Sighing, he walked forward towards her. His long hair pulled back in a ponytail for the time being, Brelynn had thought it looked rather silly on him. That was, until the training started. The moment he began throwing spell after spell? Everything suddenly lost its humor. The ponytail was the least of her worries.
“You aren’t concentrating Bre.” Leaning on the black staff he carried, Va’lis looked down at her as she sat upon the coarse sand. “That last Energy Bolt was at half strength and easily blockable.”
They were going on the third hour now, and she had barely made progress. It began simply, dodging fireballs and similar spells. Learning how to counter them while enhancing her own. But when energy bolts started raining down around her, she realized this wasn’t a game to him. Magic was the core of his existance, and he would not show mercy. She had the bruises and burns to show that.
“We, are going to start again now. And we’re not stopping until you’ve managed to stop five in a row.”
She looked up, horror-struck. Five?! She couldn’t stop one and he wanted five! Her jaw clenched, determination and refusal intermingling as one.
“No.”
Va’lis sighed, he’d been expecting this from her for the past hour. And finally it had shown.
“No?”
“No. Hell no. Go screw yourself, no. All of them and more.” She squared her shoulders , meeting his gaze. “This is stupid, and i’m tired. I want to go read.”
Anger flashed in her loves eyes. His tone lost every ounce of caring it had as he spoke to her.
“Stupid you say? The art of magic is, stupid?”
“How you’re doing it, yeah.” She refused to break her eyes from his, although the worry that she had pushed him to far was begining to surface.
“Get up Brelynn.”
She swallowed, the worry spreading quickly through her body like a virus. He only used her proper name when he was irritated.
Or pissed off.
“And… If I don’t?” She had gone this far, might as well see it through.
His hand came up slowly, forming a symbol in the air.
“You will.”
Bolts of lightning crashed around her, she could smell it before it hit. That was the key he had mentioned. Lightning gives off a distinctive odor before fully forming. Not out of wanting to practice, but need to survive, she still began dodging the bolts.
They came faster, barely a second now before each one struck where she was standing prior. Risking a glance backwards at him, she missed the rock beneath her. Crying out, her arms shielded her face as the ground rushed up to meet her. Scraped, and bloody, she smelled the next bolt forming right on top of her and with a panicked cry, threw out the shield he had taught her.
The explosion blinded her. A white, intense light that burned through closed eyelids to reach ones protesting eyes. Tears streaked down her face, their path marked through her dust covered skin. But the shield had worked, breaking the spell apart as a mirror will when struck by a hammer.
Va’lis watched her a moment, letting her recover her breath and mind before speaking again.
“You have ten minutes. Get a drink, and be back here then. We have much more to do.”
~Two Hours Later~
She collapsed, openly sobbing. Managing to block the fifth spell in a row had finally taken its toll on her mortal body. Brelynn hated it, -he- still looked as fine as he had when they began. Not a mark, no sign of weariness. But here she was. Dusty,bloody,burned and sweating. It wasn’t fair.
“P..plea..se… No more?” Her fingers dragged through the sand as she clenched her fists tightly. “I want to sleep.”
“We have several more hours before the sun rises. I plan on using them all.”
“All?!? WHY!?” Anger gave new life to her limbs as she surged to her feet, facing him.
“You need to at least prove a challenge to my skills before I am satisfied with your ability to defend yourself.”
Growling at him, Va’lis thought it cute… If somewhat childish. Eyebrow perking up in his trademark way, he stared her down.
“I…just need to challenge you?” She smiled as he nodded once. “Ok then. Lets fight. Right now.”
“Really Bre, do you think you can fight me now? Tired and untrained as you are?”
Taking a place several feet from him, she decided to be a smartass.
“Training under pressure, or fighting for ones life, is the only way to fully expand upon ones limits. Anything else will simply be enough effort at the time to skirt by. In other words, a complete lie.” She smiled, though it did not reach her eyes. “On the Art of Magical Combat, page 4.”
