Chapter 6: Beginner’s Magical Combat
“Alright class. It’s time to loosen your chains,” Professor Benwick proclaimed. “Because of excellent performance from–” he glared at a few students, myself included, “–most of you, we will be moving onto magical combat.” I silently groaned. This was exactly what I didn’t want to happen. “Those of you who did not perform so well,” he said, again glaring at the same set of students, “have no fear. Like I said last week, there’s a reason the Advanced Healing courses take place during periods 2 and 3.” He gestured to our right, where we saw a band of unfamiliar, older students waving. “These will be the people saving your lives over the remainder of the year. In particularly… gruesome cases, it will be Professor Seaver Royal.” One of the students – or, I suppose, he wasn’t a student – bowed with overdone flourish. “Again, don’t worry. In the past 100 years, we’ve had exactly,” he began counting on his fingers, “two deaths and three permanent disfigurements – and all of those were cases wherein the student refused help from a healer, for whatever idiotic reason. So long as you allow the healers to help you, you will be safe.” He paused before continuing, “Combat will be two against two. Pairs will be formed based on performance – you will be paired with someone on the opposite end of performance. Low performers, you’re welcome. High performers, don’t worry – some of the low performers are ranged fighters. They usually won’t have had much melee practice, even if they absolutely should, but I’m sure we’ll see some turnarounds now that magic is involved. That being said…” he frowned. “Yeah, some are just piss poor fighters. Sorry in advance, I suppose. These will be your pairs for the year, so make sure to get along.”
He began listing off pairs of students, until finally, “Bysen Broga and Bal Decimation.” I paled. I quickly recalled – quite vividly – the fights, or, well, more realistically one-sided beat-downs, that Bysen had put me through on the first day of school. I also recalled that she was the highest performing physical combatant. Which meant I was the lowest. I supposed I wasn’t too surprised, but still… I was afraid to be in the same ring as her, even with her on my team. As I turned my head, she was already glaring at me.
Once he had finished listing off pairs, he had everyone stand and directed us all to the back of the combat grounds. “This is Collie,” he said once we’d all made it to the back. We stood in a large marked circle, surrounded by a crescent of raised seats. “She’s a mini colosseum, built just for us. This is where our classes will be held from now until the end of the year. There will be three matches a day in Collie, while the rest are free to either watch in the stands, or spar with their partner in one of the combat rooms,” he gestured to the stout, long building behind Collie. “Though note that some will be used by other combat classes. The matches will end when all members of one team have succumbed to soulstrain, major wounds, or surrender. Magical weapons are allowed, and encouraged. Those of you who are rich, I’m sure you have plenty you’re eager to use, and those of you who aren’t, well, you better either be in an enchanting class or getting some tips from classmates in enchanting. It’s a vital skill that separates the good from the great. Just as all mages should be versed in physical combat regardless of range, all mages should be versed in enchanting regardless of profession. The three matches today will be the following: Cynefrith Decimation and Leofwine Osgar against Eadberht Decimation and Alfswith Hild, Julian Royal-Siegfried and Eldwyn Sarlic against Theomund Royal and Wallis Agyfen, and,” I wordlessly prayed that I wouldn’t be one of the combatants on the first day, “the final match will be Balmung Decimation and Bysen Broga against Orva Indomitable and Taite Sunniva.” Eldest damn it all.
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After I’d made my way to a seat near Julian, Othili, and Garberend, Bysen made way to sit next to me. I tried to strike up conversation, but she remained deathly silent, not even bothering to acknowledge me, even though she chose to sit next to me. I looked to Julian for help but he shrugged. “Good luck,” he whispered. I silently mourned that this would be my fate for the following year.
As the four combatants made their way to the central ring, I looked around me. Most of the students had chosen to sit and watch, though I noticed a few were missing, probably making their way to the combat rooms to spar and strategize. My attention returned to the ring and I tried to analyze the combatants.
It was generally fairly easy to tell what mana types someone used if you had audial, gustatory, or in my case, empathetic manasense. There were a few other more esoteric and specific forms of manasense that could be used in this manner – empathetic was one of them, being a more versatile and strong form of tactile – but they were too few to mention. Even empathetic was quite rare – Linn and I were, to the best of my knowledge, the only two members of our grade who wielded it.
