by Dante King
“With all due respect, Master, I didn’t get this far on luck,” Vesma replied tightly.
Xilarion didn’t speak to me, but his amused expression suggested that he enjoyed the banter. He dropped his hand to the katana at his waist, then lifted his other hand. I tensed like a track runner waiting for the starting gunshot.
The gong echoed over the stadium. Our newest trial began.
I fired an Untamed Torch through the pathways in my legs, and fire spurted from my feet, propelling me toward Xilarion like a bullet train. He stepped aside easily and drew his blade. I jammed my feet into the sand, slid to a halt, and whipped the Depthless Dream around. Crashing Wave surged through my trident and formed into a high-pressure jet of water. Xilarion held up a hand and met my technique with a pencil-thin beam of Untamed Torch. He vaporized my Crashing Wave into a hissing cloud of steam. It dispersed harmlessly around him and settled into the sand.
I drew the Sundered Heart in my other hand and sprinted forward before I attacked with a flurry of thrusts and slices. Xilarion’s sword danced as it parried my blows. Every movement the guildmaster made was smooth, tight, and efficient. His face was a mask of serene calm as I backpedalled. I inhaled, centered my mind, and gathered my focus.
In a flash, Xilarion’s body blurred, and he was in front of me. All I could do was jump backward, but his blade came too fast, and it sliced through my robes.
“He’s too fast!” Choshi cried from within the warhammer on my back.
“Quiet, little one,” Nydrath growled. “The Master needs his focus.”
I opened my water and earth channels and poured Vigor out into the sand beneath Xilarion’s feet. He raised an eyebrow as my Mud Entrapment rippled around his sandals. Heat haze radiated from his feet and baked the mud into clay before it could so much as catch onto his toes.
Taking advantage, I struck again with a whirling slash. Xilarion parried it and opened up my defense with a deft flick of his wrist. I instantly called up Fire Immunity, coating myself in a protective layer of ash. Xilarion’s laser-like Untamed Torch glided over me and scorched the ash, but I found my acid pathway and flooded the air around him with an Acidic Cloud. His robes hissed as he stepped clear of the corrosive attack. A tiny orb of flame appeared within the greenish haze, flared into a beachball-sized inferno, and swallowed up the airborne acid instantly.
“You have an impressive array of techniques, Swordslinger,” Xilarion said calmly, “but they lack subtlety. And have a mind for your store of Vigor.”
I crossed my Immense Blades together and called upon Yono and Nydarth to more efficiently channel my Vigor. Untamed Torch and Crashing Wave rushed through the magic weapons and formed a huge pillar of steam.
Xilarion effortlessly activated his Flight technique, blanketing his body in a whirling torrent of flames before he shot upward. Boiling steam blasted a furrow into the sandy floor of the arena, narrowly missed Faryn, and smashed into the barricade at the arena’s edge. The crowd roared at the display, but I didn’t have time to enjoy the attention. Xilarion sheathed his sword in a rapid motion and placed the index fingers of both hands together. A marble-sized fireball appeared between his fingertips.
I couldn’t let him warm up another attack. Not if it was anything like the last one.
The Depthless Dream shone in the sunlight as I slammed it down into the ground. A Mud Geyser exploded upward toward Xilarion but hardened into brittle clay before it could even brush the air below him. The guildmaster’s fire Augmentation was too strong, and I knew I couldn’t take him in close-quarters combat.
I needed to bring something new to the table.
But what the hell was I supposed to do against a guy who could vaporize acid?
And if we didn’t last the whole three minutes, then we wouldn’t become Center Disciples.
Chapter Four
I had fought a guildmaster before; Horix, who had been an elementalist like me. The corrupted leader of Resplendent Tears couldn’t hope to match the Guildmaster of Radiant Dragon. Xilarion far outshone Horix in speed, control, and raw power.
I called upon the power of wood, and a Plank Pillar erupted from the ground under my feet. I fed it Vigor and kept my balance as the makeshift foothold carried me up. I drew level with Xilarion just as he sent another piercing beam of Untamed Torch toward me.
