“Did you kill your wife?” Alonna asked. Jonathan’s laughter made the girl jump.
“I don’t have a wife!” Jonathan replied. “Who would date me with all the drama I have going on? Then there is the fact that I want a commoner mage. What woman would pick me over some rich lordling?”
“You want a commoner?” Alonna asked surprised.
“Yes and not for whatever reason you are coming up with,” Jonathan said. “If I wanted, I could marry a mundane noble before the day is out. I think I have a decent chance of being able to woo a noble mage woman as well. Not too long ago I had one who could see herself settling down with me. But I want to enact change. I want to be the first commoner born Archmage. If I get married to a noble I would be a noble and many people will go out of their way to ensure my noble title is used whenever possible. I could still brag on being the first commoner born Archmage and that would rankle some feathers but it would not be the same.”
“Are we really going to war?” Alonna asked.
“You are,” Jonathan replied. “I don’t see any way around it. I will be there as well.”
“Okay,” Alonna said. “So I know Alexa prefers fireballs but she is also decent with her flame spout and her mage bolt is also decent.”
“So fireballs can be controlled,” Jonathan said. “If you can distract the mage, the spell falls apart.”
“I don’t think I am fast enough to dodge a fireball and get her with a mage bolt,” Alonna said. “I can win the fight; I am not worried about that. Who am I fighting after her?”
“Emma Gillespie,” Jonathan said. “Assuming she wins her fight with Initiate Torrenor. He is in the senior class and I have had to slap the pit out of him and his running buddy Llewellyn twice but the message finally stuck.”
“She has always beaten me,” Alonna said. “I just know I can beat her but she is tough. Too much power and she can get through my shields. I have to stay on top of her the entire time and any mistake she capitalizes on it. It’s tough to face someone like that.”
“How is her staying power?” Jonathan asked. “The Tower Mage was able to beat both you and Initiate Crystal because he is as slippery as they come. It sounds like Emma gets by on pure power.”
“Not the best,” Alonna said. “She beat Wallace, but he was blasting her all over the place. I think if he mixed up punches with his attack that he could beat her. I don’t think Torrenor stands a chance.”
“He wouldn’t have to beat her,” Jonathan replied. “All he would have to do is make her work for it. If you are fresh and she is not, you could outlast her.”
“That could happen,” Alonna said. “But I would need a quick way to defeat Alexa, without going too deep into my reserves. I need to guarantee she goes for that fireball.”
“Then what?” Jonathan asked.
“I need to make her uncomfortable,” Alonna said. “I can work okay from up close. I just need to get there. Maybe I can fly directly at her.”
“I think we have an okay plan coming along,” Jonathan said. “Alexa is probably expecting an inept commoner who has been overhyped. I have fought in many wars, killed countless numbers of men and still these idiots come here and on day one try and test me.”
“Okay,” Alonna said as she winced.
“What?” Jonathan asked.
“Can we talk about something other than you killing a bunch of people,” Alonna asked.
“Fair enough,” Jonathan replied. “But my point stands. With everything I have been through, your friend Wallace still wanted to test me. Alexa will most likely want to test you, a commoner with a background on the Superb Seven? She is most likely chomping at the bit.”
“I think I see where you are going,” Alonna said. “I can fight Alexa before the match even begins. I can fight her mind. This is going to really hurt though. I think I need you to hit me with a few fireballs in front of her.”
“Not really,” Jonathan replied. “Just go throw on a couple of wet robes underneath a dry one. It feels miserable but better than being burned alive. We just need to get her out here.”
“I can get her out here,” Alonna said. “Well I can make sure she watches a few bouts.”
“How?” Jonathan asked.
“I am going to go bragging about training with Jonathan the Lightning so I can really paste whoever I am going against,” Alonna said. “It will get most of the senior class to come over and watch a few matches today and tomorrow they will probably be practicing themselves and can see me beaten up close. Give me about three hours and then meet me back here.”
