The next day came. Jael jumped from his bed and woke up Frekkis and Vaan. “It’s training time! We need to get ready for the competition! Let’s explore city gates and train there!”
“Relax, Jael… we need to eat first. Don’t be too eager for training, we need to warm up a bit,” Vaan replied, stretching out of his stiff inn bed with a yawn. “Got to treat your body right.”
“Yes, I’m sorry. After we eat, we will train!” Jael exclaimed. After their hearty morning meal, Jael, Frekkis and Vaan trained the whole day, and the following day too.
The day of the competition came, Jael and Vaan went to the arena. A very long list of fighters and matches was pinned up on the wall. Jael scoured the page for his own name and his opponent… ah, there it was. Carlos Oratta, he was a fire mage as well, while Vaan’s opponent was named Stargazer, a stellar mage. Jael had never encountered a stellar mage and had no idea what to expect. But it was not his opponent, and his match was soon to begin!
He was called to the ring along with Carlos, a red-haired young man about the same age as himself, maybe a few years older, with fire in his eyes, just waiting to dance over his fingers. He too had been itching for this.
“Three.. two.. one.. BEGIN!” The referee began the match, the crowd’s roar almost overcoming the ring of the bell. Jael cast Blazia while his opponent cast a torch-fire magick spell that engulfed his hands in flames.
In the audience, Vaan and Frekkis watched. His fire magick seems more powerful than Jael’s, Vaan thought while watching. Jael ran around his opponent and cast Rokka combined with Explosion as an aerial attack, but his opponent easily dodged it. Carlos threw a burst of flame toward Jael, and barely missed.
“You are quite good, lad,” Carlos said. Jael quickly cast Kappe Flam and tried to intensify his Blazia. Carlos knew Jael was gathering magick. He too was a fire mage, and he knew their tricks. He immediately encased Jael with Torch, licks of flame coming from beneath the ring.
“Quit now, or you will die,” Carlos uttered. “Never!” Jael replied in a rage.
“Very well, then… Gigatorch!” Carlos shouted. The flame that erupted beneath Jael was unlike any of the flame he had ever summoned or encountered. It was concentrated, far, far hotter, and seared through his defences. He screamed in pain and may have died had Carlos not ceased the attack.
“I’m impressed, you are still standing.” Carlos paused, as though to give Jael one final opportunity to tap out. “This attack will end your life. I regret your death–forgive me, kid. Gigatorch!” Carlos cast the second time and Jael cried out in agony and soon was engulfed in flame and smoke. Soon nothing could be seen of where Jael had once stood save a plumbing pillar of smoke.
“Jael!” Vaan shouted. Frekkis yearned forward, straining to interfere, but Vaan, not wanting to disqualify Jael and knowing there was nothing to be done if the attack had succeeded, held her back.
After a little while the smoke dispersed, and Jael still stood, still wreathed in flame. He strode towards Carlos, who shied back in fright. “This can’t be!”
“Thanks for teaching me your magick!”
“You what? You learnt my flames?” Carlos asked.
“Of course, what did you think I was doing? By experiencing your attacks, I learned them for myself. I have to say you're pretty good. Not good enough though. Let’s finish this!” Jael replied and quickly attacked. He struck Carlos with a massive Pillar Flare spell. Because of Carlos’ previous attack, Jael now contained the power and knowledge of his opponent’s flames and used those white-hot flames back on him, making his Pillar Flare become much stronger. Carlos was instantly defeated, and the referee announced him as a winner. That was fast but vigorous fight, Jael thought and went down to the ring to claim his first victory.
A few more fights took place, and Jael recovered with a tall cold drink.
Finally, it was Vaan’s turn to fight. “Let’s do this!” He jumped back and forth a couple of times, hyped himself and entered the ring. He was surprised as a young lass entered and turned to the referee. “I’m not fighting a young girl!”
“Stargazer has entered the competition, either you fight or you quit. Are you confused?” Vaan was. “Why don’t you show him what you’re all about!”
“Heaven’s Beam!” the little girl shouted and a bright ray of stellar magick threw Vaan to the ground.
