A New Beginning (Brenton)

[Brenton]

Clarissa had watched many duels with magic involved and perked up as she knew this would test Galeron in her field as well. A truly skilled magician could cast spells while battling and never break a sweat. If he passed on both tests then he would be fit to graduate much earlier than expected. With a small cough of contempt, Clarissa waited for the spell from Galeron.

She had taught him specific ways to counter blinding tactics and one of the easiest was a rather simple filtering incantation that would create a space of air that could not be tampered with in front of his eyes. Of course Gilbert could then cloak himself and Galeron would have to work out how to alter the spell so he could see his opponent again. But they weren't there yet.

If this goes as I suspect, this duel will not be won by pure swordplay. Galeron will use a spell I just taught him to immobilize and potentially kill Gilbert and you know it. Her voice was low enough that only Aelodil would hear as she made sure to move her lips only enough to make sound so as to avoid someone discerning the meaning.

Clarissa gripped her sword hilt and then cast a spell so that no one would hear them and they would only see the two standing there watching the duel. With that she turned and took Aelodil's hand in her own.

He is our cousin but don't you think this may be slightly too far? If we are wrong we will lose a member of the family. He will not give up because he has our blood but if he is not advanced enough or makes a mistake it could cost his life.

[Galeron Aeda]

Kyr did not look away from the fight, but he surrounded his mind around Aelodil's and Clarissa's barriers. Once they dropped their guard he said 'Aelodil don't you believe that Gilbert is a bit unruly? I imagine you only let him behave like that because he makes up what he lacks in charisma in sword play. But I have no doubt Galeron will succeed against him, he has taken great leaps in his training. He read the entire tome you gave him yesterday, Clarissa. Will that tome help him in his current duel?'

Galeron predicted the feint, and blocked the second heavy attack. The energy of the impact rushed across his body, but he kept an eye on Gilbert. He realized that his opponent raised his hand to direct some sort of spell at him. Galeron rolled sideways before the sand could disrupt his eyes, and cast a spell along the way. Galeron knew that during his roll he was an easy target, so he used the spell Clarissa had taught him.

The spell directed energy towards his boots so that he may be faster. He got up from his roll quicker than any elf might, and lunged across the court yard. In the blink of an eye he was already on Gilbert, he feinted at the mans legs and then directed a cut at his chest from the opposite direction. Galeron was aiming for death blows. The boy ceased the spell before it could drain too much of his energy.

Kyr continued speaking 'How much energy does Gilbert have to cast spells?' the man seemed to be using a lot of energy early on. If Galeron used to much the dragon would be ready to lend him energy.

[Aelodil]

Aelodil's eyes shifted slightly towards Clarissa as he heard her low whisper. He shook his head slightly. He wasn't planning on explaining himself to anyone other than Clarissa and his pupil. Anyone else was an outsider. He personally noticed a few flaws in Gilbert's plan with magic but knew the man was too cunning to have expected that spell he started with to do much good. That Gilbert was named High Marshall of the Armies of Gil'ead proved just how brilliant he was in battle. It took a lot to impress Aelodil and even more to make him satisfied.

Turning to face Clarissa as he felt the bubble in the fabric of reality around him and Clarissa he smiled a warm smile and squeezed her hand in return. "That is precisely why I chose Gilbert. In battle there is no 'fair advantages' and 'unfair advantages' You use what you have at your disposal without discrimination. Only Gilbert other than us is qualified to give our cousin a run for his money in a duel. Besides, battle is brutal and cruel. If he's not ready then he'll be be crushed and trampled. There is no mercy in this world. He must be ready. Besides, you underestimate Gilbert. It takes much to impress me and more to satisfy me. If he were not among the best in the world he would not have been named High Marshall of the Armies of Gil'ead. Watch." he explained.

Turning back to the battle, Aelodil saw the same smirk he knew on his old friend's face. It was Gilbert's way of basically saying that the battle would soon be drawn to a conclusion. Aelodil also believed tha. However, he didn't think Gilbert would win. He trusted his old friend in battle and planning but by the same token he had pushed Galeron hard during their two months together. He believed in his cousin and hoped, for his cousin's sake that his faith was justified.