Jonathan nodded and went to get something to eat. In the dining hall he saw most of the Superb Seven, minus the commoners. Jonathan grabbed his plate and went to go sit down at their table. Some of them snarled but they were smart enough not to challenge him. Jonathan had won every match between them but that was before they had been trained by Monica for the majority of the year.
“The Superb Seven,” Jonathan replied. “The greatest class ever to come out of the Tower. I wonder how many people would pay to be here at this table.”
“What do you want Mage Jonathan?” Emma snapped.
“Ah, the lovely Lady Emma,” Jonathan said and shot her a smile. “The strongest of the Superb Seven.”
“I will not go for a commoner,” Emma snapped. “So stop flirting with me.”
“I am just making a statement,” Jonathan said as he saw how the girl was fighting a blush. “Initiate Segdrick, are you ready for the tournament?”
“I am nervous about who I will be facing Mage Jonathan,” Segdrick said.
“Why?” Jonathan replied. “I think you are the top mage in your class.”
“I am the top Mage!” Danica said.
“You are the Jonathan to Segdrick’s Russell,” Jonathan replied. “Fighting you is tough, I will admit that. But if someone needed healed or a bunch of trees cut down or something, would you choose you? We are great at fighting Initiate Danica and we can handle most things better than other mages. But just like I cannot heal, you have no staying power. Initiate Segdrick has both which is why he is ranked number one in your class.”
“I can still beat him in a fight,” Danica said.
“She can,” Segdrick said. “But I have beaten her a few times as well.”
“Then you have nothing to worry about,” Jonathan replied. “You are all facing senior students. I am particularly looking forward to Initiate Danica and Emma’s match.”
“We are fighting each other?” Danica asked.
“You are fighting Initiate Llewellyn,” Jonathan said as he looked at Danica. “Someone I have had to put down hard, twice. Emma is facing Initiate Torrenor.”
“Two pretenders,” Emma replied. “I have beaten them both and rather easily. Torrenor is faster than I am but Llewellyn is not. I pasted Llewellyn twice and I doubt he wants another go. Torrenor is faster but is as weak as a commoner in magic.”
“I don’t know whether I should take offense to that,” Jonathan replied. “Especially since I was a part of the Big Four and you both have two commoners in the Superb Seven.”
“They are just some lucky whores,” Emma grumped.
“One of them has beaten you,” Jonathan replied.
“And she hasn’t given me a rematch,” Emma said.
“I beat Initiate Wallace Twice now,” Jonathan replied.
“You cheated!” Wallace said. “You and that, that girl!”
“Why did you even bring her here?” Emma asked. “And why were you all hugged up on Gertie? I thought she would have more class than to be seen with a commoner.”
“Gertie is beautiful but I feel weird talking about such things to a girl,” Jonathan said.
“I am not a girl!” Emma snapped. “Some of my classmates are already married and I have been approached by many men who want to have a strong mage child. It is the reason you are over here smiling in my face and why Lord Russell flirts when Mage Monica is not around.”
“He
does, does he?” Jonathan said with a giggle. “Sounds like him but I am not over here to flirt. I am going to be the Archmage one day, girls, especially ones as young as you are, are not something I want to be entangled with.”
“And what makes you think you are going to be Archmage?” Danica said.
“You have fought against me,” Jonathan said. “I am a step up from most of the people you have went against. You go all out with your offense, that is normally my style. I am not the defensive type I have been when I have fought you.”
“You aren't?” Segdrick asked.
“I just wanted to give you all a chance to get off your spells,” Jonathan replied. “Of course that was during our first fight when a bunch of new first years thought they could walk in and face down the Queen’s Champion. Initiate Wallace frustrated me during our first fight but I never thought the battle was in question. But now I am taking on the Superb Seven. I cannot take it easy on you anymore.”
“You weren’t taking it easy,” Danica said. “I have you worried.”
“I have showed you more in our two fights than you have learned from anyone else, Mage Commander included,” Jonathan replied.
“No you haven't,” Danica said.