As my manasense glossed over the combatants, I gauged the mana types they had access to. Eadberht Decimation radiated a feeling of backbone and vigor that I immediately recognized as Force mana. Leofwine Osgar’s mana felt determined and reliable. It was difficult to recognize, but I was fairly certain it was Strength mana. When I began focusing on Alfswith Hild, I was surprised to find a sensation similar, but still different, to Leofwine’s. It was stronger, and had an added reassurance to it that reminded me of Healing mana. My eyes widened as I realized what it was – Boon mana, a blend between Strength and Healing. It was more potent than Strength mana, and could be used to heal, though not as well as normal Healing mana.
Finally, I concentrated on Cynefrith and my eyes widened. Her mana was, for lack of a better word, active. It was wild, it wanted to be used, let loose. At first, I thought it might have been Lightning mana, but as I concentrated further I felt the similar feeling of fortitude that my own mana radiated. She wielded Decimation mana. Decimation mana was a variant of Force mana, in the same way that Fire and Heat were variants of each other, or Strength and Speed. Fire mana could evoke heat as low as the First Circle, and Heat mana could evoke fire at the Second. But Decimation was… special. It wasn’t so much that it inherently had a heavy cost of Change, rather instead that the path from Force to Decimation was notoriously difficult to enact. So difficult, in fact, that in order for a Force mage to evoke Decimation, one needed a Fourth Circle spell. It was the domain of archmages, until Decimation mana was discovered. Decimation mana was everything a Force mage dreamed of – it allowed a mage to evoke Decimation without a Fourth Circle spell, and could evoke and manipulate force with relative ease, even at as low as the First Circle – while the path from Force to Decimation necessitated incredible skill, the reverse path was fairly simple. Most Force mages would never wield Decimation, but Decimation mages were practically just Force mages with sharper teeth. Quite literally, as Decimation was a cutting force of pure destruction, one that even rivaled Spatial and Royalflame mana.
I knew immediately that the opposing team stood no chance. Even my shield ring, which I was quite confident in, would probably barely be able to last minutes against a Decimation mage of the same Circle as me. House Decimation was fairly liberal with distributing Decimation mana amongst its members, and I recalled that I had once been offered a Decimation core, but my parents had me refuse. If I had chosen a Decimation core, I would have only been able to manipulate Decimation mana crystals, and unattuned once my reach expanded enough. But with Crystal mana, I could manipulate any, and make enchantments that used any mana type. There weren’t any intersections between Decimation and Crystal known by House Decimation, so I couldn’t choose to wield both. I still had plans for Decimation mana – after all, the Head of House could only be someone who wielded that House’s mana type, and my ambitions were quite large. The laws regarding Heads of Houses were fairly… flexible. Crystal mages who could Crystal-Cast, and owned a sizable enough Decimation mana crystal, for example, were considered eligible. Granted, considering my recent failed foray into the topic, I’d probably have to consider a new angle. Enchanters weren’t considered – a Head of House could only be someone who could spellcast with the mana.
I hadn’t even realized how lost in my own thoughts I’d gotten as the battle began. Immediately, the Boon mage leaped toward the opposing Decimation mage, who blasted him backwards. The Boon mage crashed into the opposite wall, and there was an audible crunch as one of his arms bent the wrong way. Already, though, it was correcting itself. I was impressed – most Boon mages were able to heal that fast, especially past the First Circle, but not without intensive training. The Decimation mage frowned, and shot a curve of Decimation at her opponent. The attack cleaved into the Boon mage’s left leg, tripping him. He immediately picked up his leg, stuck it right back on, and then I saw the strangest thing appear – Second Circle runes. The leg immediately healed, as though it were never cut, though there was a slight, quickly fading mark. I immediately realized I recognized him as one of the two students who was able to cast Second Circle spells in my spellcasting class. Perhaps the Decimation mage would have a harder time than I thought.
My attention flicked to the other two mages, whose fight was just as extraordinary. The Strength mage leaped around the ring like a cockroach, while the Force mage emitted concussive blasts, continually missing by just a hair. My manasense told me that the Strength mage was actually manifesting two evocations, one Strength, and one an altered evocation that mimicked Speed mana. The Force blasts kept getting weaker and weaker, until they stopped manifesting altogether. I’d realized that this was the Strength mage’s strategy all along; he never planned on making a move to attack. One of the ways to get victory was for the opponents to succumb to soulstrain. My attention passed back to the battle between Decimation and Boon, and I realized that the Decimation mage was employing a similar, but more… sadistic approach.
