“Tommy!” Micah barked, surprising Tommy out of his daydream. Tommy looked over, and Micah was gesturing to one side of the pit. “Over there, please?”
Tommy felt the heat rush to his face in embarrassment as he moved to take the indicated place. Micah had been pairing the class up, across from one another, while Tommy had been wool gathering, and Tommy was surprised to see that, this time, he was paired up with James instead of Ryan. Ryan was probably the most skilled member of the class, while Tommy was clearly the best at channeling, so they almost always got paired up together when it was time for partner activities.
Micah clapped his hands together loudly in his usual signal that instruction was about to begin.
“Today, we are going to put your shielding abilities to the test. You are going to attack one another. Now, this isn’t some sort of brawl or contest. We are going to do this at a slow, measured pace, like civilized people. You are to use only the bolt of electricity spell that you learned in the testing chambers. That attack spell, and no others, understand? I trust that no one needs to be reminded of how the spell goes?”
All the students shook their heads, and Tommy felt suddenly stupid. He thought he was the only one that had committed that particular spell to memory, and he realized with a rueful grin to himself that he should have known better. All the students were hungry for knowledge, and he understood why everyone would want to remember that particular spell – it was the first attack spell that they’d really even been exposed to.
“I will call out the steps. You will attack only on my specific command, understand? The group on my left will attack first,” Micah raised his left hand to demonstrate. “And the group on my right will attack second,” again raising his head to demonstrate which group was which. Tommy was somewhat chagrined to find out that he was on Micah’s right hand, which meant that he’d be on the defensive at first.
Tommy peered across the sand at James. “Are you going to use dark magic against me?” he thought to himself. “No, not with Micah here, in front of everyone.” Besides, Micah said only one spell would be used. Still, who knew what James could do, using black magic? Tommy suspected that he’d used it to pass the last testing… although he had no actual proof of the matter. Tommy decided that he was probably pretty safe, here, out in the sun and the sand, with Micah and the whole class watching. He felt pretty confident that the shield he could construct would hold up against anything that James could throw at him with or without using forbidden spells.
“Very well, then,” Micah continued. “Right hand group, prepare your defense.”
Tommy concentrated, forming a shield all the way around his body. He poured more and more energy into it, strengthening it, and at last felt like it was just about as strong as he could make it without putting in a serious, lengthy effort. When Tommy looked up, Micah was studying the students on his right. Taking a chance, Tommy quickly cast the spell that allowed his eyes to perceive magical energy, and he quickly glanced around. With his vision enchanted, Tommy could see the shields of varying strengths that the students were building around themselves. He could also see the much, much stronger shield around Micah, and he could also see the broad dome of a shield covering the entire sand pit – clearly, Micah wasn’t taking any chances with an errant spell from the novice mages, but what struck Tommy most strongly was the strength of the shields. Tommy couldn’t imagine ever being able to breach the dome over all of them, even if he tried non-stop for years, even if the WHOLE CLASS had tried for years, and the fact that it was so huge as to cover the entire area was something that Tommy found simply staggering.
“Left hand group, prepare to attack,” Micah said, raising his left hand, and when Tommy turned his eyes from the dome to look at the man, he saw that Micah was looking at him and smiling. Clearly, Micah realized that Tommy had seen his handiwork, and was pleased and amused that he was impressed. Tommy glanced around again, and saw that all the other students on his side of the pit had established their shields.
“Left hand group, strike!” Micah cried loudly, bringing his left hand down in a chopping motion as he did so.
Tommy had never been subject to a magical attack, before, and the experience both intimidated and intrigued him. He could see James form the spell and hurl it at him. The casting took place very quickly, almost instantly, but Tommy saw as James was casting the spell how he could counter the attack or disrupt it. He did neither of these things, of course, but let the spell hit his shield as instructed. Although the impact wasn’t all that hard – it was certainly in no danger of breaching Tommy’s defenses – he still let out an involuntary grunt as the bolt of electricity impacted on his shield. Tommy couldn’t say where exactly that he felt the impact, but more that it seemed to echo through his entire being.
When all the students had made their attacks, Micah continued. “Very good, class. Right hand group, you may release your shields and relax. Left hand group, prepare your defenses!” They stepped through the entire process again. Tommy thought that James’ shield might crumple under his attack, but no such thing happened – Tommy found that it was difficult to increase the energy on the spell they were using very much, which, after some thought, Tommy realized was probably why Micah had chosen that particular spell, as it was very limited and didn’t really do all that much damage.
Back and forth they went for the rest of the afternoon, shielding and attacking each other. By the time the class ended, every member of the class was totally exhausted, Tommy included. He’d even had to let his vision enhancement spell lapse halfway through the class, as he just didn’t have the strength and energy to keep it going. Finally, though, the class was over, and everyone sighed with relief – although the exercise had been fun and interesting at first, interest quickly faded as exhaustion set in.
