An Academic was not so inhibited. His superficial connection to the underlying current of reality left him completely free to interact with it on a practical level, based on the Sight of his Prophet, manipulating existing Waves and creating his own at will. This also meant that he had the final say as to what, if anything, he would choose to do with the information he received from his Prophet.
Reaching out with his senses, Kelerin felt them spike to new levels of heightened awareness, a sure sign that his Prophet’s Sight had indeed kicked in.
Whenever you’re ready, Arnis.
*****
“Activate Ripplers!” Arnis gave the command from where he still stood at the halfway point of the Lounge lengthwise, but he had moved over to the periphery width wise, safely out of the path of the soon to be dueling Whips. Kelerin pressed on either side of the Rippler attached to his left wrist. The device hummed and the deflector field deployed immediately, its concentric rings of distorted air rippling out from its center.
The Teacher’s command was not only directed at Kelerin and Valix but to every single Student lining the walls. All across the Lounge the sound of Ripplers could be heard coming to life. Normally giving off no more than a forgettable background noise, the collective efforts of hundreds of Ripplers had become an attention stealing concert, affording resonance to the current of energy Kelerin had absorbed earlier.
Rippler shields now held at the ready, a second command followed, “Activate Wave Whips!” this one was directed toward the duelists alone. Acting on instinct, Kelerin nearly twisted the top of his Whip to the left, which would have activated Disruption and disqualified him from the duel, but he managed to catch himself in time and reverse the setting to Deflection. His now activated Wave Whip hung gingerly from his hand, a steady stream of energy flowing out of its spout and creating a charged subatomic tail snaking along the floor in a deadly dance at his feet.
The charged stream was only destructive when turned into a Wave through the skilled techniques of the Academic who used sweeping motions of the arm to generate potential, and then focused and released that potential with an educated flick of the wrist. The result would be an arc of energy, lashing out at its target much the way a true whip would. Mastering these techniques called for a unification of an Academic’s mental and physical qualities with the Wave itself. According to Academy doctrine, this was the highest level of training, where man and science converge, aiding each other in converting the other’s potential into actualized reality.
Both duelists were now poised at the tipping point of combat. They watched Arnis’ lips and waited. The Teacher looked at Kelerin, then at Valix. His lips parted, probably to form the word ‘Begin’, but there was no time to verify if that was indeed the case.
WHOOOSH... CRACK.
Both Kelerin and Valix were viciously quick off the draw. Their lashes crossed paths and broke off each others’ Ripplers, the loud report of which served to completely drown out Arnis’ final command. If he would have tried to follow up with more instructions or protests, those too would have been swallowed up by the roar of the crowd, which had now picked up in earnest.
Sides had clearly been drawn up by many of the students who made their loyalties known through the shouting out of encouragements like: ‘TAKE HIM OUT, KELERIN!’ or ‘THROW HIM THROUGH ANOTHER WALL, VALIX!’ Then there were those who simply enjoyed a good ol’ fashion duel and stuck to traditional whooping and whistling, egging both duelists on without voicing a particular preference.
Kelerin felt the power behind Valix’s first lash as it cracked over his Rippler and decided then and there he did not want to get caught up in a toe-to-toe battle with the blond haired demon across from him. Grudgingly, he came to the conclusion that he’d have to rely on his Prophet earlier than he would have liked. The lesser of two evils, he thought to himself.
Aloud, he said, “Cutting right, watch my side.” Without waiting for a response, he darted off, breaking into an all out run alongside the massive pillars of the Lounge just as Valix had been setting up another attack.
He was closing the distance between himself and his opponent, running on a diagonal to decrease his exposure, offering only complex angles for Valix to try and match with his swing. The lashes did come, however, sooner than he would have thought Valix capable of adjusting for.
The first chased after him, forcing him to pick up his pace. The lash fell short, crashing into a pillar just after he’d cleared it. Thanks to his Prophet’s Sight, he felt the next lash coming from the front to cut off his advance. He would have nothing of it.
