Trial at Week's End

That night, I studied the text that Anoir had assigned us to read, having forsaken my opportunity in the library in favour of training my magic some more. When I was able to finally clear my mind and concentrate on the words, it proved to be a rather interesting read. There was a lot about dungeons that I learned from it, though considering that the book had another five chapters devoted to dungeons, it seemed there was still a lot more that I would have to learn. When I reached the end of the chapter, I was tired and let out a long yawn before retiring to my bed and allowing sleep to take me.

The next day passed more peacefully with the usual rigorous training regime followed by long lessons with Anoir. In the evening we trained some more in the gardens, developing both our magic and our swordsmanship before returning to the rooms for a meal and long-awaited rest.

It felt as though an age had passed when the end of the week came, the seventh day in the citadel started off as a typical day. We rose from our slumbers and dressed before meeting to share a breakfast in the living chamber. Then we departed for the training hall to meet Orion and Astrid so that we could commence the daily punishment that we had grown accustomed to.

When we arrived at the training hall, it was immediately clear that something was different about today. All three of our teachers were waiting for us, Orion in the middle with Astrid and Anoir at either side of him. They were stood in the centre of the training hall as though they had been waiting for us. As we filed into the room, we slowed down when we saw the serious looks on their faces.

“Uh-oh” Korin muttered as he drew to a stop besides me, “Bet ya this ain’t gonna be good”

I nodded my head in agreement, whatever this was it certainly wouldn’t be enjoyable.

At last Orion spoke up, “You have been training under us for a week now and I have seen that each one of you has improved significantly. There is still much work to be done with you before I would trust you to fight alongside myself, though your hard work has paid off. To mark the end of the week, you will face a test as a group, should you come out victorious you will be rewarded. I don’t know what with yet, but you can worry about that if you pass the test.” He paused as he swept his gaze over us, weighing each person in his mind. “The test will be a battle, between your group and another of the groups that have been training this week. It is as much a test of our talent as teachers as it is a test of your ability to fight as a group.” He glanced to his other teachers whose serious expressions had relaxed a little, “So you had better win” he added in a quieter voice, eliciting grins from the others.

Astrid spoke up after him, “The groups have been selected appropriately, so you will not be facing a group without any members that can use magic or ones that ones that began with superior training. As far as the citadel is concerned, they are you but with different teachers. The battle will be to the last man standing, you can attack them however you wish though vital points are forbidden. Healers will be nearby and ready to aid you should it come to that, though if a healer that is not in your group touches you then you will be removed from the battle” we nodded in understanding. “For this battle you will be using real weapons, no training blades so I suggest that you be careful. You can forfeit whenever you wish, if an opponent surrenders, then stop attacking them immediately, if you continue to attack them then your team will forfeit the battle. Do you understand”

We muttered our confirmations, and she gave us a satisfactory nod. This sounded like it would be serious, like we could get hurt. A part of me was excited about finally being able to put my training to real use, though another part was apprehensive of the dangers.

Anoir opened her mouth next, “We should add that some adventurers have died in this test in past years. Not many but there have been deaths, if any of you wish then you may withdraw from it now.” She paused and waited for us to speak but no one did. Apparently, we were all prepared for whatever may happen.

Orion nodded his head, a small smile on his lips. “Very well then. Follow me and you can meet your opponents.” He said as the three of them proceeded towards the doors with us quickly following on their tails.

We were taken to another training hall, this one a little larger than the ones that we were used to though it was aesthetically the same. The other group was already there with their teachers. The group comprised of six people, five humans and a girl who looked to be a quarter elf, or maybe an eighth, I wasn’t sure.

Orion, Astrid, and Anoir went over to the other teachers and spoke with them, they seemed friendly and shared a laugh before turning to us as one. “All right, choose your weapon” one of the other teachers said, gesturing to the walls that had a whole armoury mounted on them. Korin selected a heavy iron shield and a menacing axe for himself, hefting them in his hands as he got used to the weight. Sybil selected a number of particularly vicious looking daggers, fastening sheathes to her body and taking another two in her hands. Sara, Rayall, and I all chose swords, I considered a shield for a moment though I hadn’t trained with one before, I wanted to keep a hand free for my magic though and decided against it. At last after some consideration, Cleo chose a quarterstaff, and we were all armed as the other group chose their weapons and tested them by swinging them through the air.

We were directed to where we should stand, each group on opposite sides of the room. We discussed a plan for a moment with Korin taking the front as he could take the most damage and had a shield, Cleo and Sara we are at the rear so that they could provide us with healing and be protected. Rayall and I were in the middle and would do the brunt of the damage. We weren’t sure where to place Sybil so it was decided that she could do her own thing and we would try to look out for her. She seemed to like that plan.

