The crumbled ruins of the city’s outer wall came into view in the distance. Just outside the wall, the soldiers of the royal army stood in tight formation, facing the black plains beyond. The troops knew they couldn’t do much against the galdak wielder, but they were still willing to give their lives to keep the old wielder and any other galdak warriors out of the city. That firmness and determination inspired Traven.
He had been blessed with more power than any of them. If they were willing to die for others, he should expect no less of himself. His resolve began to strengthen as he reached the back of the formation. The soldiers parted to let him through. He was fighting for those who couldn’t defend themselves against the bloodthirsty galdaks. He was fighting for his loyal friends. And now, more than anything, he was fighting for the chance of a joyful future with Kalista.
Traven brought Pennon to a halt as soon as he had passed through the ranks of Kalian soldiers. It was time to be firm, courageous, and smart. He had to stop the galdak wielder at all costs. Once the ancient galdak was dead, the humans would have a fighting chance to repel the galdak invasion. He dismounted and took several steps out onto the battlefield. In the far distance, he could see the faint aura of power surrounding the galdak wielder.
The tricky creature still had the stone of deceit to hide his true strength in the ambience. Before, the deceit had nearly cost Traven his life. Now, he had his own secret weapon. He reached up and ran a finger over the solid endurance stone on his arm. The armband of endurance would sustain him throughout the duel. He started with surprise as a delicate hand came down to rest on his shoulder. He turned and found Giselle and Darian directly behind him.
“Be careful, Master,” Giselle said sweetly. She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek before enveloping him in a warm embrace. “That is for good luck.”
“You will be fine,” Darian added. “You are fighting for a greater cause than your opponent. You also know his tricks. This time, you have the advantage. Do us proud.”
Traven smiled as the elves bowed to him.
“Thank you,” he replied, full of gratitude. “You two are the best.”
He handed Pennon’s reins to Darian. His faithful steed wouldn’t be of any help in the current battle nor would anyone else. It was now up to him and him alone. The time had come. He took a deep breath and turned his back to the city.
Traven strode slowly forward out onto the trampled battlefield. Above him there was no moon or stars. The thick clouds had turned the otherwise majestic sky into a curtain of darkness as black as death. He knew that was how the galdak wielder wanted it. Traven continued forward into the inky plains until he had left his devoted servants and the Kalian Army far behind him.
He cleared his mind of everything but the task at hand and concentrated on his surroundings. He could feel the patches of grass shifting in the light breeze. The odor of blood, smoke, and sweat assaulted his nostrils. The silent anticipation of what was about to occur was almost tangible. He continued walking towards the ancient galdak wielder, ready to construct a shield at the first sign of aggression.
He finally stopped when he was close enough to see the expression on the galdak wielder’s wrinkled face. It was not a look of amusement, concentration, or determination. It was a look of anger. Traven stood silently with a blank look gracing his own face. He would not let emotion distract him. He waited patiently for his opponent to make the first move.
He didn’t have to wait long. His hair raised on end as the air around him crackled. A thick shield instantly came into existence around him. He held it as tightly as he could and braced himself. The air lit up as a massive bolt of lightning slammed down on top of him. The ground shook from the impact, but his shield stayed firm, barely.
Traven was instantly reminded once again of the galdak’s incredible strength and why his only chance to win was by slowly wearing the ancient wielder down. He needed to put his plan into action immediately before the wielder had too many chances to take a clear shot at him.
His shield was suddenly ripped away. He dove to the side as a fireball zoomed past. He instantly reformed the shield and concentrated on keeping it whole with all his strength. The galdak wielder tried to shred his shield again, but this time he was able to maintain it whole. When the lightning bolt immediately followed, his shield was still firmly in place.
Traven counterattacked with a wall of fire springing up around the galdak. He immediately dove to his left and created five different domed shields, wrapping light around the one he was in. The wall of fire disappeared. It had merely been a distraction to keep the galdak from knowing which domed shield he was hiding in. All five shields were next to one another, leaving the ancient wielder to guess where he was hiding.
He slowly began walking to his left as he moved the different shields away from each other. He was determined not to give the galdak wielder a direct target. Traven watched with amusement as the galdak wielder frowned. His opponent could undoubtedly sense each of the five shields but had no way of knowing which one was protecting his foe.
The shield next to him suddenly was ripped to shreds. A thunderous lightning bolt came crashing down where it had been and left a huge gash in the ground. Traven quickly created a few more shields near him and began moving them away from each other as well. Another shield disappeared right before a fire ball passed through it.
Multiple shields were a great way of increasing the odds that he wouldn’t be attacked directly, but they also meant he couldn’t focus all of his strength on keeping his own shield firm. If the galdak wielder happened to guess correctly, he would be in trouble. He needed to start distracting the ancient wielder.
Before he had a chance to do anything, seven lightning bolts came crashing down, one on each of the remaining seven shields. Luckily, Traven did have the strength to hold all of them firm, including his own. Apparently, his opponent was no longer content to continue guessing.