Gilbert's years in battle gave him the experience he needed to see a feint, especially from someone green as Galeron no matter how well he was trained. Calling the bluff with Galeron's feint, Gilbert raised his weapon diagonally to catch the arc aimed at his chest between the crossguard and the blade with a reaction that, among humans, definitely must have been considered unnatural. He had been considered a prodigy as a young boy and here he showed it. Continuing the deflection with a swift motion he aimed his own horizontal arc towards Galeron, casting a quick magic spell silently to enhance the muscles in his arm to increase the speed and strength of the blow. In his mind he cursed at the strength of the blow he had caught but didn't dare to show it outwards.

Tilting his head slightly as he listened to Kyr, Aelodil shook his head. "Gilbert was a childhood friend. Growing up he was the only boy or man for that matter who had the ability to compete with me in swordplay for a short while. The fact that he has the ability to cast magic makes him that much better a choice to train Galeron against. I will not have him fight people who can only use their swords. In battle you use anything and everything at your disposal, magic included. There is no fairness in battle. With that being said, you shouldn't be too overconfident. Nor should you underestimate your opponent or overestimate yourself. Now continue to watch. Quietly, unless you have a comment about a move made." came his response, not being exactly rude, though not really bothering to be too polite either.

When you die, your world ends. The world may go on, but in your eyes, the world ends with you.

-Carpe Diem

[Brenton]

Clarissa shook her head in mock disappointment. The hubris from these two was astounding but they were right in assuming they could win. Most humans were anything but a match for a Rider but Gilbert was a good soldier. Clarissa stopped to consider the tome that she had Galeron read before responding.

That particular tome might be useful if he understood it all. It is one written by the only known Rider to become a pseudo Shade. He had been strong in all fields of study but constantly strove for better knowledge. It was his undoing. Yet along the path he discovered a way to gain immense power without the need to bind spirits to himself. It is through these spells that he was able to harness the energy from the very air around him that he created a new form of magic. This magic was discovered by the other Riders and they killed him for it. Yet the dark magic cannot be unformed and thus far only three Riders have unlocked it again. If Galeron can harness that same energy he will be nigh unstoppable but he will risk being destroyed by it. It is a mastery level art that he should only use as a last resort.

Clarissa watched the fight continue as she squeezed Aelodil's hand softly. He was right in pairing these two together. Gilead produced better soldiers unlike Teirm who only created sea faring guards. With a sigh she swore she would bring them back to their glorious days by training more magicians and swordsmen. Maybe she could enlist Aelodil in the required task.

[Galeron Aeda]

Kyr found it strange that someone so cold could possibly be a childhood friend, but in his short life time he had come to discover that relationships could be found in the most unlikely of places. Kyr was always inquisitive, but he did not wish to pester Aelodil any further. He turned his attention to Clarissa. He did not reply but simply thought about her words. The spell she mentioned could be a great asset, and no doubt Galeron would not let this knowledge go to waste, but it was too risky for a mere test.

Galeron knew Gilbert would retaliate in some way at least, so he prepared. He swiftly took a step to the right and struck the blade to the left to keep it as far away from him as possible. Sadly the strike was faster than the Rider anticipated, and it struck him in the foot with all its might. The blow made his eyes water, but he ignored it, the soldier must have broken bone, and this put Galeron at a great disadvantage. He jumped back several feet, creating a large gap between him and Gilbert. He make a quick plan with all the spells Clarissa had taught him. He linked his spells to Avifidril's diamond so that he could prevent himself from fainting.

He uttered a spell to allow him to see through dust, then he placed a hand on the ground below him, and released a massive gust of air that rose dust up all across the yard. He believed that Gilbert would soon cast a similar spell for his own vision, so Galeron bent the light around him in order to be invisible. In his stead he left an illusion of himself that looked identical to him. For Galerons last spell, he muffled his steps. Now the Rider was completely undetectable in the yard.