As the students were trudging away, Micah ended the class by calling, “We’ll meet here again tomorrow for another session, instead of meeting in the classroom”, and Tommy wasn’t alone in letting out an involuntary groan.
Chapter Thirty-Six
The attack and defend practices went on for much longer than just the next day. They were at it every day, without fail, for what felt to Tommy like ages, but in reality was just a few weeks. Fortunately, Micah tried to make it more interesting for them, and occasionally gave them games to play. One day, he’d formed them into two lines on opposite sides of the sand pit, thrown a shielded ball into the center, and let them use magical spells to pound on the ball and try to drive it across the opposing side’s line. Tommy thought that was grand fun, although most of the other student’s didn’t seem to like it. As the ball got closer and closer to your own line, it was easier for that team to strike the ball harder, and more difficult for the opposing line to attack with force at the longer distance, so the end result seemed to be a ceaseless back and forth, with no clear winner or loser. Tommy had a blast with that one.
Micah also introduced them to new attack spells, teaching the spell at the start of the class and then having them practice using it on one another as the class went on. Some of them were interesting, and Tommy occasionally thought he saw how they could be altered, improved, or changed, but by the end of the class he was always too exhausted and drained to ever act on his insight. In fact, most evenings the entire class went to dinner together, ate in exhausted silence, and then cleaned up and went to bed. No one had the energy left to do anything more than necessary.
The students got better at their shielding, too – by the end of the first week, Tommy’s shield was several times stronger than it had been when he started, and even the slowest student in the class, James, had made incredible strides in improvement.
After several weeks of constant practice, Tommy showed up a the sand pit for yet another long and tiring session. Micah, however, had other plans.
“You’ve all been working very hard, and I’m proud of you. Today, you’ve earned a break. I want everyone to take the afternoon off, go relax, eat a good lunch and di
nner. I do not want you practicing spells or shielding, or anything of the sort. Your bodies need some time to rest and recover, and I will not have you wasting this opportunity to rest. Remember, it might be a long time before you get another chance like this. And then, tonight, I’ve got a special surprise for everyone!”
The class perked up even further. This was a rare opportunity to get some relaxation time, and if there was a surprise on top of it, it promised to be really good.
“Tonight, after dinner…” Micah paused, somewhat maddeningly, drawing out their suspense. Tommy found himself leaning forward involuntarily, hanging on the man’s every word.
“Tonight is the Mage Games, and we are all going to be there. I’ve reserved a special section near the front for the class to watch.”
The students shared glances and exchanged grins. Everyone had heard about the mysterious mage games, and speculation had been rampant on what they might entail.
“Alright. We’ll meet in our normal classroom at six o'clock, tonight, and I will personally escort you down to the games. Deal?” Micah asked.
“DEAL!” the assembled students replied as a group. Tommy hadn’t spoken up –he’d assumed their response was implied, since it wasn’t like they could actually disobey their teacher, nor would any of them even dream of passing up the chance.
“Great, see you tonight.”
Tommy ate a hearty lunch, as Micah had suggested, and went back to his room and tried to relax, but he found it impossible to concentrate. His thoughts were awhirl with excitement about what the mysterious mage games were, and what they might entail. He tried to read one of the books that his parents had brought on their last visit, but after finding himself reading the same paragraph a dozen times and still not comprehending it, he finally gave up and put the book away.
Ryan and James were still at lunch, and Sam was away at class, since the younger boy was in a much less advanced class than Tommy and the rest of his roommates and thus had not been given the day off. Tommy tried to entertain himself. He considered working on some of the spells that he had ideas for, but he abandoned the idea after remembering Micah’s admonishment to rest. He tried going for a walk, he went to the dining hall and sat and sipped water to try to pass the time, but nothing seemed to help. He didn’t even have anyone to talk to – Ryan and James had never put in an appearance after dinner, and everyone else outside of his class was hard at work in their own classes and studies. Any other time, Tommy would have been delighted by the prospect of nearly a whole day off, but today, the time seemed to drag on interminably.
Finally, though, it was dinner time. Tommy forced himself to eat slowly and thoroughly even though he wanted to bolt his food. He knew that rushing would just lead to more interminable waiting, and he’d had enough waiting for one day. So he took his time, tried to enjoy his food, and chatting amiably with his friends. No one wanted to let on, but he could tell that everyone was ready and anxious to get on with things.
Micah was waiting for them in the classroom when they arrived at the class in almost a single group – most of them had been at dinner together, and they gathered in a few stragglers as they walked from the dining hall to the classroom. “I’ve been waiting for you,” the man quipped, “I’d have thought you’d be a little more excited.”
The class chuckled at the obvious joke, but Micah didn’t pause. “Alright, this looks like everyone. Let’s go!” he exclaimed, and then set off walking at his normal brisk pace. Tommy wondered briefly how the man could be sure everyone was there – it looked like it to him, but he couldn’t really be sure, and in any case, it was too late – they were already on their way.