The rules of our engagement were repeated one more time so that we would remember them. Orion gave us a look and then a nod at the way we had positioned ourselves for the battle. We stood there waiting for something when at last the doors opened and three people dressed in white robes came in and rushed over to where our teachers were stood. The healers had arrived.

“Okay, looks like we’re all here” said the one who had spoken up earlier, “remember it’s to the last man standing, good luck.” He looked from one side of the room to the other. “You may begin”

A small boulder immediately came flying to us from across the room, it was blocked by Rayall’s ice wall as he reacted with, well with elf-like instincts. Instead of rushing at us like I may have expected, their group began to carefully walk towards us, moving together so that we couldn’t pick any of them off.

Korin glanced back at me, and I grimaced, this was not going to be an easy battle. I nodded my head, and we began to move as well, though I noticed that Sybil had disappeared. One of the members of the other group was looking around for where she went, though they couldn’t see her.

When we came into range, I raised my hand and launched a bolt of electricity towards them, hoping to catch someone. It was caught on the wooden frame of a shield, though it did cause the receiver to stumble back a little as the **** of it threw them off balance. I thought of something then and raised my hand to launch another bolt. Instead of aiming at the group, I aimed at the ground where they would be walking to. I felt my mana as I directed it to my hand then released my grip on it, sending a spark of scorching lightning into the floor.

The attack didn’t harm anyone, though it did startle them and cause them to jump to the side to avoid the bolt, disrupting the formation of their group. Seeing the opening, Rayall raised a hand and fired a fireball at them, the burning ball caught one of the girls in their group, burning her arm. She yelled in pain and looked at where she had been hit, though she continued to clutch her weapon and did not seek out a healer. Instead the elf girl placed a hand to her arm and began to heal the injury.

At that moment, Sybil appeared behind the group and placed a dagger to the back of the girl who had performed the healing. I saw her lean in close and whisper something, the girl immediately stopped her healing and ran to the side of the room, screaming that she was forfeiting. I saw Sybil grin as the others in the group turned around in time to see her shadow step back over to us. One of the guys in their group who appeared to be the leader yelled at the one who had forfeited but quickly returned his attention to us.

With one of their healers down, Korin decided to begin a charge, rushing headlong at them, and swinging his axe. He brought the axe down on them and was met with the wood of a shield, bringing up his own in time to block a blow from a sword, his other side being caught by a burst of energy from a spell. He dropped to the floor though rose again, spitting on the ground before rushing at the one who had used the magic. His sudden movement caught them off guard and he was able to avoid a clumsy sword stroke, swinging his axe and lodging it a few inches deep into the leg of the one who had attacked him.

The man dropped down screaming as a healer rushed over, quickly administering aid as he was helped to the side of the room. Korin took a moment to savour his victory and in that time was met with a hammer hitting into his side and throwing him across the room. He did not get back up and another healer came over to him.

As Korin provided a distraction, Rayall and I bombarded them with spells, most being met with blockades similar to Rayall’s ice wall. I felt my mana draining slower than usual thanks to one of Sara’s abilities, a glance back told me that she wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long however.

With Korin down, Rayall stepped forward and brought his sword down towards the one who seemed to be their leader. He was met with steel and the two of them began to duel, their leader barked an order to the group, telling them to continue the attack whilst he led Rayall off to the side to duel him alone.

Sybil threw shadow knives towards the group, some of them slicing cuts across their skin, even hitting home in arms and legs. Most of them missed however and the effort of forming new weapons was draining her mana quickly, even with the benefit that Sara was giving. At last, she shadow stepped back behind the group, hoping to take out another one of their members, but this time they had been expecting her. At the shout of one of them, the one with the hammer swiftly spun it around and caught Sybil in the side before she could disappear again. I heard a crack as it hit her hip and she was dropped to the floor. She began crawling away and the man with the hammer raised it again to crush her, a shout from one of the healers stopped him and they took Sybil to the side.

It was now me against three of them with Sara and Cleo backing me up whilst Rayall continued to duel their leader, the sound of metal clanging against metal reverberating around the room.

“I can slow them down, just be ready” Cleo said from behind me. I called out to let her know I understood before raising my hand and readying another lightning bolt.

The three enemies approached me slowly, I swung my sword in an arc and watched as they dodged backwards. I did it again and saw that this time, their reaction was slower, this must have been it. I aimed at the one with the hammer and fired into his chest. He tried to move to the side but the effect that Cleo was creating had slowed him and he was struck, being flung back by the blast and he was left groaning on the floor.

The healer who had been attending to Korin had stabilised him and rushed over to their new patient. The other two enemies glanced back in shock and now showed more trepidation in their approach, apparently they had been hoping the one with the hammer would take the lead.

I heard a yelp and looked back to see a knife lodged into Sara’s hip, blood seeping around the wound. I looked to see where it had came from and saw the leader who was duelling Rayall, holding a throwing knife and smirking. Apparently, he had taken time from his bout to attack our healers.