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I had originally questioned why the Boon mage had used a Second Circle spell to heal himself – while it was certainly a power move, it was also a waste of effort. As the Circles progressed, they caused more and more soulstrain. It was why it was important to exercise one’s soul before excessively using spells of a new Circle. Apparently, though, the Second Circle spell was necessary to heal such a grievous wound, as over and over again, a wave of Decimation passed through the Boon mage and over and over again, a Second Circle rune popped up and began running through a set before disappearing, having completed its task. The soulstrain was quickly becoming evident on the Boon mage’s features as he chased after the Decimation mage, but Boon mana wasn’t a variant of Speed like Strength was – the mage had to rely purely on the strength of his legs, while the Decimation mage was clearly excessively trained in the use of Force magic, as she was darting around the stage, floating just a hair off the ground. It was incredibly impressive – flying using Force magic was a notoriously difficult task. Either she was of direct lineage, and had excessive tutoring, or she was really just that much of a prodigy, and offered a Decimation mana core.
Eventually, the Boon mage finally gave up, and conceded defeat. My mouth was agape, as was everyone’s in the stands. It was an incredibly impressive fight, and had I not been just another match away from certain doom, I would have stood and clapped with everyone. Cynefrith even went as far as to bow for her audience, who began roaring with more applause and hoots.
I looked over to Julian, whose eyes were wide and mouth smiling like a monkey. I couldn’t believe he was actually excited for his match.
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Julian stood next to a short, gangly boy with the widest glasses I’d ever seen in my life. I could immediately tell that he was going to be working overtime for this battle. He began doing stretches, though not the ones that I often found myself walking into – these were more traditional stretches that one would do right before a heavy workout. He appeared to be making conversation with his partner, Eldwyn, while stretching. Knowing him, he probably wasn’t talking about battle at all, instead whatever topic had wormed its way into his head at the moment.
Once again, I waved my manasense over all the combatants. From Julian, I felt the feeling of pure, unrelenting heat of Royalflame, as well as the snooty I’m-Better-Than-You attitude that came from Royal mana. I was perplexed, though, as I could only feel one core – the Royal mana felt more like it was a haze inside of him. I supposed I hadn’t really paid much attention to Julian’s mana, but for the life of me I couldn’t find Julian’s Royal mana core. I supposed that was one advantage tactile manasense had over empathetic – tactile had an easier time understanding mana density than empathetic. If Julian’s mana was hovering all throughout his body, I wouldn’t be able to find the core inside of it.
From Eldwyn, I felt absolutely no emotion, it was more like grazing my fingers upon a surface. Unattuned. I winced as I realized just how much Julian was going to be carrying this battle. I felt bad, considering one of my own weapons made use of unattuned mana, but my feelings were unfortunately warranted. The only real use it had was its disruption of mana crystals – unattuned battlemages had to make use of unattuned mana crystals in order to actually do any damage to a person.
My concentration moved to Wallis, and I felt a feeling of mystery and unsureness – Darkness mana, or some derivative, I was certain. Darkness mana was extremely versatile, similar to force. Just like mana, it could exist in any state other than plasma – solid, liquid, or gaseous. In its solid evocations, it packed quite a punch, and could be shaped into weapons – most importantly, though, solid Darkness evocations were considerably cheaper than solid evocations of other mana types, though they tended to dissipate over time. Its liquid state didn’t have many uses in battle, but was vital to several non-combat fields, such as alchemy. Its gaseous state could be used to cloud one’s senses, and could also be wielded similar to Wind mana evocations.
Finally, my focus landed on Theomund Royal, and I was surprised to find that he only wielded Royalflame, and not Royal. In my head, I knew that the majority of members of House Royal didn’t have access to Royal mana, only contenders for the throne, but the two I had met both had access to Royal mana, so I supposed I’d grown used to them having it. I was, though, surprised that Theomund of all people didn’t have it. He had become renowned for being a talented and powerful mage for his age in the past few months. I supposed he must have been a late bloomer – in most Houses, if someone showed excellence in magic early on, they offered to close their core and replace it with one of the House’s mana type. But if someone progressed as a mage too much before their excellence made itself known, then closing a core would be counterintuitive; they would have grown too used to using their mana type, and replacing it would hinder their progress.
Wallis shouted, “Theomund! It is a pleasure to fight beside you!” so everyone could hear. Theomund remained silent, and stared at Julian with a glare that reminded me of Bysen. I paled, praying that Bysen wasn’t a Dream mage – I’d never actually found out what type of mana she used. At First Circle, she probably wouldn’t be able to read thoughts… probably. I shuddered.