“I can’t fight but I need to win. We need to win,” Vaan murmured, pushing himself up to his feet. Another attack from the girl, a flurry of energy rocks flying toward him. These immediately damaged Vaan, and he struggled to cast Revolut while thinking of what to do. It was not so much that he would not fight a woman, but this was only a wee lass, a child! Her wrists were as thin as one of his own fingers.
“You cannot escape my attacks.” A flurry of energy rocks pounded him, and Stargazer cast several spells with ease, throwing Vaan away. The attack cancelled out his Revolut.
He stared up at her in a strange mixture of confusion and awe and fear. “Why did those stones strike through my Revolut, as if my rocks were noncorporeal?”
“My magick is stellar magick.” Stargazer stalked around him. “It is made from magickal rocks not physical ones.” The young girl chuckled. “You cannot escape my attacks.”
“Fah. You should’ve said. Now I got a reason not to go easy on you,” Vaan muttered and he cast Earth Rage. Pieces of the ring broke and rose afloat in the air. Then he cast Revolut with a large amount of rocks. Its Revolution intensified.
“I told you,” Stargazer taunted. “You cannot dodge my attacks. My beams and energy rocks will pass through yours!” The girl once again attacked Vaan with her stellar rays and summonings. But Vaan’d been expecting that, just as he’d expected her to go in for the attack. She was no ordinary little girl, and so he was not about to use an ordinary strike. Just before the girl’s attack would’ve hit, his Revolut split into three small decoy Revoluts. The beams were scattered, lowering their damage. He cast Upheaval and large rocks appeared from the ground, masking Vaan from Stargazer’s vision.
“Star’s Testament,” the girl shouted, and a bright light shone down from atop the ring, slowly breaking the Vaan’s stones. Little did the girl know that, in the chaos, he had already crept around behind her. He struck with his large hand to the back of her head. Her tiny body collapsed. Unconscious. Defeated.
Vaan grimaced. “You need more experience, young lady,” he whispered to her, and she was lugged out of the ring by the healers and attendants.
Vaan and Jael earned their first triumph in the Maggus’ Stadium, and celebrated with a grand feast, enjoying the murkiness of the night. The next days were dedicated to training to fight. Jael lost a bout in his 7th stage after falling from the ring. Vaan stayed on a winning streak. However, it was not to last forever, and he lost a fight shortly after.
Two months passed living and fighting in the City of Mecha. Their records were twelve wins, one loss. Both would fight for the thirteenth stage. “Jael, this is it. We need to win this fight and then we’re off to Belthasar!” Vaan said.
Tomorrow was the fight. They slumbered early for the next battle and woke up the next morning and returned to the stadium to fight for the 13th stage. Jael’s opponent was to be a Dimensional mage named Arvin Zeero, while Vaan’s opponent would be Jest Knives, a Water mage.
Jael and his opponent stepped into the ring and the referee began the countdown.
“Three... two... one... BEGIN!”
As the referee began the match, Jael cast Kappe Flam. Arvin Zeero, Jael’s opponent opened his fists. A gaping black portal appeared behind him and he vanished.
“What?” Jael wondered, stunned. He swung his head in search of his opponent. He had barely the time to observe what he looked like before Arvin disappeared. Arvin appeared behind Jael and winked out of existence once more. Jael cast Blazia, cautious of Arvin’s unpredictable moves.
“What’s the matter, kid? Are you scared?” Arvin taunted from off to the left, and Jael
rushed to him, tried to punch him. But Arvin just vanished once more. Jael’s frustration burned. He studied Arvin’s movements, he moved from portal to portal. Arvin smacked Jael from behind, and continued to strike from wherever possible, whatever angle. Jael could not get his focus onto Arvin to retaliate, so he quickly cast Pillar Flare, sweeping the arena while Arvin continued his barrage of assaults. The flames swept Arvin’s arm and he started. “In that case...” Arvin conjured ten metal bearings, each palm sized. Not hollow plastic, ethereal metallurgy.
Jael knew nothing of this branch of magick, but his observations told him one thing: each bearing was controlled by each finger, while his palms controlled his portals.
“Now is the start of the real battle,” Arvin uttered.
“Come at me,” Jael replied and Arvin immediately flung portals and cast the steel bearings through. A ghastly portal yawned open overhead and metallic balls rained down at a painfully intense speed. Unable to dodge, showering metal bearings bombarded Jael’s body with pain. He staggered back to his feet and spat blood. No way he was taking another hit. Flames again covered his body, and Jael surged forward.
