The Dragon's Apprentice

by Ben Marble

  "One can't cheat death," Lilyshade continued. "Even amongst those who are thought immortal it eventually comes for all of us. Sometimes death comes early, sometimes it comes late, but it is never avoided completely." An acorn appeared in Lilyshade's fingers and she placed it over where Micheal's navel would be. "I am going to confer on you, after hearing the words of your friend one of the highest honors of the elves. It is with sorrow I never met you in life, but your soul burned brightly enough I can see you reflected in those around you. That is enough."

  Lilyshade took a step back and started chanting in elven and channeling energy into the acorn and into the ring of hair on Michael's finger. The four elven guards took up the chant as well and walked a few paces away from the table and held their swords forward as they started channeling magic as well.

  The acorn on Michael's body suddenly split open and an oak started to grow upward from their friend’s body. The roots rolled around Michael and sank into the earth, completely wrapping and covering his body until all that was visible was a massive trunk. The tree magically grew up and onward until a great tree stood towering high above the normal pines and quakies of the Rocky Mountains. The tree should have seemed out of place, but instead stood out like a king amongst the more common flora and fauna.

  The trunk had grown massive enough around before it stopped that it engulfed all four swords that the elves had held forward leaving a hilt sticking out from each side of the tree. On the front the bark pulled back, and left a smooth section. As if carved from the tree itself, a life size figure of Michael held the sword his body had been holding point down. On the wooden figure’s finger the ring of hair was perfectly visible, along with all the details of the robes he had been wearing as he was laid to rest. As they watched the wood slowly stained itself into colors that made the figure look life like, despite the fact it was made of wood. The last part to get color was the figure's eyes. If Xander hadn't known better, he would have felt that Michael was looking out from the tree.

  Walking around the tree Lilyshade face the group again. "Your friend will rest here with us. He will be remembered as long as this tree grows strong. No matter what happens between the elves and your dragons, you will always be welcome here to visit his memorial. I am honored to be able to help you remember him." Without another word Lilyshade turned and left the clearing followed by the elves that had guarded the body. In moments the group was left alone.

  "The elves have changed in the sleep," Ember said softy. "They would never have bestowed this honor on a human in the past, now the elf queen gives this to a stranger. I wonder what else we have changed."

  No one said anything. They all stood before Michael's image just holding each other physically and emotionally. There would be time for the rest of the world soon enough, for right now this was what they needed.

  The real world came in too quickly anyway. A few minutes later a group of elves showed up to escort the group to the duel.

  Duel

  The dueling ground was on the opposite side of the encampment. The elves took them swiftly but surely through all the buildings to a clearing where a large circled area had been marked using woven grasses that had a strange purple hue. If the grasses had not provided enough of a border, it seemed all the elves had shown up to watch leaving little space around the area.

  The elves parted for the group as they entered the area. An area by Lilyshade was cleared for Ember, Chandler and Brianne to stand in. With a sinking feeling Xander realized the chances of Ember teleporting Brianne clear during the battle would be next to non-existent standing next to the elf queen and her guards. On the other side of Lilyshade stood Nightfire, looking exceptionally smug. The chaos dragon nodded to the group and took a step forward as they approached the side.

  "I have just informed Queen Lilyshade that I have no desire to put the elves into the conflict between our groups. She has agreed to let you go. You and your friends are free." Nightfire looked at Ember. "I will give you, and your apprentices one more chance. Join me or surrender to me, otherwise I will hunt you down and kill you. I only give you this last chance because you have helped me out more than you can imagine."

  "We haven't helped you out at all." Xander crossed his arms. "We killed your apprentice and have stopped you from whatever you are planning on doing."

  "The only plans I have is to continue to remove order dragons as long as I can before they know about our return. They will know soon enough, and I'm no longer concerned about it." Nightfire gave a wicked grin to Xander. "Last night the elven royalty around the world conferred about our situation here. That means the secrecy about our return is gone. It also means that the word of our return will now spread through the fey community and soon our old allies will seek us out. We just need to fade back into the shadows and wait for the proper opportunity."

  "So, you attack your enemies, and decide to play hide and go seek after restarting a war?"

  "No, I assessed the strength of my enemies and now we will have time to plan our next move. I am only sorry I did not get to assess the strength of a few more before we were found out, but it was due to happen sooner or later."

  "Well, go ahead and leave. Don't stay on my account. I am sure you have some dastardly deeds to accomplish somewhere." Xander turned his back on Nightfire, and almost jumped when the chaos dragon growled.

  "I will live up to my promise. As soon as you are free of the elven territory, I will find you and kill you. I regret the necessity, but you did kill my apprentice which means you found a way to counter chaos magic. I can't have you running around teaching others your trick."

  "We will meet you soon enough then," Ember stepped forward. "I doubt any of my apprentices are of a mind to join you. Now if you don't mind Xander has an appointment he can't miss. Fly off or shut up."