Kyr was taken back by the gust of air, it was so powerful it was as if an invisible hand had forced his wings open and tossed him into the air. The dragon landed, but was unable to see anything. He thought of taking off again, but he knew he could blow the wind away causing his companion to be visible. For now, the dragon closed his eyes so that the dust would not sting them. It was a shame that Galeron could not link his mind to his, it would have been interesting to see what the Rider was planning.

[Aelodil]

Noticing Galeron's moves, Gilbert smiled. This time an actual smile, not the same mocking smirk he usually had. Clearly Aelodil must have considered this kid a star pupil, considering his abilities with the sword. Noticing his ability with magic though he doubted it was from Aelodil. His Lord was not one to like to use magic, and if he ever did use magic at all it wax more often than not the kind of dark magic that most people would be banished just for knowing. He guessed it was Clarissa. Not that Gilbert ever met his Lord's cousin - though he suspected an affair between the two. Much as he felt the need to go public with it - just the rumor would have been devastating - he didn't for his childhood friend, for his Lord and Commander.

With the gust of a sandstorm brewing slightly, Gilbert quickly cast a simple spell that wouldn't drain much of his sparing energy to clear his vision. He wasn't much of a magician - he preferred not to deal with magic, considering his little energy in magic. Not that it did him much help considering Galeron was now invisible. Standing stock still in one of the stances he had learned in the first days of being marked a blademaster. It was completely offensive. He would take out Galeron for sure unless the boy had enough skill to avoid it enough to take him out. This would be the boy's biggest test yet. To make sure he wouldn't give up easily he cast a quick spell, lowering the temperature around him in the arena. Hopefully he would see the vapor from Galeron's breath. Staying quiet, he waited.

With the heavy wind gusting around them all, Aelodil quickly thrust his hand out, shielding himself, Clarissa, the soldiers spectating, and Kyr. "The next move will decide the winner. I do hope for our young cousin that he is ready enough. Let's make bets, shall we? I wager Galeron will win. If he loses you may.. punch me hard as you want. Only once, mind. I don't care to end up with a bruised or broken shoulder, thank you very much, love." his voice kind and gentle, as well as joking.

When you die, your world ends. The world may go on, but in your eyes, the world ends with you.

-Carpe Diem

[Brenton]

Clarissa giggled and shook her head, kissing Aelodil lightly on the cheek before lowering her spell around them. I won't wager against him for this battle is far too easy. Gilbert shows signs of fatigue which means he is not accustomed to prolonged magic in battle. Galeron has trained under me so he is far superior to him in the arcane. He trained under you so is at least equal in sword combat. This is a finished bout in the next move.

Clarissa weaved a complex spell in front of the observers and soon a transparent shield of energy appeared around the two combatants. There would be no damage done to an innocent bystander and there would be no escape until the match was ended. This was how it should be.

Being a little devious, and wanting to fully test Galeron, Clarissa seeked out her cousin's mind and when she found him, cast a spell to make the ground below him wrap over his feet and legs. There was time before the earth prison finished. But if he didn't escape to the air soon then it would turn not to earth but solid iron as the prison brought out the ore from the ground.

[Galeron Aeda]

((Kinda rushed))

The duplicate of Galeron moved in, he was a mindless illusion, it only did what he told it to, and if Gilbert slashed at it, his blade would pass right through it without a collision. Galeron swore he won the fight then and there, but two obstacles quickly came his way. First was the drop in temperature. He assumed at first that it must have been a cool breeze, but then he noticed it was becoming much colder than usual. He then found out about Gilbert's plan, and he breathed in as much air as he could.

Gilbert had not realized that the boy had run countless miles with Aelodil, and his lungs were used to such abuse. Galeron still had the victory, or so he thought. His second obstacle appeared, he felt the earth grapple to his feet, as if threatening to take him under the ground in a moments notice. The ground clamped onto his broken foot, twisting and turning the loose bone, and he held in his curse as best he could. His lungs protested against him, he knew he had to get out of the trap as quick as possible. He rapidly came up with an idea. He created an illusion; several vapor trails began sprouting from thin air, this allowed Galeron to breathe as he pleased. yet this was not the only objective of the illusion.