Micah lead them down a series of hallways and stairs into a part of the school that Tommy had never been into before. Although he loved exploring and finding new parts of the school, the passages and stairwells quickly became labyrinthine, and Tommy had gotten very lost a few times, making him somewhat reluctant to attempt exploring too much. Finally, after a great deal of walking, they pushed through a set of large, wooden double doors and into bedlam.
They were standing at the top of what Tommy could only describe as an underground football stadium. There was a large, packed earthen pit in the center of the room, perhaps two hundred feet across, and surrounding it were rows upon rows of seats on risers, each row of seats set high enough above the one in front that even the shortest viewers could see over the heads of the row in front of them. The seats were much nicer than any football stadium Tommy had seen – admittedly, he’d only seen the stadium at his school and some professional stadiums on television – but the seats here were plushly padded and well spaced, with cloth-padded armrests that didn’t come near to touching the adjacent seats. The steep rise in the seats meant that Tommy was quite high up above the earthen pit at the center - a hundred feet or more – and the combination of the vaulted ceiling, height, and the steepness of the slope gave him a bit of vertigo.
Many of the seats were already full and more people were arriving by the minute, with the latecomers dismayed to find that they had to pick the seats higher up. Tommy boggled at the sheer number of people in the room. There had to be several thousand people already seated, and with more still arriving, Tommy had to reassess his opinion of the size of the school and the number of its inhabitants. He knew that the building was vast, and that there were dozens of out-buildings on the campus, but this was the size of a small city. With the inhabitants of the room all laughing and talking with their neighbors, the noise level in the enclosed space was enormous, and Tommy had to fight a brief instinct to cover his ears. How had he managed to be in the same building as all this noise and never know that this was here?
Micah lead them down the steps to the very front row of seats, in the middle of the arena, where there was a large, conspicuously vacant group of seats. They weren’t marked in any way, but as Tommy’s class filled in to occupy them, Tommy saw that there were exactly enough seats for every member of the class except Micah. Tommy got a seat right on the end of one of the rows, right on the aisle, two rows from the very edge of the pit, where he could see the entire room very clearly. This close, he could see that there were two stone pillars in the pit, one on either side, with what looked to be a large crystal sitting on top.
Micah spoke to them in a hushed tone that somehow carried over the incredible din around them; Tommy realized he must be using magic to send his voice to them.
“I have to go officially start the games, so I’ll be brief. Tonight’s games are a one on one competition. Sometimes, we do competitions with groups of mages, but not tonight. You’ll see them soon enough, anyway. Each contestant will stand on one side of the arena. The crystals you see on top of the pedestals, there, provide an almost impenetrable shield around each competitor; we call that the emergency shield, and it is there to prevent any injuries. The competition will be just like what we’ve been doing in class, albeit unstructured. Each competitor will shield themselves while attempting to use magical attacks to bring down his opponent’s shields. The first competitor to breach his opponent’s defenses and strike the emergency shield wins. Got that?”
There were some nods and some shrugs from the class. Tommy thought it made a kind of sense, but he wanted to know more.
“Like I said, it’s just like what we’ve been doing in class, except it’s a competition. It’ll make sense once you see it.” Micah added. “Oh, and speaking of seeing it – don’t forget to enchant your vision. Otherwise, you’ll barely be able to see anything!”
With that, Micah swept away and took up a place mid-way around the arena, where a large empty stone chair sat amidst several other large chairs occupied by members of the school’s faculty. Tommy could see Lord Kalish seated near Micah, and Chancellor Duvey immediately on the man’s right.
Micah stood in front of the chair, and raised his hands in the air. His voice carried throughout the room, easily heard over the noise.
“Let tonight’s Mage Games begin!”
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Chapter Thirty-Seven
Immediately, the noise in the room came to an abrupt halt as everyone stopped talking at the same time.
Two young adults stepped out of doors in the sides of the pit. Tommy hadn’t previously noticed the doors – they were the same grey stone color as the rest of the walls, and, when closed, they blended in almost seamlessly. The two people – one male, one female – wore matching ceremonial looking robes. Long and flowing but grey in color and trimmed with black, the robes seemed to accentuate their movements, making them appear to almost flow across the floor toward one another. Tommy noticed that each of them bore a similar design etched in gold thread on the shoulders of the robes, but he couldn’t figure out any meaning from the pattern.
Reaching the center of the room, the two stopped and drew swords from their sides. It no longer surprised Tommy to realize that he hadn’t seen them wearing swords or scabbards at their belts – he’d seen Micah and Lord Kalish both perform a similar feat several times, and now he took it as a matter of course that it was something that more learned people could do. Holding their swords out to their sides with arms extended, the point of the sword facing the ground away from their bodies, both bowed smoothly to one another before standing and retreating next to their respective pedestal.
Tommy had been so caught up in studying the two’s actions that he had totally missed the fact that Micah had been introducing the two to the assemblage. He thought he caught that the woman’s name was Jennifer something, but he totally missed the man’s name. He looked toward Micah, and saw he was standing in front of his seat, his hand raised into the air.
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