air. His eyes fill with blood and begin bulging from his head. At this point, he can only sputter and make noise… I feel like crying watching this.
"That is enough," Headmaster Regin commands.
Barin undoes his spells, leaving the elf half-dead on the stage. I'm called down by the teachers to heal him as Barin leaves the arena. We pass by… but I can't look him in the eyes.
I heal the elf, then he comes to his senses and starts crying instantly; most likely traumatized due to what he experienced.
I rejoin Aryn and Barin in the stands. I still can't look at Barin after the way he acted. Aryn puts his hand on my head as he looks at me. I can tell by his eyes that he's telling me it is alright. I wipe a tear before it leaves my eye. Barin's actions seem to have affected me a bit.
I look up to see who the next participants are… the next match is between Princess Isla and Aryn.
I grab Aryn as he stands. "Don't fight her; you will lose," I state.
He turns towards me and smiles.
He starts to make his way down to the stage. Princess Isla looks more furious than usual, most likely due to what happened to her bodyguard in the previous match.
Aryn smiles and waves at her after getting onto the stage.
"I will get revenge for Jarek by making you suffer a painful and humiliating defeat," Princess Isla declares.
The match begins, and Aryn starts walking towards Princess Isla.
"Steel Rain," Princess Isla chants, creating rods of metal in the sky. The metal rods seem to come to a point like a needle.
Aryn stops walking and prepares himself for the attack. Princess Isla raises her hand towards Aryn, sending the metal needles flying towards him.
Aryn starts to dodge the attack…he's doing remarkably well, actually. Blood begins to fall on the ground as Aryn loses ground. Aryn's movements seem to slow, as Asteria's attack starts to slice his flesh.
"Fucking idiot," Barin scoffs.
I look at him confused; shouldn't he be concerned for Aryn instead?
Barin looks at me. "You seem confused, so I'll tell you how Aryn prefers to fight his opponents," he remarks.
I must admit… I'm intrigued to know what Aryn may be capable of.
"Aryn has an idiotic problem when he fights someone who shows any signs of strength," Barin states. "Instead of having an actual fight with them, he tries to have fun with them. He says he wants to see if he will improve or if the opponent will improve as they battle. Don't know if I'd say the Princess is as near strong as Aryn though," Barin finishes.
A loud crash from the arena draws my attention from Barin.
Princess Isla has stopped her attack and is lying on the ground. Aryn is covered in cuts…there's a crater next to him. What happened in the short time that I was listening to Barin?
Aryn stomps the stage, causing one of the slabs to break. He bends over and takes hold of the slab…lifting it over his head. The slab has to be the size of a horse… Aryn's physical strength is several leagues above that of an average person.
He proceeds to hurl the slab at Princess Isla, who scrambles to get out of its trajectory.
Princess Isla becomes visibly irritated. "Steel Storm," she incants. This time, the metal needles that form fill the entire area above the stage.
Aryn looks around at them in the sky. "You really are strong, Isla," he says, smiling.
The rods start flying at Aryn, and once again, he starts dodging.
Aryn's having a more difficult time evading this attack. Unlike the previous one, the needles are condensed into a larger area. The needles start to take more and more flesh than before. At this point, Aryn has started to deflect the needles instead of dodging. I'm actually surprised at how well Aryn is doing. I doubt many people can handle an attack like that… let alone using no magic.
"Iron Trap," Princess Isla utters.
Nothing happens.
Aryn looks around as if he's waiting for the attack too. Then, from the ground, spikes shoot up through Aryn's foot.
"I have you trapped. If you give up, I may let you go with minor wounds," Princess Isla says conceitedly.
Aryn's response is to stick his tongue out like a little kid.
Infuriated, Princess Isla sends a mass of needles to rain down on Aryn, casting a shadow over him. Aryn raises his hand, and fire erupts from his palms, consuming Princess Isla's attack.
The heat is so intense it is felt even in the stands. Aryn's flames destroy all the needles just before they hit him. He can use magic without any words. I've only read about people who could do that. What is more unusual is the color of his fire. The flames that he used were the same blood red that appeared in the crystal.
Aryn uses his fire on the spikes in his foot, reducing them to ashes.
"You…how can you use such magic!?" Princess Isla screams.
Aryn starts to advance, burning Princess Isla's attacks as she tries to keep him at bay. The metal needles keep falling from the sky in all directions, and Aryn is avoiding damage from all of them. It's like I'm experiencing a scene from one of the storybooks I used to read. Against all odds, Aryn is standing his own as he closes the
gap between Princess Isla and himself.