Kicking up his feet and leaping into the air sideways, he wall-walked along the next pillar opposite him, cart-wheeling off it and clearing the attack that would have otherwise taken his head off. While still in the air, he swung his Whip hand over, using his momentum to gather Wave potential so that as he completed his aerial and landed on crouched knee, he also completed his swing, releasing the Wave he’d been gathering and slamming it into Valix’s Rippler with such force that the champion skidded back on the soles of his boots several paces. Ecstatic cheering followed, the crowd officially whipped into a frenzy.
Kelerin peered over at Valix from his position, searching for signs that this last attack had enough behind it to knock his opponent off his game, at least somewhat. As if to answer this question, Valix straightened from his brace behind his Rippler and flashed Kelerin that same infuriating grin. “Still there,” he remarked, disappointedly, wanting to tear that smirk off the kid’s face with his bare hands.
“What’s still there?” asked the voice, interrupting his thoughts.
He’d almost forgotten about his Prophet. “Nothing. Let’s try that again, shall we?”
Drawing his Whip crosswise in front of him while leaping out of his crouch and charging forward, Kelerin sent a horizontal lash toward Valix’s knees, deftly avoided by Valix’s somersaulting over it. Then, bringing his own Whip down as he completed his revolution, Valix attacked with a vertical Wave of his own to return the favor. Kelerin spun on his heel in mid run to narrowly avoid the deadly vertical lash, jumping into the air and arching his back while bringing his Whip high up over his head, ready to deliver a powerful downward stroke. But his plans were cut short.
Valix reversed the path of his downward strike, sweeping upward as Kelerin was coming down. The secondary vertical Wave headed straight for Kelerin’s exposed underbelly, forcing him to abandon his attack in favor of tucking his Rippler underneath himself to meet the oncoming lash. The Wave pummeled into Kelerin’s Rippler. Having no way to brace against it mid fall, Kelerin began rising into the air, riding the crest of the Wave at speed.
“BEHIND YOU!” his Prophet warned.
Kelerin could feel the Sight demanding he turn around and address the oncoming danger as the arc he rode continued to expand, unchecked. Keeping his Rippler underneath himself, he turned onto his side to see the domed ceiling coming up fast to meet him. He was going to be crushed. Instinctively, he whipped upward with all his might. From such a close range, the Deflection Wave he generated managed to smash into the dome opening up a massive fissure, but the ceiling did not completely give way. Bringing up both his legs to his chest and arching back against his Rippler, he kicked with everything he had at the center of the fissure. The weakened structure, coupled with his momentum from the Wave, saw him drive straight through the roof, landing in a pile of debris.
Sitting up, Kelerin shook out his head, releasing a plume of dust with tiny bits of ceiling falling away from his hair. He looked around and found he’d landed inside a classroom directly above the Lounge. A lecture had been in session and some one hundred Second Year Students now stood behind their desks, staring wide eyed at the spectacle before them. The Teacher at the head of the class was equally dumbstruck, opening his mouth to speak and then closing it again, over and over, as if he knew his position called for some sort of reaction but what that reaction ought to be, he had yet to figure out.
&n
bsp; Kelerin broke the awkward silence by saying, “Excuse me”, in a matter-of-fact tone that in no way fit with the circumstances surrounding his interruption. He then stood up and bolted out the door without another word.
The Students in the class looked on after him in bewilderment. They looked to their Teacher, then to each other, and then, as if by some unspoken signal, stood up in unison and fled the class to follow the duelist who’d literally crashed through the monotony of their daily routine.
“Hey! All of you come back here this instant,” the Teacher demanded. The Students only laughed and continued rushing out of the room, the broken floor signaling a fitting time for a complete breakdown in classroom discipline, as well.
Kelerin rushed along a short corridor and flew down three flights of stairs at the end of it, barely touching the steps as he did so. He reached the bottom and saw the doors of the Faculty Lounge staring back at him across another hallway in the opposite direction from which he’d just run on the floor above.
“Prophet, what’s it look like in there?”
“They’re distracted. You have an opening but you’re going to have to move fast. The other Prophet will be searching for you. She’ll find you soon.”