“I showed you how difficult it can be when you are fighting someone with good defense,” Jonathan began. “And then I did what you do to people, rushing them before they can get their plan set. Everyone else you probably just blew over, that is including your secret matches with the Mage Commander. Lady Farrah probably gave you a lot more than you bargained for facing her and so did Mage Monica, but they are not me.”
“You know about those fights?” Danica said meekly.
“Of course I do,” Jonathan laughed. “They were training you to paste me. I have never faced any of the Big Four before. By fighting you they got an idea of how it would be to face me down. I think you take Monica with the right plan, her power is nothing to play with. You could possibly take Farrah but you would have to be at your best. She is stronger and faster than Monica.”
“I am faster than Lady Farrah,” Danica said and then screwed up her face.
“Only good for the first couple of hits,” Jonathan replied. “That shield of hers is nothing to play with and she can still send a fireball at you while she is flying. She can also outlast you as a last resort if her other plans don’t end the match before then.”
“I think I can take her,” Wallace said. “Speed is its own offense and defense commoner. I will prove this you when I win this tournament. I hear four of us get to face you. You will end up lying face down in the dirt while others cheer my name.”
“Is that a fact?” Jonathan said. “Then I look forward to the encounter. Don’t puff your chest out too much though. You still have dragons to deal with and a weak mage bolt affects them as much as a bee sting would stop you. It hurts but they will fight right though it.”
“Bees can bring down a man,” Emma said. “If enough of them strike.”
“Tell that to Kevin Wilson,” Jonathan said. “He is not only as strong as your strongest but used to be the Archmage and he was brought down.”
“I’m scared Mage Jonathan,” Ashley said. “I know I have to go out there and fight but I am scared.”
“I am scared too,” Jonathan replied. “I have lost friends to those dragons before. Friends that were in the Tower with me, friends that looked up to me. Four commoners, well four commoner born mages. But this is what we do, our job is not sticking our noses in the air and looking down on poor commoners or mundanes. Our job is to come to the aid of the Kingdom when she needs us. She is going to need us so we will fight. I didn’t come over here to start a fight, but rather to tell you to enjoy this time you have right now to its fullest. Many people are expecting you to be front and center to take out a dragon. Partly because they believe in you and partly because they do not want me to be the only one with a dragon kill. Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Jonathan got up and could hear from the silence that the table was thinking about what he just said. Jonathan hoped they did, it would be foolish to meet a dragon head on. Jonathan finished his meal and then went back to the sparring area. It wasn’t long before Alonna came back down and Jonathan could see many people were secretly looking at their bout. Jonathan could have laughed at how inept Alonna fought. He would launch a fireball high and to the side. Alonna would cast slow moving mage bolts that were easily dodged while Jonathan brought the fireball to hit her from behind. Every fight was a variation of this, after the fifth time most of the people watching had left. They probably were calling her an idiot. Most of the next day was like this as well, only difference was that now there were more people practicing and they got a closeup of Alonna pretending to be inept and give dumb plans. Her plan was that she couldn’t beat the fireball and hopefully her opponent wouldn’t throw one or that she would just be on fire and try to win the match.
Jonathan thought teaching another commoner was a good way to pass time, even if she was a bit wary of him. Jonathan thought she was interested, he had caught her giving him the once over and had to appreciate when he cowered any of the nobles who had something nasty to say. Finally the tournament was upon him and he was that much closer to fighting the Downey and cementing his name.
CHAPTER 20
The Tournament
“That wasn’t even close,” Earl Gillespie said. Jonathan had snuck him inside the day before and had him wearing commoner instructor robes. Jonathan decided to just stay in his room which faced the sparring area anyway, all it took was the magnifying spell to bring the match closer so they could see better.
“Now you see why this girl has the Prince riled up whether or not he wants to admit it,” Jonathan replied. “She even had Russell cut his time showing me around so he could come here and flirt with her.”
“I have heard,” Earl Gillespie said.
“I hear Russell has his list down to three,” Jonathan replied. “I also hear your little sister is on the list. I am not sure why he hasn’t made things official with Monica but I am guessing he is waiting on something better to come along and has probably found it.”