I focused, and a Flame Shield crackled into life around my sword. The sheer intensity of the technique ignited the Plank Pillar below my feet. I jumped, summoned another Plank Pillar, and landed on it. I hurled a Burning Wheel toward Xilarion to keep him busy, took a deep breath, then reached within to find a defense against his attacks.
Frozen Armor encased my robes in smooth plates of thick ice. Sunlight Ichor spilled out of my pores, filled the gaps between the armor, and gave my new protective suit a green-gold hue. My limbs buzzed with the effect of using so much Vigor in so little time, and I knew I would have to be cautious with how I spent it from now until the end of the battle.
Xilarion opened his palms and curled his fingers. The Plank Pillar below me exploded into ashes as 20-foot gouts of flame roared up from the sand. Glass, searing heat, and sand punched into me from underneath and sent me spinning into the air.
“How the hells is he doing this?” Choshi demanded. “He has to run out of Vigor at some point, right? Just like Yo Hin?”
“Xilarion’s understanding of fire’s essence may even transcend my own,” Nydarth admitted. “He should have burned himself into ashes by now, but I see no sign of fatigue.”
The ground rushed up to meet me, but I cobbled three Plank Pillars together into a thick platform of wood and smashed down into it. Cracks spiderwebbed through my hybrid armor, and steam hissed from the pauldrons over my shoulders. I smacked the hilt of the Sundered Heart against my breastplate to dislodge a few shards of glass.
The arena stands were all protected by Augmenters stationed around the perimeter, and they used their own techniques to prevent any of the spectators from being harmed by a wayward fireball. My Burning Wheel I had summoned earlier crashed into a protective layer of Flame Shield a guild member had summoned. The crowd who would have otherwise been engulfed by my technique gasped as the flames dissipated only a few feet from their seats.
I focused on Xilarion again as he soared toward me. He unleashed a vertical slash of flame, and I dove off my platform as it caught fire. I summoned another Plank Pillar and landed awkwardly on it.
I needed more mobility, but up here, Xilarion controlled the skies. I thought about how I could modify my techniques and came up with a possible solution. I could make narrower Plank Pillars, with circular diameters no larger than my hand, and they would consume a lot less Vigor. I could summon dozens of them at a time while using them to practically step through the air.
A smile touched my lips as I flooded my wood pathways with magical energy. Tall Plank Pillars exploded out of the ground and formed a set of makeshift steps. I leapt from foothold to foothold and called a Smothering Mist and Ash Cloud into being around the Xilarion. Thick black clouds of ashen mist appeared in a ring around him. Xilarion’s power could vaporize water, but it couldn’t burn ashes, and that gave me a momentary edge.
Nydarth’s voice arose from the depths of my mind and echoed through my thoughts.
“Master, as loathe as I am to admit it, fire is not your friend in this fight,” she said urgently. “Take up the little one and Yono. You must use them to their fullest if you are to pass this test.”
“Odd of you to be so humble,” Yono observed.
I sheathed the Sundered Heart by my side, yanked the Demure Rebirth from its harness on my back, and rebuilt my Frozen Armor. Xilarion appeared from behind my smokescreen, fire gathered around his hands. My icy armor hissed, the intensity of the guildmaster’s Vigor enough to melt ice without him even producing a technique. I whirled the warhammer around my head and gathered a Sandstorm around me. With my other hand, I pushed my trident into the midst of the abrasive sand and summoned a
Smothering Mist. The two techniques combined, sand mixing with rapidly deteriorating mist, and I pushed them toward Xilarion with all of my might.
He sent another fireball into the midst of my attack, and the mud crystallized as steam expanded outward. Tiny shards of glass shot every direction, and I heard Rutmonlir roar in pain below us. Xilarion brushed a line of blood away from his cheek and nodded approvingly.
“Even on the back foot, your ingenuity serves you well,” he said.
Something slammed into the Plank Pillar beneath my feet and upset my balance. I twisted as I fell, unleashed a huge Sandstorm up toward Xilarion, and summoned another Pillar to land on. I shot a look at the arena below and saw Rutmonlir and Kegohr engaged in battle. Rutmonlir summoned a dome-like Flame Shield, and Kegohr’s mace bounced off it. Another strike, and the dome shattered like a thin sheet of glass.