An indignant Teacher called from the top of the stairs and demanded both Kelerin and the Students return to his damaged classroom immediately. Kelerin ignored him, as did the young Students who were still laughing with gleeful excitement and wouldn’t have return to class if it was the Headmaster himself demanding it of them. With a train of Students in tow, Kelerin made straight for the double doors at a dead run.
Bursting through to the Lounge, he saw that a crowd had gathered underneath a gaping hole in the ceiling above, looking up and trying to determine what had happened to the duelist who’d crashed through it only moments before. As soon as the doors flung open the crowd erupted into cheers again and parted way. Kelerin charged at Valix, hoping his surprise entrance would elicit a harried response from his nemesis. It did.
Rushing to meet the oncoming threat, Valix backpedaled and threw out a poorly executed horizontal lash from across the body. Kelerin slid onto his backside and the incoming Wave passed harmlessly over him. With his initial momentum still propelling him forward, he slapped his Rippler down at his side, its concussive force bouncing him upright. He landed on his left foot while extending his right, plowing it directly into Valix’s center mass. Valix flew backward into a pillar, bounced off and stumbled forward, his face connecting flush with Kelerin’s Rippler as Kelerin drove an overhand elbow down and into his off balanced opponent. A muffled snapping noise followed, probably Valix’s nose, and Kelerin thought it was the most wonderful thing he’d heard all day.
To his credit, and much to Kelerin’s surprise, Valix recovered quickly, grabbing his own Wave Whip with one hand on either side, wrapping it behind Kelerin’s neck and yanking inward while sidestepping out of the way to slam Kelerin’s head into the same pillar he was kicked into. Now it was Kelerin’s turn to bounce backward. Valix followed up with a compact, close quarters-swing of his Whip.
“LOOK OUT!”
The Sight told Kelerin where the lash was going to hit and he brought his Rippler up just in time to block it, but he was unable to root in a stance and brace himself properly. The lash struck hard, sending him hurdling through the air and slamming into a second pillar across the way.
“SAME SIDE!”
There was just enough time to turtle up behind his Rippler as the second lash hit and crushed him against the pillar. With nowhere for the energy to dissipate, Kelerin’s Rippler-side shoulder popped out of its socket sending shooting pains coursing through his body and a shriek of agony escaping from his lungs.
Forcing himself to shut out the bolts of electricity flying from his dislocated shoulder to the pain processing centers of his brain and back again, Kelerin stood up, leaning against the pillar. Valix was several meters away, blood streaming out his nose and washing over his upper lip. The sight offered Kelerin a measure of consolation, but the feeling quickly vanished when he saw that Valix’s smile was now wider than ever.
The crowd was wild. Chanting. Pounding on table tops. On walls. On floors. This had been the best duel any of them had seen in a long time. Perhaps the best Student dual ever. Everyone in the Lounge could sense it reaching its climax. In the midst of the craze, Kelerin felt something strange. His senses were dulling. Something was very wrong.
“What’s happening, Prophet?” he asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice but not doing a very good job of it.
The response came back strained. “The other Prophet… She’s pushing me... out. I’m going... have... break connection before… gets to you.”
“Wait! Can she do that?” he was desperate. “Fight back!” This could not be happening at a worse time. Kelerin’s Rippler arm was useless and hung limp at his side. Valix was finally getting reckless with anger and ego yet Kelerin would now have to rely on predicting Wave vectors based on nothing but movement and some distorted air, which he was in no condition to do at the moment - and all because his Prophet was flaking out on him. “Don’t you leave me!” he growled.
Her voice came through one last time. “Use... your... WateRen,” and then she was gone, her Sight right along with her.
His thoughts plummeted into a tailspin: How in the name of the Creator does she know about my theories on WateRen and Wave Whip combat? Not important right now - Would it work? Yes… maybe… if I could get Valix to throw a powerful, yet predictable enough lash, it just might - But how to get him to do that?