"Iron Golem," Princess Isla chants.
The stage begins to shake then break away as a golem rises from the ground… and it's massive.
So, Princess Isla can also use spells for close combat. Perhaps Aryn is fighting out of his league after all? Princess Isla casts enchantments to further bolster the golems abilities.
"It would seem that your flames can not be used past a certain size… and my golem is too large for you to burn. Furthermore, I have enhanced my iron golem to its peak capabilities. This battle is mine. Surrender now," Princess Isla declares.
The iron golem starts to move forward, yet Aryn stands his ground.
The iron golem swings its arm over its head, striking downward at Aryn, who raises his arms to guard. The impact causes a crater where Aryn was standing. I feel myself start to shake watching… how much damage did Aryn take from that hit?
The iron golem starts pounding the same spot…over…and over, making the stage collapse more and more. The iron golem stops punching the ground once the crater is too deep for me to see if Aryn is alright.
I can see a figure moving within the dust. Thank the celestials Aryn is alive. The dust clears and I see how injured Aryn is; his body is covered in blood from the wounds he has received.
"Do you yield?" Princess Isla asks.
Aryn chuckles, unexpectedly, then he punches the iron golem's leg, shattering it with a single attack.
"Silver Knight," Princess Isla incants.
Another golem appears, but this one is the size of a person and has a sword in its hand. It charges Aryn at significant speed. The knight golem slashes at Aryn's face as he manages to bend his body and counters with a kick at the knight golem. Before Aryn's foot can reach the knight, an iron golem hits him.
Princess Isla has now summoned two iron golems and three knight golems on the stage. Aryn is surrounded. Princess Isla has so much mana at her disposal; Aryn is clearly outclassed.
The golems begin their assault on Aryn in a coordinated attack. While the iron golems use slow and heavy swings, the knight golems attack with fast slashes. If Aryn blocks the iron golems, then the knight golems attack with flurries or strikes. Likewise, if he avoids the knight golems, the iron golems pound him into the stage.
For some reason, Aryn has yet to surrender. He isn't winning, however; more like he is being tortured by Princess Isla.
"Why doesn't he use his fire?" I say aloud.
One of the knight golems stabs into Aryn's leg; as he staggers, an iron golem knocks him across the arena.
"Aryn has limited mana," Barin remarks.
I look over at him, his gaze fixated on the match.
"Aryn has an incredibly strong body; in fact, most physical attacks do little to no damage. He can be hurt by magic-based attacks though. He uses his flames to counter-attack, but he doesn't have the mana to use fire all the time. So, he must choose when he uses his flames for what in battles, while taking the hits he has to," Barin explains.
I thought he was so carefree, yet every time Aryn fights, he must put much thought into planning so that he can win.
Aryn gets back on the stage, and just the sight of him covered in wounds makes me want to cry from the shock.
He makes his way towards Princess Isla, but her golems stand in between them. Aryn charges as the battle starts once again, but this time Aryn is pushing the golems back. He uses his flames on one of the iron golems, completely burning it to ashes. One of the knight golems slashes at Aryn; he grabs its sword arm and breaks it off.
"He is actually advancing!" I yell with excitement.
He throws the sword into one of the knight golems, then proceeds to smash the knight golem he was holding.
After taking the initial assault, has he already adapted to their movements?
Aryn continues to gain momentum as he approaches an iron golem. The iron golem swims at Aryn, but he blocks the hit and grasps the golem's arm.
He proceeds to throw the iron golem over his shoulder at Princess Isla. Princess Isla fumbles out of the way.
"How dare you do that!" she yells after she regains her balance.
The remaining knight golems start attacking Aryn again. One of the knight golems manages to stab Aryn's side and grabs ahold of him. The other knight golem pierces Aryn's shoulder and grabs him too, immobilizing him.
Princess Isla raises her hand. "Heed my words and appear, hear the song of battle and dance, Platinum Petals," Princess Isla chants.
There's the sound of scraping metal as, from the sky, a shining whirlwind appears. The spells Princess Isla has used till this point have been overbearing and for the first time, she used a chant.
Aryn is still being held by the golems as the vortex of blades descends upon him.
"Please, give up Aryn!" I yell.
Aryn looks over at me and smiles, then the spell consumes him. The scraping of the metal is so loud I must cover my ears. From within the storm of blades, I see flames.
The storm starts to move towards Princess Isla as Aryn's flames burst through. The flames suddenly stop…the blades stop moving just a few feet from Princess Isla.
She dispels the attack.