He murmured "Brisingr", and his metal glove ignited. The vapor trail coming off his spell was just another out of many. He placed his hand on his metal plated thighs, and the metal expanded, breaking the hardened dirt that was bound to his legs. Then he looked to his feet. As he glanced to them, panic spread over him. He could see that pure iron ore was rising along the cage. He grabbed onto his foot and expanded the metal. He pulled with his legs as much as he could and he fell back as his feet squeezed through.  He was forced to leave the boots entirely as he could not break the iron that was fused to them. Finally he was free, and he took a slight second to look at his foot. It was misshapen and deformed, the sight made him sick to his stomach.

He then realized that Gilbert was nearing his illusion. Galeron made the lookalike disappear, and the Rider could see confusion spread among not only some of the spectators, but Gilbert as well. Before Gilbert could cast yet another spell Galeron rushed over and in an ever so silent and gentle voice whispered a conjunction of spells into Gilbert's ears. His opponent fell to the ground, paralyzed. The boy had a smirk across his face, as he placed his blade across Gilberts neck, and said "You lose." The boy revealed himself, the vapor trails dissolved into the air, and lastly the ever blinding dust settled on the ground.

The boots were left in the yard made a loud clang as they collapsed under the weight of the pure iron ore that encased them. Galeron's chest puffed forwared and back as he sat down. Once he made sure that the spectators had seen his victory he released the spell. He moved his mind to his partner and in agony shouted "Kyr!" The dragon came rushing across the yard. Glaeron placed a hand on the silver dragon and drew energy from him. The Rider placed both his hands on his broken foot and said "Waise heil." The bone under his skin mended itself back together, and the tissue the bone had torn rejoined. He sat with his back to Kyr, still breathing heavily.

[Aelodil]

Though it seemed to have been done over the span of hours to Gilbert he knew that in reality it was barely more than a few minutes. By the end of it all he was upset, not that he lost, but because he wasn't given a chance to have a proper duel due to the magic. He accepted his defeat. Maybe not the most gracious of losers but gracious none-the-less. Sheathing his sword after checkmate was called he stood up straight. His posture only stiffened further when he heard the clapping noise. Until he noticed it was from Aelodil at which point it went from stiff to beyond stiff. Were it someone attempting to mock him or anything among those lines he could deal with it personally. If his Lord meant to mock him there wasn't anything he could do about it really except accept it.

Luckily for Gilbert, Aelodil didn't mean to mock him. Rather, he appreciated the talent showed on both sides in the duel and was clapping for that reason. Holding Gilbert's cold stare with one of his own, Aelodil broke the ice cold with a genuinely warm smile as he reached his hand down to haul Gilbert up. "Let this be a lesson to all of you. This is how blademasters fight. This is the level you must reach one day. Work hard men. Do your Lady proud." not sure whether he sounded snobby and overbearing or not Aelodil mentally shrugged. Hell, he'd deal with the consequences.

Nodding to Gilbert as he remembered him again, he voiced his thoughts, "You may continue with your day, Gilbert. Do have a good one." his warm smile erased down to the ice dripping from his voice. Giving a brisk nod, Gilbert walked away with his back as stiff as a tree. Aelodil wasn't sure whether Gilbert felt insulted or felt he insulted Aelodil but let that teach him a lesson to not be so arrogant. Mentally scolding himself, Aelodil thought, Oh yeah 'cause you're not arrogant at all

Holding Galeron's hand as though he were shaking it, Aelodil let the magic in him flow into the shape of the heron that marked every blademaster and branded his younger cousin's palm with it then the blade of his sword. Casting a quick spell immediately to relieve him of the pain he winced and explained, "Sorry but that's how it goes. Anyway, congratulations. I'l let Clarissa do what she will with you for her end. For now, go rest some. You must be tired after that. Oh, also, tomorrow do be sharp on your timing outside my house in the morning and every day after. Though you are a blademaster you're still the runt of the litter. You will be continuing your lessons with me until I deem you surpassed me." as he pat his cousin's shoulder and walked off slowly, his black royal attire at odds with his blonde hair as the wind kept it flapping.

When you die, your world ends. The world may go on, but in your eyes, the world ends with you.

-Carpe Diem