Just as the fight began, a sharp chunk of unattuned mana crystal the size of my arm appeared out of nowhere and lanced right through Wallis’ shoulder. His arm plopped to the ground, its former owner screaming in pain, and I turned to Eldwyn, the gangly unattuned mage. His hand was outstretched, and his eyes shone with a focus I hadn’t seen on him prior to the match. The mana crystal dissipated the moment it had completed its goal, and more, smaller mana crystals appeared and began to circle around Eldwyn. They all flew toward Wallis, who began erecting shields of Darkness, protecting him. Eldwyn frowned, firing a beam of unattuned mana at the shields. His frown deepened as he realized that the shields weren’t being disrupted. Considering he used unattuned mana, he was likely one of the commoner prodigies that got into Albinus Academy with a plethora of scholarships, and hadn’t previously been educated on the nature of Darkness mana – he likely assumed the shields were made of mana crystal rather than a solid evocation. He quickly gave up the pursuit of breaking the shields with raw unattuned mana, and began peppering them with mana crystals.
My attention turned to Julian and Theomund, who were engaged in a swordfight. Julian wielded the sword that Linn and I made for him, and I was quite proud of its design. It resembled a fencer’s saber, except that it was slightly thicker and its blade was made entirely of Royalflame. I’d gotten the idea from my shield ring – similar to how my ring condenses all the force it would use into a blanket making up my shape, making the force denser and more effective, an entire beam’s worth of Royalflame was bundled up along the thin blade of the saber, making it an incredibly effective weapon. In theory, it would allow the blade to cut through anything with even more ease than Julian could otherwise muster. In practice, it worked better than I could have ever hoped. Just standing near the saber was a tribulation, as it radiated an intense heat when it was activated. I’d offered to work on condensing the heat as well using Heat mana crystals, but Julian declined. He said that he could handle the heat, thanks to his Royal body, while most of his opponents would have a harder time. When he said that, I gained a newfound appreciation for his wit, and prayed I’d never have to battle him.
The two clashed blade with blade – had Theomund been battling with a normal blade, it would have been cleaved in two, but instead, his blade was also made of Royalflame, and erupted from straight out of his hand. However, every time Julian passed his blade through it, the Royalflame dissipated and Theomund had to recast the spell. It quickly became a losing battle, until Theomund began casting a new spell and Julian leaped backwards. A thin ring of Royalflame manifested around Theomund, keeping Julian from getting into melee range. Theomund started charging toward Julian, who had to run backwards to avoid–
A deafening crack thundered the stage as one of Wallis’ shields finally broke, bringing my attention back to the battle between the unattuned and Darkness mages. Yet again, Eldwyn shot a huge lance of mana crystal toward Wallis, but this time, the Darkness mage didn’t sit and take it. Plumes of Darkness vaulted out of Wallis’ legs, shooting him to the side, just narrowly avoiding the spear. The spear quickly turned around, hoping to catch the mage, but the strain of sustaining such a large temporary mana crystal was beginning to become evident on Eldwyn’s face – it was clear that this attack was meant to be one-and-done, rather than held over time. The spear was just a hair faster than Wallis, but the mage had gained some distance. As strain built on Eldwyn’s face, and the spear inched ever-so-slightly toward the retreating Darkness mage, my heart hammered in anticipation. Finally, the spear struck through Wallis’ stomach, and Eldwyn collapsed from the overwhelming soulstrain he’d just put himself through. Both mages fell to the ground unconscious, and teams of healers rushed onto the scene to bring them to the stands.
I was still reeling from the scene as I realized that Julian and Theomund were still fighting. Well… “fighting” was a particularly nice word for it. Instead, Theomund was chasing after Julian, who was throwing taunts and insults at him. While I couldn’t actually hear what Julian was saying, I had come to know him well enough to know what the exact words coming out of his mouth were. Plus, he was sticking his tongue out. It was pretty clear what was going on. Theomund shouted in anger, and Julian laughed. Finally, he stopped running away, turned around, and activated his saber. The blade pierced right through Theomund, and the ring of Royalflame right through Julian. But only one of them fell to the ground. Julian was entirely unharmed, though half his tunic had fallen to the floor, as it’d been cut in half by the ring of Royalflame. My mouth stood wide as I realized that Julian could have ended the battle at any moment, and actively chose not to. His eyes fell on mine, and he shouted something – it was just loud enough for me to hear. “Nice of you to finally get back to watching my fight!”