“She is pretty,” Earl Gillespie admitted. “I couldn’t imagine her turning down Russell.”
“Me either,” Jonathan replied. “Here comes Xalen’s girl, she is a handful.”
“I have heard all about her,” Earl Gillespie said as Danica got into position.
Jonathan thought it couldn’t even be called a fight. The match started and Danica had two weak mage bolts in the air followed by a wind spell. The bolts hit Llewellyn before he could react and the wind blew him across the arena. Danica let the wind die down and cast wind tunnel, it was good at scattering the enemy but depending on the application it was a fight ender. The wind would swirl around an opponent and make it difficult for them to take in a deep breath. Danica cast it like a master and stopped twice to hit Llewellyn with one of her bigger mage bolts. Llewellyn collapsed from the attack and Danica walked off before anyone could applaud, Jonathan just shook his head.
“That was scary,” Earl Gillespie said. “You don’t seem pleased.”
“It was a complete wash,” Jonathan admitted. “But how much power did that showy wind tunnel use? She still has Initiate Wallace to face and possibly Initiate Crystal based on my predictions. Wallace is tough to pry off which would leave her with practically no magic against Initiate Crystal. The tournament style fighting is not to her strengths. In fact, if she had faced your sister with the style she just used, she would be worthless for her second match.”
“Speaking of Emma,” Earl Gillespie said.
“I did not try and hit on your sister Your Lordship,” Jonathan said.
“What?” Earl Gillespie said surprised. “I wasn’t even going there but there has to be a story.”
“I went over to say hi and she took it as me trying for something more,” Jonathan replied. “She let me know that she was in high demand since she could guarantee that he
r sons would all be powerful mages in their own right.”
“She isn’t lying,” Earl Gillespie said. “I was talking about dragon fighting.”
“Anyone who wants to join the Mage Commander can,” Jonathan replied. “The Golads will be there so I cannot imagine that she would choose to fight with me over them. If I can help, I will but it is out of my hands unless she willingly puts herself under my care.”
“Which she wouldn’t" Earl Gillespie said. “This looks like your girl coming out.”
Jonathan watched Alonna take her place. Alexa had a smirk on her face and waited for the match to begin. Alonna dodged the first spell, it was a fireball and took off towards Alexa. Alonna did not fly in the air but instead flew straight at Alexa as fast as she could go. Alexa let out a shriek and brought her arms up to block the collision. Alonna moved to the side and landed hard on the ground. The fireball that Alexa cast was chasing Alonna, that is until Alonna dodged and Alexa threw her hands up. That fireball impacted Alexa and had the girl screaming as she tried to put out the fire. Alonna picked herself up off the ground and delivered a solid punch to a distracted Alexa’s stomach. The mage folded over just as her water spell managed to put out the flames. Alonna held her hands out, palms facing Alexa as the Tower Mage called a halt and declared Alonna the victor.
“She is the weakest of the bunch?” Earl Gillespie asked.
“She is also one of the smartest,” Jonathan replied. “You just saw her out there. Well here comes the rest.”
Jonathan was not surprised at the winners of the first round. What he was surprised about was how some of them happened. Emma had been hit solidly a few times by Torrenor who did as well as expected. Jonathan thought the boy might have her but Earl Gillespie said something that rang true. Torrenor would have to be perfect all match while Emma only needed to land one spell. Emma fought through it and crushed Torrenor to the point the Archmage had to pull her off of him. Wallace won his fight as expected, he was too fast to battle properly and his peekaboo style was too much for his opponent who eventually ran out of power and submitted. Initiate Segdrick was too fast, strong and knowledgeable for his opponent. Segdrick had waited for his opponent to cast first and then countered them. Jonathan thought he would have taken the first shot. At the end of the first round, all of the seven had won along with a senior named Margot who Jonathan had once gotten into it with. Her opponent was some commoner named Gil that was probably tossed into the tournament so the juniors wouldn’t completely dominate their seniors.
The Archmage Page 45