The scene makes tears form in my eyes. Aryn is standing there, ripped to shreds, and missing his left arm. I look over at Barin; he must be worried too.
"W-why are you glaring like that? Can't you see that Aryn's d-d-dying?" I sputter.
Princess Isla falls to her knees, gasping for air.
"The winner is Princess Isla," Headmaster Regin announces.
I start running down the steps to heal Aryn.
"What do you mean she won?" Aryn questions. Aryn starts to walk forward. "Don't I win since she used all of her mana?" he continues.
Everyone is shocked and horrified at the sight of him moving and communicating. I get onto the stage and start to heal him. How is he alive? He has so many deep wounds: gushing blood, broken bones sticking out from his skin, and bruises covering his entire body.
After a bit of time, my healing magic has fully restored his body back to normal. This is the first time I have seen his body up close; his muscles are well defined, yet, somehow, his body does not seem normal.
"Hey, Headmaster," Aryn calls out to Headmaster Regin. "I win since Isla couldn't continue the match, right?" he asks.
Headmaster Regin and the other teachers group together and discuss for a fair amount of time.
Aryn turns towards me and wipes a tear from my eye. Startled, I step back. He looks at me and smiles, then puts his hand on my head.
Headmaster Regin stands. "Unfortunately, since we declared Princess Isla the winner, we cannot revoke her win," he announces.
Princess Isla laughs, "See, I won this match without a doubt." She smirks.
Aryn walks over to her, getting in her face. He looks displeased. He should be more concerned about himself than with the decision of the match. While I can heal the body… I can't recover any mana he lost.
"You ran out of mana and collapsed. You were unable to kill me, so I would have killed you if I were an enemy," Aryn says to Princess Isla.
Princess Isla smirks at Aryn before she walks off the stage.
Aryn makes his way back towards me. He looks at me and gives me a mischievous smile.
"Then how about this?" Aryn begins, facing the teachers. "I fight one of you. If I win, then I pass in the top five," he proclaims.
Is he crazy to challenge one of the teachers?
I look at the teachers. Most of them are enraged by Aryn's remark. Headmaster Regin and the teachers discuss amongst themselves.
"Aryn, one of the teachers has agreed to fight you. We all agree that if you beat the teacher, then you will pass. However, if you fail, we will kick out you, your brother, and Asteria," he states.
Why am I involved? Is it because I'm showing concern for Aryn's well-being? I look at Aryn, and he looks furious. I figured he would be smiling in a situation like this.
The t
eacher who will fight Aryn descends; it's Lord Chevalier.
"Do you know who that is?" Aryn asks me.
Of course, he doesn't know who anyone in this country is.
"Lord Chevalier is a hero of Avalon. In the last war, not only did he infiltrate past the enemy lines to uncover crucial information, but he is also one of the best swordsmen in the entire country," I explain to Aryn.
Aryn makes his way over to Lord Chevalier, who meets him halfway.
"There will be another stipulation," Headmaster Regin announces. "We believe your fire can burn magic, that being so, you are not permitted to use your magic," Headmaster Regin finishes.
I leave the stage and make my way back to my seat.
Aryn was able to stay alive against Princess Isla, but Lord Chevalier is more formidable of an opponent… even more so, if the stories are true.
As I sit down, I notice Barin is grinning. He darts his eyes at me then looks back at the stage.
"They irritated Aryn; he's finally taking this seriously," he states.
I look at Aryn, while he's still glaring at Headmaster Regin.
"Pay attention, Asteria," Barin instructs. "You're going to see a bit of Aryn's power."
The match starts, and immediately Lord Chevalier fires a spell at Aryn's face. Aryn seems stunned by the smoke as he staggers. Lord Chevalier dashes towards Aryn and lunges with his sword, aiming for Aryn's heart. Just before the blade reaches him, Aryn steps to the side and punches Lord Chevalier.
Lord Chevalier turns to smoke… then three of him appear from nowhere. The three Lord Chevaliers begin to circle around Aryn.
"Enough of these illusions. You'll only anger me more if I have to come to you," Aryn states.
Are these illusions we’re seeing? They can't be; illusions don't give off mana like these three are.
The three Lord Chevaliers start to attack Aryn, thrusting and slashing as Aryn easily avoids. Aryn stops moving, as do the three Lord Chevaliers.
"So, you refuse to play?" a voice says. It sounded like Lord Chevalier, but none of them moved their mouths.
Suddenly a crack appears in the air around the stage. The fissures start to spread before it shatters like broken glass falling to the ground. On the stage now are only Aryn and Lord Chevalier.
Avarice Twilight Page 5