Traven quickly sent three successive bolts of lightning crashing down on the galdak. The ancient wielder created a shield of his own that easily deflected the attacks. Traven followed up the lightning bolts with successive attacks of fireballs and spears of ice. He was careful to send the attacks from various locations to leave the galdak wielder guessing as to where he might be.
He continued his barrage of elemental attacks without letting up. It had the desired effect of keeping the galdak wielder occupied with maintaining his own shield and not trying to attack him. Traven smiled as he continued with his plan. He figured he could keep up the attack almost indefinitely if he needed to.
Suddenly, a thunderous bolt of lightning came crashing down on the shield to his left. It shattered under the force of the blow. He had been focusing on his own attack and not on maintaining the shields’ strength. He quickly made sure his own shield was solid and secure. It appeared the continual barrage of small attacks had allowed the galdak wielder to counterattack while maintaining his own defenses. Traven realized he needed to mix things up to keep the ancient wielder off balance. He also needed to encourage the galdak to continue using up his strength.
Traven focused and formed the largest bolt of lightning he possibly could. He yanked it into existence and sent it slamming down on top of the galdak wielder. It wasn’t as powerful as the galdak’s, but it was strong enough that the ground vibrated with its impact. He then tried to tear apart his opponent’s shield. A few slight tears opened in the shield, but they were immediately closed back up.
The attack hadn’t necessarily been successful, but it did serve to give him hope. If he had been able to tear small holes in the galdak’s shield, it would only be a matter of time until he could tear larger ones and eventually rip the entire shield to shreds. His large lightning bolt also sent a reminder to the ancient wielder that even though Traven wasn’t as strong as he was, he was still powerful.
The galdak wielder must not have appreciated the two attacks. Almost immediately, six ferocious bolts of lightning came crash
ing down on his six remaining shields. The lightning was powerful enough that it shattered the shield farthest from him. The lightning was followed by fireballs spraying outward from the galdak. Traven held tight as his foe tried to tear apart three of his shields at once, including the one he stood behind. All three sustained small tears, but he quickly solidified them.
A bright tongue of flame managed to slip inside his own shield before it was solid once again. He disregarded it as it fell harmlessly to the ground and extinguished itself. Sweat broke out on his forehead as he concentrated on holding all five of his remaining shields completely firm. His strategy was working. The multiple shields left his enemy constantly guessing where he might be. However, he needed to direct the galdak’s attacks somewhere other than at himself.
Traven wrapped a column of flame around the ancient wielder and sent it swirling upwards into the night sky. He commanded it to spin faster and faster as he increased its brightness and heat. He didn’t expect it to be able to break through the galdak’s shield, but he hoped it would create a sufficient distraction. As he began to feel the strain of maintaining the spinning inferno that was approaching the temperature of liquid fire, he collapsed the entire column in upon the wielder’s shield. He then doused it immediately with water.
A blast of steam shot outwards from the galdak wielder with a loud hiss. The old galdak’s shield had remained firm, but there were now fifteen invisible shields surrounding the ancient wielder in a large circle. Traven had kept his shields in constant motion since he had first created multiple ones and was now close to being directly behind his opponent. He felt more invisible with the galdak wielder’s back to him, but he knew the wielder was aware of exactly where all fifteen shields were located.
Traven smiled as three of his shields separated from the large, moving circle and began streaking in a direct line towards the galdak wielder. The three shields were immediately attacked by lightning and fire. They all dissolved well before they reached anywhere near the wielder. As Traven had hoped, the old wielder had focused on the shields that appeared to pose the largest threat to him.
He concentrated as he sent three more of his shields racing towards the wielder from opposite directions. The galdak once again struck at the three shields, but this time Traven was careful to keep one of the shields completely intact as the other two shattered and disappeared. The galdak wielder increased the ferocity of his attack on the remaining shield that had slowed to almost a stop but was still inching its way towards him.
It took all of Traven’s strength and concentration to keep the shield firm under the barrage of attacks that were sent against it. He maintained the remaining nine shields in a wide circle around the wielder but stopped their movement as he focused on the one shield inching ever closer to the galdak. The old wielder took it as a sign that he had finally located Traven.
The galdak continued raining down thunderous bolts of lightning on the shield. He tried to tear it to pieces several times, but Traven was able to quickly repair any cracks or holes that appeared in it. Sweat began dripping from him as he pushed himself to his limit in order to maintain the shield. He wanted to keep the galdak attacking the decoy shield as long as he possibly could. The wielder was no doubt using up his reserves of strength with the continual, ferocious attacks.
As the shield closed to within several arm spans of the powerful wielder, the ancient galdak appeared to become more desperate in his attacks. His bolts somehow became more powerful and began striking directly from the galdak instead of from the sky. Each bolt knocked the shield backward away from its target. There were then several strong attempts to shred the shield. Each attempt was immediately followed by a blast of fire.
Traven quickly repaired the tears after each attempt while frowning at the thought of what would be happening to him if he really were hidden in the decoy shield. Each blast of fire had managed to penetrate the shield to some degree. He was sure he would have suffered numerous burns. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead with the back of his sleeve as he refocused on moving the shield towards the galdak.