  Xander flashed a quick smile at Ember and then walked to the center of the ring. A quick test showed his magic was no longer cut off and he started to build an energy shield around himself. It was all in the preparation. He would not be able to match the elf in swordplay, he just hoped that he could match him in magic. Sierra stood inside the circle by Ember and the other apprentices, now all he had to do was wait. He could deal with that. Every moment this elf made him wait meant he was able to make his shield that much stronger before the fight began.

  It took almost fifteen minutes before Pinenut showed up. By then Xander felt himself centered and calm. His shield was strong, and confidence was filling his being. This fight was nothing. He had faced down a chaos dragon and his apprentice and walked away from it. He had led his friends through the tunnels underground, seen the city of the dwarves and beat two stone golems. True he had not been alone during those times, but he was not alone now. Sierra had his back and the rest of his friends were watching and would be cheering him on. This elf was going to be just one small obstacle in shiny armor. He had his magic and he was ready.

  At a glance it seemed Pinenut had spent all night shining his armor and practicing. The elf looked every part the eldritch knight ready to fight with both sword and spell. There were bags at the corners of the elf’s eyes making it apparent he had slept very little. A stiffness to his movements made Xander believe his suspicions even more. He wondered for a moment at the elf’s motivations.

  "May I talk to you, privately before the fight?" Xander asked the elf. Pinenut's eyes snapped onto him angrily. "If it doesn't break protocol that is."

  The elf approached him warily and Xander waited until he was a couple feet away before he summoned a shimmering curtain of air around them. This caused the Pinenut to jump, but after a moment he decided whatever Xander had done did not threaten him, and he crossed his arms and waited.

  "No one can hear us or see us clearly now. You haven't slept well or prepared for this fight properly. I am more than happy to reschedule for when you are properly prepared, or forgo it all together if there is a way to do so without you losing your standing with your family or your people."

  "I
have to fight you for my family." The elf sighed and leaned on his sword. "My people would see dropping the duel as wise since it's a waste to kill someone over pride. My family however... They believe we are superior and can’t abide the fact I was stopped by a simple human. Even if they were a wizard. I must stand for them, even if it kills me or they believe we will be shamed in front of the rest of the tribe. I don't think any other elves really care, but my family is very attached to the old ways. They see the changes in our people as a weakness. They have no desire to let the old world go and to face the new one that has been left to us."

  "I see. If we fight, I can't promise not to kill you or hurt you. I have no desire to see you killed over something you have been forced into, but I will defend myself."

  "If I don't fight you and win I will be disowned by my family. That would shame me in front of the tribe. Besides, don't be so confident that you are going to be the victor. I have a few more centuries of practice then you."

  "Good luck then, I am ready."

  The elf gave him a small bow then stood up straight. "So am I. Let's proceed."

  Xander dropped the curtain of air and he stepped back a few feet to wait for the duel to start. Just for appearances he summoned a sword made of fire in his hand as he waited. He had no clue how to sword fight. Hopefully it would create a bit more distraction for Pinenut if he thought he might have to defend himself on more than one front.

  In a swirl of silk Lilyshade appeared in between the two opponents. She looked first at Xander, then at Pinenut. She then took a step back and lifted a small leaf up into the air. "When the leaf lands the duel begins. May justice prevail." She released the leaf and then flashed back to her spot.

  The leaf seemed to take forever to land. It floated and swirled in the air, gaining some height before it started on its way down. The whole time Xander's body tensed and he started to feel some of his confidence fade. This was an elf he was fighting. The creature was made up of energy and magic that he did not understand. There was a good chance this figure outclassed him in every way possible. Quickly he fought those thoughts down. It was no use worrying when it did not change the situation.

  Finally, the leaf seemed to lose all the air beneath it and it just dropped to the earth. Both opponents were surprised at the suddenness and stood for a moment before it dawned on them that the battle had begun. Pinenut recovered first and was on Xander in a flash. The sword had slashed across his shield a half dozen times before he could react to the attack. He simply pushed the elf away with a strong burst of air and jumped back to get some space between them.

  The elf was inhumanly fast, as soon as he created some space the elf was charging back at Xander. This caused him to use another burst of air to move himself quickly out of range of the sword. He clumsily swung his fiery blade across in front of him to force the elf back, but Pinenut's blade simply swiped its way through the magic weapon and scattered it into a million burning shards.

  A quick spell to slow the elf is what Xander needed. If he could not get the space to go on the offensive this would be a one-sided fight. He could take several more strikes of the sword, but it was eating chunks out of his shield every time it struck, and he was not sure he could stand up to it long enough to stop Pinenut from killing him. A quick spell turned the ground beneath his feet to sludge and Xander lifted and blew himself backwards again as Pinenut caught up with him and ended up mired in the ground.

  This gave Xander a quick break and he answered by throwing a lightning bolt at the elf. He did not want to kill his opponent, but he couldn't keep the kid gloves on if he wanted to win. Pinenut shook the blast off and quickly freed himself from the mud to charge at Xander again.

  As he suspected the elf's armor was designed to absorb magic thrown at it. Just like his shield he could wear it down and break through eventually, but he had to do so before his shield failed. Another lightning bolt snapped in the air between him and the elf. Xander used the flash of light to move quickly to the side and out of the way of the charging elf. He had to figure out a different strategy.