“My apologies, but your flames can’t even scratch my metal babies, let alone stop them,” Arvin jeered.
“Try me,” Jael replied.
Arvin again assaulted Jael, but this time he was prepared. He cast Rokka and soared towards Arvin, simultaneously casting Explosion. Arvin was flung from his feet, thrown away, almost falling out of the ring. He crawled back to his feet, a sneer twisting his face.
Immediately, two portals appeared above Arvin. The bearings accelerated, rapidly enough to take down a large mammoth. The small, lethal projections smashed into Jael’s left, and within an instant, his left arm fractured, smashed like glass. If Jael had not immediately thrown himself to the side of the ring, destroying part of the concrete in the fall, his entire side would have been torn apart by the projectiles. He screamed. Or maybe he was already screaming.
The referee started the count. “One... two... three... four...” Arvin paced, anxiously. Jael? Getting up after that blow? Impossible.
“Five... six... seven...”
Jael’s body twitched unexpectedly and he rose. “No! It can’t be!” Arvin shouted in shock.
“Jael, that’s enough! One more hit and you’re done for!” Vaan screamed from the audience, in sensible fear of Jael’s health, even his life. But Jael refused to quit. He staggered to his unsteady feet and stood solidly before the count of ten.
Arvin stared at him as though he were utterly insane. “You would fight to your death? This is not a death match! But if you wish to die then I will oblige...” He paced forward. Jael was in no position to fight. He’d given the boy enough time to surrender. Arvin was growing angry now. “This final blow will kill you!” Arvin conjured metal bearings once again, increasing the size. “Maximo Razmer!” Arvin spoke and his bearings grew to a round the size of a man’s head. Pure weighty metal, but instead of ten following his every finger’s move like little bees, Arvin could control only two. One for each hand. Once again he conjured two large portals, whipping the balls through them to gain acceleration. Still Jael stood in the ring.
“Jael! You need to step off the ring now!” Vaan shouted.
Frekkis barked in agreement.
Jael ignored them. He cast Rokka and leapt high into the air. Arvin had long since given up on sense from his opponent, and he opened above, in the direction Jael was heading as he jumped. It seemed to Jael as though everything slowed. Each second, a minute, and Jael encountered the large metal bearing hurtling from portal toward him. All of Jael’s magickal energy concentrated into his right fist. Slower, and slower, intensely focused upon the bearing, he bound up his magick into the smallest point he could sustain. Then the bearing was next to him, and the moment at hand. “Explosion!” he cried. First it sustained a small crack, growing bigger. Eventually the whole bearing shattered, along with his right fist, the focal point.
Jael passed through the portal. Between there was nothing, then Arvin’s left side. Jael used his elbow to hit Arvin’s jaw but Arvin fell, effortlessly dodging his wounded floundering. A sudden portal below him and Arvin appeared just beside his previous spot, standing intimidating overhead. “You should have listened to your comrades. Both of your arms are now useless. Quit now, or your spine will be next.”
“Don’t underestimate me. Your left hand is severely injured. Plus, I still have my feet,” Jael replied. Shock was still carrying him forward on a wave of hazy adrenaline. But pain surged up in his broken stump of a hand. “Now, it’s my turn.”
“Ha! Come at me, young idiot,” Arvin challenged. Jael moved to summon his flame magick for one final attack, but it seemed to him as though it was cold, and faint, and far away. He stretched out his focus, trying to connect to that spark within, and the further he went, the dimmer it got. And the dimmer it got, the heavier his eyelids grew, and then it was his ankles, heavy like stones, and he could barely manage one foot in front of the next. Jael staggered forward, and blacked out. The referee counted to ten, and declared Arvin the winner. Medics came and rushed him to the hospital for immediate treatment. Frekkis left the arena and went along with him, but Vaan was up next in the tournament and stayed to fight.
Jael slept for two days. His left arm was badly fractured and his right knuckles had been liquefied. Fortunately, his flame magick had cauterised the wounds, preventing infection. When Jael woke up, Vaan and Frekkis were beside his bed. The moment he opened his eyes, he sat up and asked, “What happened at the match? I remember crushing the metal bearing. Did I hit Arvin?”