Valix’s voice broke into Kelerin’s thoughts like a bludgeon. “This isn’t WateRen, Kelerin. When are you going to get that through your thick skull?” He was turning around as he spoke, playing up to the crowd.
How did he know what I was thinking? Kelerin wondered, but then he saw Valix’s busted nose again and realized the reference was to the elbow he’d thrown earlier, not the plan he was currently concocting in his head.
“This is Wave Whip fighting,” continued Valix in a preachy tone that was more about gloating than educating, “and you just lost. Give it up, it’s over!” He turned back to Kelerin as he spoke these last words, hoping to coax out an admission of defeat. It was a gamble not to finish the fight when he had the chance to; probably figuring Kelerin was mostly finished, anyhow. Besides, the taste of a rival’s verbal surrender was far more savory than a straight up knockout.
Kelerin spit blood from his mouth before answering. This time, though, he was the one wearing the grin. “Quit?” he asked, his tone making the notion sound laughable. “Don’t you think you should have to at least hit me with something resembling a decent lash for something like that?” For good measure, he added, “You hit like a Prophet, Valix.”
“OOOHHH.” The crowd knew Valix had been burned and many started laughing. Valix looked around in disbelief as the room disrespected him, anger building up inside. Kelerin could tell he had Valix on the edge. Just a bit more to push him over.
“Come on, Champ. Impress me.”
Valix began to seethe in and out, the blood still pouring from his nose being sucked in and expelled out his nostrils in tandem, and for the first time since the duel began, that infuriating smirk was nowhere to be seen. “Well, that did the trick,” noted Kelerin, satisfactorily, half expecting his Prophet to ask, ‘What did what trick?’ but then remembering he was alone. The good news, he was about to get that predictable attack he needed.
Shifting into a sideways stance, Kelerin willed his body to relax. His eyes glazed over and everything in the room began to slow down to unnatural speeds.
Valix took several steps forward for a running start, a guttural rumble beginning deep in the back of his throat and growing to an all out primal roar as he threw his arm in a huge arc, doubling over to release the giant lash.
Kelerin could not be sure if it was his imagination or if his Prophet had somehow found a way to get her Sight through to him again, but
suddenly he was witnessing a beautiful luminescent mass slowly rolling toward him, growing in intensity as it did so.
He reacted.
Spiraling his arm out in front of him, he whipped out a receiving lash that he willed into a beautiful light source of his own, imagining it to be an extension of his arm, a vortex to capture the larger arc of light heading straight for him. He sensed the tail end of his subatomic stream lick the outer edge of the incoming arc.
Everything sped up.
Valix’s lash began to spiral, caught up inside Kelerin’s vortex, merging with it. For an instant there was a tremendous pressure on Kelerin’s Whip arm and he grunted with effort as he pulled back with all his might, collapsing the vortex in on itself. The recoil was ferocious and the pain on his dislocated shoulder, excruciating, but Kelerin held onto his focus and the combined power from both Waves ricocheted out from his Whip at an incredibly amplified rate.
CRAAACK!
… Dust and debris filled the entirety of the room, people were coughing and a ringing noise invaded all ears. The dust cleared quickly, though, and the ringing soon subsided. A stunned crowd began to take stock of its surroundings.
At first, Valix was nowhere to be seen but it wasn’t long before someone noticed the gaping hole that had been blown straight through the wall on the far side of where Kelerin was standing. Several students disappeared into the whole to investigate. After a few endless seconds of tension, a voice called out. “Valix is here! He’s banged up pretty bad, but he’ll live.”
All around there were sighs of relief, not in the least from Kelerin himself. The Faculty Lounge was still eerily quiet. Students were trying to process what had just happened, Teachers were making sure everyone was safe and accounted for, and the few Professors in attendance were regarding Kelerin with keen interest bordering on suspicion.
Amidst this confused and chaotic aftermath, a new voice cut through the crowd. “Hey, Kel! You alright, brother?” It belonged to Dunner and it snapped Kelerin back to reality while dragging all the room’s attention to the one Student everyone had forgotten about, minus the Professors, of course.
Wave Mandate Page 12