  He started to pull slabs of earth up between himself and Pinenut. This made the elf stop and navigate around to get to him. As the elf came around each piece he was met with a fireball or lightning strike, but nothing seemed to be wearing down the armor that protected his opponent.

  A couple more strikes across his body as Pinenut got close again made Xander's shield shudder. This was not going well at all. Another burst of air moved his enemy away and Xander's mind scrambled for a solution to the fight.

  Another elf suddenly was in front of him swinging a sword at his head. This one was slower then Pinenut, but still quick causing Xander to throw another large burst of wind at this new elf to put more space between himself and the new opponent. Apparently in an elven duel the seconds were able to take part in the fight as well. The new elf did not have a chance to renew his attack as Sierra was quickly throwing a hail of fire balls forcing him to block the new attack with his sword.

  The momentary diversion had given Pinenut more than enough time to close the distance again and a new flurry of sword swipes cause Xander to pour his energy into strengthening his shield before he was able to push his opponent away again. It was quickly becoming apparent that he might be on the losing side of this fight. Then as he slipped into the mud patch from earlier, a bit of inspiration hit his mind.

  He focused a steady stream of energy down into the earth. He also started cracking the ground beneath Pinenut's feet and hoped the elf would mistake all the energy he was using for the magic he was throwing offensively. Instead he was delving deep beneath them. In a matter of heart beats he found what he was looking for and he started pulling. Making a point of avoiding a section of the dueling grounds Xander started to pretend to go completely defensive. All his moves seemed to be focused on slowing and stopping Pinenut. Bursts of air, slabs of earth continued to keep the elf away from him. However, in almost no time his trap was set.

  Carefully stepping to the edge of the area he had focused on, Xander seemed to falter. The burst of air he threw missed Pinenut completely and the elf closed the distance immediately. The first slash at Xander shattered his weakened shield, and the second slash would have killed him if the elf had not been falling through the earth where it gave way beneath his feet. Instead of a killing blow the elf managed to leave a slash across Xander's chest. The apprentice almost lost his focus at the burning pain. He grinned as the elf went under the water he had pulled up from deep in the earth and hidden under a thin crust of earth. Luckily at this elevation in the Rockies water tended to be just above freezing in the summer time. It took little effort on Xander's part to freeze the surface of the water solid and trap the elf below.

  The elf that was Pinenut's second tried to get over to help, but Sierra was keeping him pinned down. As a matter of fact, the second elf had a lot less defenses then Pinenut and Sierra was keeping him out of the fight rather easily. Just like Xander, she had no desire to kill her opponent and was just keeping him busy. It was taking most of her focus to do so. Xander knew that she was not going to be much further help.

  He crawled on the frozen water and with a burst of energy cleared all the silt and dirt out of the liquid and ice. Xander wanted to time this perfectly and if he did not do it right, it might cost him his life, or the elf's. As soon as the water and ice cleared, he could see Pinenut struggling to break through and get to the surface. He focused more energy on freezing the ice and watched as the elf slowly drowned.

  Reaching down with a finger of energy he checked the elf's vitals. If he pulled the elf out too early Pinenut would surely kill him. If he pulled him out too late then it would be over for the elf. Focused on watching for that right moment, Xander tried to ignore the feeling of blood seeping from the wound on his side. His vision went blurry a couple of time and he worked on keeping that clear as well. After this duel, he was not sure he would be able to stand but he would be victorious.

  With a s
udden twitch Pinenut went still in the water. Xander's eyes narrowed as he probed with his energy and sensed the ploy. It was still too early. The elf was still for a few seconds and as Xander started to doubt himself Pinenut attacked the surface of the ice with a new fury. Ice started to crack and Xander barely held it shut. A couple more swings and suddenly the elf went limp again. This time when Xander checked the elf's heart had stopped, it was time.

  With a roar he broke the ice and the water rose and deposited Pinenut's body onto the ground. There was silence as everyone looked at the still elf. Xander was not done.

  He quickly channeled a jolt of energy into Pinenut's heart giving him a quick jumpstart, while pulling the water from his lungs at the same time. He channeled some warmth into the elf's blood being wary of hypothermia claiming Pinenut if he managed to bring him back. It only took a couple of seconds and the elf breathed again. Pinenut rolled over and coughed out some of the water that Xander had missed, but he was breathing. With luck he would be alright.

  "I fought you until one of us no longer drew breath. I win the duel." Xander reached out a hand to help Pinenut up, but instead found himself falling forward onto his face. Rough hands rolled him over and to his surprise and fear he realized Nightfire had gotten to him first.

  "My reward to the victor," The choas dragon whispered. A quick bolt of energy shot through Xander's body and he found himself losing consciousness.

  Recovery

  Brianne watched Xander's sleeping form worriedly. The elves had returned everybody's ability to access magic and she was watching over her friend again. It felt like it had been forever since she had not been watching over someone who had been injured. Of course, this time it was not because of the injury.