Ashes, flaming leaves, and burned roots filled the air around Faryn and Vesma as they fought. The two women danced around each other’s weapons in a flurry of steel, fire, and splinters. Faryn’s wood Augmentation put her at an obvious disadvantage, but it didn’t slow her down one bit. Vesma sliced through Strangling Roots again and again with her flaming spear and managed to keep up her offense against Faryn.
I returned my attention to Xilarion, and he bowed his head a little. “Now that you’ve ensured your fellow disciples are safe, shall we proceed?”
Flames enveloped the guildmaster and punched outward in a fierce sphere of consuming light. I poured Vigor into Fire Immunity, but I still felt the heat of Xilarion’s technique scorch my flesh. My vision burned with the afterimage of his attack, and I was blinded for a few seconds.
I felt something move past me, and I lifted my warhammer a second before it clashed with Xilarion’s sword. After blinking a few times, my vision returned, and Xilarion was floating in the air in front of me. I could see the tendrils of his power swirling around him, and I thought at first that they were tongues of flame. But they ebbed and flowed inward and outward, and I realized I was looking at his Vigor pathways. These, however, weren’t internal pathways. They existed outside his body. What were they then?
Tolin had told me that Vigor flowed through everything. Not just the Augmenter, but all of nature and existence itself. The mystery of Xilarion’s power clicked into place in my mind.
He wasn’t using his own Vigor in this fight. He was drawing it from the heat of the day around him. Maybe even the sun itself.
I didn’t have a lot of Vigor left, but if I focused on a defensive application of Ash Cloud, I might have enough to cut off Xilarion’s supply.
I returned my trident and my warhammer to the harness on my back and drew the Sundered Heart. My fire and wood pathways crackled with energy, and I forced them to expand and stretch until they started to hurt. With a push of my will, I sent Vigor coursing through the internal entanglement of the two elements, producing an Ash Cloud from the end of my sword. At first, it was like a small swarm of bees, then it became an overwhelming black tide. The Sundered Heart siphoned Vigor from my body to fuel the dark mass as it gathered over the arena like a simmering storm cloud.
Soon, the sun was dark, and the arena was bathed in shadow.
Xilarion sheathed his sword and bowed. “Well done, Ethan. I concede.”
I ceased pouring Vigor into my sword. The instant I released the Ash Cloud technique, my shoulders slumped, and I wavered on my feet. It took all my concentration not to topple from the Plank Pillar beneath me.
The dark cloud turned into ashen rain, falling on the crowd as they roared their approval.
I drew the Vigor from the pillar beneath me, and it slowly carried me to the arena floor.
The fight was over. I had been so focused on Xilarion that I hadn’t seen whether Kegohr and Vesma had won their duels. From their smiling faces as they joined me, it seemed they had been victorious. Both of them, however, looked like they had been through a meat grinder. Kegohr sported a black eye, a busted lip, and blood trickled out of his nose. His massive forearms were nicked from the toughest three-minute brawl he had ever been in. Beside him, Vesma dabbed at a collection of scrapes and cuts. She yanked a needle-sized thorn out of her thigh with a grimace.
Rutmonlir limped from the other side of the arena with a bloody grin. “Fuck, that was a fight! You do your people proud, Kegohr. I haven’t had a scrap like that since the Wysaros tried to fuck us over.”
“You all fought well,” Faryn panted from behind us.
I turned to face her. Her dress was scorched across her ribs and thighs. But there wasn’t a burn in sight, and I took a moment to appreciate her smooth skin and the way her hips swung as she walked. She beamed at me and gave Vesma a respectful bow.
“You truly do yourself credit, Vesma,” Faryn said. “That was an immense display of skill.”
Vesma surprised her with a sudden hug. My mouth fell open as the women embraced in front of the crowd. For as long as I had known her, Vesma had treated my other “wives” dismissively. Faryn hugged her back with a gentle squeeze, brushed a leaf out of Vesma’s hair, and stepped back.
Xilarion dropped to the ground beside Faryn, and the flames around him vanished as suddenly as they had appeared. He appraised us with a steady gaze of sincere appreciation.
“Congratulations,” he said. “You have all passed the test.”