“Interesting quote to use against me, being that it is my own.” He did not show emotion, but secretely he was pleased she had read the book he had given her the day before.
“Stop talking and let me win so I can take a bath.”
“As you wish Bre, but I will not -let- you win. Earn it.” He took his stance, and the fight began.
It took but a few seconds for her to realize her awful mistake. This wasn’t the teacher he had been prior. Fear grasped her heart in its cold grip, this was the man who had wreaked such destruction down in that crumbling castle. Energy bolts and fire rained down around her. Sand became glass and was promptly disentegrated by the sheer amount of force he was throwing at her.
Her hands went in front of her , the shield taking the brunt of the abuse. Yet here and there the odd spell snuck through, or glass shards were thrown up and sliced her cheek. Already several new cuts were leaking blood down her face. Eyes closed… She took a gamble.
She attacked back.
Her energy bolt struck him square. Knocked back a step, his spells faltered and gave her enough time for a quick spell of healing before diving behind a large rock. She wasn’t cut out for this, a mages fight. But she had a friend who was. Clasping her bracelet, she willed him to her.
” Stop hiding Brelynn.” Each word accompanied by an explosion. His spells had begun once more, her sancturary rock dwindling in size.
“Im not hiding! Im just waiting!”
Va’lis paused. She didn’t sound anxious anymore… Or worried.
“Waiting for wh-” The burst of flame from the sky streaked down towards him, cutting the next words off and forcing evasive action. It was barely done by the time twin explosions knocked him off his feet and into the mountainside. Indeed, had he been a mortal him… He would most likely have died just from that.
Groaning as he looked up, he began muttering again. “Oh you cheeky bit-” Cut off yet again as his attacked burst into sight from around the mountains peak. Launching spell after spell, paired with dragonfire…Va’lis had no room left for barely any offensive moves. But he would end it with one spell if he could.
Peaking around the corner, Brelynn saw Va’lis running towards her dragon with murderous intent gleaming in his eyes. He was past reason now, not even noticing as she herself began running towards him. She threw a hand out towards him, eyes shut tight as she screamed the spell out.
“An Ex Por!”
Caught unprepared… Va’lis stopped short. Panic of his own rising, he was forced to look on as the dragon barreled towards him. It, however, did not stop. The concussive blow that followed shattered the windows of all the homes in the valley.
When she opened them, she began crying again histerically while running towards the pair. Armor torn, clothing shredded beyond repair, Va’lis was pinned down against the rocks with a dragon roaring in his face. He could smell the stench of death billowing from it, teeth like swords threatened him. Yet he could not move but a finger from its weight.
Bre wrapped her arms around its neck, hurriedly whispering into its ear. A moment passed, and another, before it finally moved back. With a snort towards him, it flew back to its nest nearby that Bre had created for it. But the message it sent with that snort was clear.
“Do this again like this, and I’ll kill you.”
Her hands were all over him after the dragon left. He looked terrible, blood poured from gashes on his arms and chest. Burns from the spells leaving their mark upon his neck and legs.
“Va’lis…are…”
Weakly cutting her off, he spat a mouthful of bloodout. “Bre…I think we’re done for today.” Nodding, she helped him to his feet and into the house. For once, he didn’t make a sound about not needing it.
She managed to at least get him into a chair in the library before his weight got to much for her to handle. And, as an added bonus, the lack of windows in this room would help once the sun rose high enough to bathe the valley in golden light.
“Ill go…ask for new windows…Will you be ok while im gone?” Her concern washed away any feelings of anger she had for him previously. Once he managed a slight nod, she hurried out the door.
Pausing just long enough to lean briefly, she wondered if she had imagined the words she could have sworn he managed before the door shut. Smiling a bit, she decided they were real and had happened. Tired and sore, she still managed to be a bit cheerful about it all.
Not everybody gets to hear the words “I’m proud of you”, from Va’lis Razele.