“Let’s see. After you crushed the bearing, you passed through one of his portals, you missed and then you fainted. It was foolish of you to fight on. Don’t you even think before you act?” Vaan’s eyebrows creased in fury.
“I’m sorry, I had to try.” Jael was chagrined.
“Never mind that. The physician says the healing mystos will take two weeks to fully heal you up. So there’s to be no training. Of any kind.”
Jael groaned in disappointment. “How was your fight?” “Ah,” Vaan said, and sat back in his chair, a small smile on his face. “Let me recount that for you. My opponent was a water mage named Jest Knives. When the match was initiated, I quickly cast Golem Heart. Jest summoned this creature he called Marina. I’ve never seen anything like it before! The elemental’s body was humanlike, but made entirely of water. First, it transformed into this wave-like body of water and rushed towards me, but it did nothing more than get me wet.
“At first, I thought it would be a standoff. After all, they were just going to get me wet, and what good is there throwing rocks at a bloody pond, right? But while I was strategizing, Jest dumped water on me with this Water Gush spell, and the damn thing drenched my Golem Heart so much it slid right off my body. Of course I recast–
“We could do this all day. Your stamina will diminish bit by bit,” Jest said, circling Vaan with his Marina. But this time Vaan cast Revolut and his Golem Heart. It seemed as though Vaan could not get a move in edgewise, drenched again and again with Marina’s watery spout. Marina quickly conjured a bow and arrow made of water and shot right through Vaan’s Revolut and into Vaan’s body. The quick spinning motion of Revolut’s centrifugal force pulled everything away from Vaan and it did but a scant scratch of damage. Small and few attacks thrown at him by Marina slowly wore down Vaan’s patience. He preferred to first set up a defence but it seemed purposeless against this muddy mess. He launched his first attack, Earth Shower, and aimed it at Jest.
Marina created a large sphere shield, a Water Ball around Jest, which slowed the rocks’ velocity as they passed into the liquid. How can I defeat this guy if I cannot even penetrate his water elemental? Vaan thought.
Marina hammed Vaan with large waves again and again, and swept him across the ring. Marina... it wouldn’t attack if he attacked Jest! It prioritised defence. He dashed towards his foe to test his theory, and
Marina blocked Vaan and attacked him head on. He cast an Upheaval, smashing into Jest from behind and knocking him over. Marina dissolved upon Jest’s tumble.
Interesting. This thing vanishes when Jest is damaged.
Jest summoned Marina once again, and Vaan’s eyes widened in shock as it grew and grew into a far larger elemental. Vaan again rushed Jest and this new larger Marina again blocked his path. But this time, Vaan directly attacked Marina with Upheaval. Marina took no damage. But Vaan noticed the pain in Jest’s eyes.
“I knew it!” Vaan exclaimed, and he showered Jest and Marina with his Earth Shower. Marina vanished and Jest’s slumped shoulders revealed the water mage’s growing fatigue.
“Please surrender by stepping off the ring,” Vaan urged. “I do not wish more harm upon you–know you are beaten.”
However, not unlike a certain fire mage Vaan had watched the medics cart off the ring, Jest staunchly refused to quit and instead, cast his ultimate spell, Water Spirit. The elemental magick swirled in around Jest and its fluid form merged with his body, creating a dualic elemental. Astonished at his magick, Vaan was surprised as he fired massive waves of water toward him. The tidal waves slammed him away, almost to the edge of the ring. Struggling against the tide, Vaan cast Upheaval before him as a damming wall to redirect the relentless waves. His rocks were merely earth and they slowly melted into clay. Well, if one mage could merge things into another, he would use his dissolution as strength. He grit his teeth, cast Golem Heart using the clay formed from Upheaval.
Clay formed armour, becoming rapidly more versatile.
Whenever Jest sent waves again Vaan, the clay absorbed the water, inflicting less damage. Finally, he had Jest pinned. He conjured large rocks and flung a huge chunk of earth at him and with one mighty final blow, smashed him to the ground. Vaan had no desire to kill his sparring partner, and after a few seconds, he removed the rock formations and Jest emerged, defeated.
Teliko Mageia: Curse of the Frozen Flame Page 6