Cleo dropped down to help Sara as I felt the effects that they were providing me begin to fade. “Shit, it’s bad. We’re going to need a healer” I heard Cleo say, “I can’t do this myself”. At that, a healer rushed over to tend to Sara. Cleo rose back to her feet and was holding her quarterstaff timidly, glancing at Sara to make sure she was okay. I could tell that she didn’t want to fight.

“It’s okay” I said to her. “You can help Sara; I’ll take care of these two”

She looked at me nervously, “Are you sure?” she asked, sounding relieved at the prospect, “I can help if you need me to”

“It’s okay, I’ve got a trick or two up my sleeves” I said, receiving a grateful thanks from Cleo as she slunk off to help the healer with Sara.

Now on my own, my two opponents seemed more confident as they approached me. I checked my mana, it was low. I wouldn’t be able to do much, but I should be able to knock the two of them out. Stepping backwards I sheathed my sword and loosened both my arms with quick shakes to the puzzlement of the two who were still wielding weapons. I channelled my mana and created two lengths of water at the ends of my arms. It appeared as though I had long tentacles of water where my arms would have been, I wouldn’t be able to wield a weapon with them though I could direct the water.

I aimed my arms at my enemies and pushed the water towards their mouths. They were caught by surprise as the water went down their throat and they began to drown. They dropped their weapons and began to splash at the water as they panicked, though there was nothing that they could do with me directing the current. I saw them looking at me with wide eyes. I couldn’t keep it up for long, my mana was almost all gone, please let this work.

They raised their hands in surrender and I let go of the water as they dropped to their knees, coughing it up and shaking on the floor. Drowning was an unpleasant experience, even more so when you were stood up and away from any body of water. “Surrender” I heard one of them cough, making a sound that was a mixture between a breath of air and retching.

My mana was all gone now as I glanced towards Rayall who was still in his duel though he had lost his sword and was blocking the strikes with ice walls. I unsheathed my weapon and started towards them. At my motion, Rayall looked towards me as the sword slammed into the ice in front of him. The blow broke the ice and sent a large chunk towards Rayall’s head, knocking him out. It was just the two of us left now.

I swung my sword towards him, and he caught it on his blade, the two of us traded blows as we got a measure of each other. He smirked at me as the two of us pushed against each other’s weapon, “Maybe you’ll stay dead this time” he snarled in a quiet voice, just loud enough for me to hear. My eyes widened at the comment, had he been the one trying to kill me? Why?

I looked at him again with fresh eyes, recognising him as one of the people who had been surrounding Zarin at the first night in the citadel, when we had received our welcoming speech in the great hall and Zarin had denounced me. Suddenly the fight became a lot more real, he had the perfect opportunity to kill me without repercussions and be able to take the credit. There was no way that he wouldn’t try.

I was so shocked that I almost didn’t see the knife that was coming for my gut, it was a mere inch away from me when I broke my lock with his sword and brought it against the knife in one swift motion. The knife was flung to the floor, as he glanced back at it in shock, I seized the opportunity and brought my sword back up, pressing the tip of it to his chest. “Yield” I shouted at him

Kill him

I looked around for whoever had whispered it but there was no one close enough to whisper to me. Had it been my own thought?

He deserves it. He tried to kill you. He deserves to die. KILL HIM

The sound came again, my heart beating faster in my chest. There was no one that could have been whispering to me, everyone else was at the side of the room, either **** or watching the battle.

I dropped my sword in shock, bringing my hands to my ears and shaking my head as the whispering grew louder.

HE WILL KILL YOU! KILL HIM NOW! HIS LIFE BELONGS TO YOU!

I looked around the room and saw that my spirit had appeared, the raven circling in the air above me. “Idiot, you’re dead” I heard the voice of my opponent as my sword clanged to the floor and I stepped backwards. He gripped his own blade and ran at me with it.

My spirit swooped down, it’s talons at the ready as it launched at an empty spot in the air. The man squealed and dropped to the ground, writhing in agony as he released his sword. What had happened? I hadn’t touched him

I looked back at my spirit and saw that it had what looked like a hunter spirit in its talons as its beak pecked at the small figure. _Was that his spirit? _I watched as my spirit continued to attack it until at last the hunter spirit disappeared and my opponent was still on the floor, a stream of drool trailing from his mouth.

Everyone stared in shock at what had just happened, my spirit had killed his. I didn’t even know if it was possible to kill a spirit. The healers quickly rushed over, all three of them tending to the new victim with the others having had their wounds stabilised and were now being tended to by members of the groups.

“He’s alive” one of them declared

“What the fuck just happened!” one of the teachers demanded. “Someone take him, whatever it was, he did it” he said pointing a finger towards me.