His eyes rested on me for a long moment, and I gave him a bow. Xilarion had pulled his punches in the bout. Of that, I had no doubt. His Augmentation was truly something extraordinary.
Xilarion returned my gesture and turned to face the crowd. “I, Xilarion of Radiant Dragon, am proud to announce the Center Disciples of our guild! Ethan Murphy! Kegohr! And Vesma!”
My ears pounded as seemingly every person in Flametongue Valley howled their congratulations and excitement. I had been in thunderstorms quieter than their cheers.
Vesma, Kegohr, and I took a knee at the direction of Xilarion. A guild scribe appeared from the stands, a lacquered wooden board in hand. Three sashes embroidered with silver dragons sat upon the board in neatly folded piles. Xilarion, Faryn, and Rutmonlir crouched behind us.
Vesma choked beside me, and I turned to look at her. Tears streamed down her face as she hung her head and allowed Faryn to fasten the sash around her hips. The two women spoke in hushed undertones, and I couldn’t help but smile.
To my right, Rutmonlir and Kegohr shared a joke. It seemed the two had become friends lately.
Xilarion slipped the sash around my waist. “You fought well, Ethan.”
“I’ve never seen power like yours,” I replied. “How can you draw Vigor from the environment? That was never taught to us.”
“Very perceptive,” Xilarion said, impressed. “One must learn to walk before he can run, Center Disciple. Even with all of your power, you still have many things to learn.” He finished securing the sash around my waist and stood.
The masters reassembled before us. Xilarion opened his mouth to speak, but the scribe hurriedly whispered something into his ear. The guildmaster froze at the words.
“Master Rutmonlir, please handle the remainder of the event,” Xilarion said sharply. “I have something that requires my attention.”
“Of course, Guildmaster,” Rutmonlir said.
Flames engulfed Xilarion’s robes before he blasted into the sky, soared over the edges of the stadium, and vanished into the guild house. I stared in astonishment at the fiery afterimage. I had never seen him concerned like this.
Something had to be wrong.
“People of Flametongue Valley!” Rutmonlir roared, as though the guildmaster’s sudden exit hadn’t been the slightest bit unusual. “This finishes the day’s exhibition. Come and celebrate the newest Center Disciples of Radiant Dragon. Tonight, we drink and feast in their honor.”
Mahrai and Kumi vaulted over the barricade. They hit me from the side in crushing half-embraces. Vesma joined a moment later. Kegohr wrapped his huge arms around them from the side, and even Faryn join
ed the fray. Then, the rest of the crowd found us.
In seconds, I felt my feet leave the ground. The sky spun in dizzying circles as the crowd carried us into the guild house.
“Ethan Murphy, Center Disciple of Radiant Dragon,” Nydarth purred. “That has a positively pleasing ring to it, wouldn’t you say so?”
“Oh, yes,” Yono said dreamily. “Such power, such grace, such fluidity.”
“It’s an honor to be wielded by you, Master,” Choshi added.
Despite the festive occasion, I couldn’t keep from thinking about Xilarion and what had made him leave the ceremony so suddenly.
Chapter Five
While the feast was being prepared, Kumi healed our wounds with her unique power, the Song of the Sea. It was probably the only reason I was still standing after my match with the guildmaster. When she was done, I withdrew with Kegohr to a dormitory. Simple wooden bunks stood out from the walls, and we sat facing each other, with basins of water at our feet.
Despite just becoming a Center Disciple, I couldn’t think of anything else except why Xilarion had left before the ceremony’s closing. I considered whether there had been more sightings of cultists in the land. Would we have another mission after our brief restful stint in the guild house?
Kegohr scrubbed dried blood off his shoulder and sighed deeply.
“What’s up, big guy?” I asked.
“I just wish Mom was here,” he said. “To see this. To see us.”
“Hey, she’s looking down from the heavens right now. She’s smiling at you. Your dad, too. They’d both be proud.” I leaned back and grinned at him. “I know I sure as hell am.”
Kegohr tossed his towel into the basin and straightened up. “I couldn’t have done it without you. Vesma neither. You were there for us when no one else was.”
“Likewise,” I said. “No one wanted to befriend an outsider like me. But we banded together, and now look at us. Two ranks away from being Masters ourselves.”