The ancient wielder immediately took another magnificent mental swipe at the shield as a monstrous bolt of lightning came crashing down on the shield from above. Traven released his hold on the shield and let it shatter in a deafening boom as the lightning struck what was left of it and slammed into the ground. Dirt flew through the air, bouncing harmlessly off the galdak’s shield. Traven took several deep breaths as he returned his concentration to maintaining the strength of his own shield.
The galdak wielder stared intently at the gaping hole in front of him where the bolt had struck. He then looked up at the black canopy above and let out a blood curdling scream. The gnarled galdak then sent a withering glare all around him as he breathed heavily.
Traven smiled broadly from the safety of his hidden position. His strategy was beginning to pay off. The galdak wielder was frustrated and growing tired. The ferocity of his recent attacks against the shield he believed to have held his enemy had no doubt used up much of his strength. Traven stayed alert, but didn’t attempt to do anything else at the moment. He was content to allow the armband of endurance to replenish his strength while he waited for the ancient wielder’s next move.
The galdak glanced between the city of Kavar and his own camp. He then shook his head and grew very still. Traven watched the motionless wielder for several moments. He wasn’t sure what the galdak was up to, but he didn’t want to give him an opportunity to rest. His best chance to win the duel was to continually force the ancient galdak to use his power.
Traven began striking at his foe’s shield once again. He used lightning, fireballs, and spears of ice. Every so often he would take a mental swipe at the galdak’s shield. Several times he was able to tear small holes in it, but they were always immediately repaired. He expected some type of counterattack, but it never came. The galdak wielder appeared content to defend himself for the time being.
Traven wondered if the ancient creature had figured out what he was trying to do and was employing the same strategy. What the galdak didn’t know was that Traven, with the help of the armband of endurance, could continue attacking at his current rate of intensity for hours without tiring. Lightning, fire, and ice kept flashing in succession through the night sky, repeatedly slamming into the galdak wielder’s shield.
Every so often, Traven would create a more powerful blast or take a stronger swipe at his opponent’s shield. As the night wore on, the attacks became somewhat monotonous. He began to wonder if his continual attacks were having the desired effect or if he needed to change his tactics. Then, after what seemed like half the night, he began to notice that his mental swipes at the galdak’s shield were beginning to tear larger and larger holes in it.
He tried to control the excitement he felt. For all he knew, the ancient wielder was merely trying to trick him into thinking he was tiring. He decided there was one way to find out. Traven focused and tore at the creature’s shield as hard as he could. Simultaneously, he sent a large fireball slamming into it. The galdak wielder wasn’t quick enough in closing several of the large tears and flames burst inside the shield. The flames were immediately extinguished, but Traven had been able to finally penetrate the galdak’s defenses.
He couldn’t help but feel an increased sense of excitement and relief. The ancient wielder was beginning to tire. His foe appeared to recognize his growing vulnerability as well. Instead of remaining motionless, the gnarled wielder began walking slowly in the direction of the galdak camp.
Traven watched with surprise as his opponent grew closer to him. The galdak no longer appeared concerned as to where his enemy was hiding. Was it possible he was really retreating or was it some kind of trick? Regardless of the galdak’s motives, Traven realized he needed to act quickly. If he did nothing, the old wielder might shuffle all the way back to his army of hundreds of thousands of galdaks. Once there, he could rest and prepare for another duel.
&n
bsp; Tonight’s opportunity would be wasted if the wielder escaped. Traven knew the current duel was his best chance for a victory. Everything had worked out perfectly to level out the playing field between himself and the powerful wielder. The galdak had already been fighting and using his energy when Traven had arrived. He had obviously been unprepared for the appearance of another wielder, and Traven’s new found endurance in the ambience had no doubt surprised him.
Despite the armband of endurance, Traven was beginning to feel tired. He was sure the ancient galdak was tired as well. No one could have used as much power as the galdak had already without beginning to be drained. Unless the ancient wielder had some special stone that nobody knew about, he could not continue to fight using the ambience much longer.
Traven quickly made up his mind of how to proceed and braced himself for the outcome. He took a deep breath and prepared to act. It was possible that the galdak had more strength left than he thought, but he couldn’t let the current opportunity pass. He would never have the element of surprise again. If the galdak wielder left the battlefield alive, he would return stronger and better prepared. Traven needed to take the risk now.
The faces of those he loved and cared for most flitted across his mind: his grandparents, Blaize, Darian, Giselle, and finally, Kalista. He was willing to risk it all for their safety. As Kalista’s deep blue eyes faded from his memory, he cleared his mind of all distractions and acted.
The ancient galdak wielder was now only an arm span away from him. The gnarled and wrinkled monster, decorated with precious stones and skulls, jumped with surprise as his foe suddenly appeared directly in front of him. Traven immediately sent an immense lightning bolt searing through the air directly at his opponent’s surprised face. The galdak’s shield remained firm, but he was knocked backward several spans. The ancient wielder ricocheted off the side of his shield and tumbled to the ground.
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