Friedrich and Teleri waited at the cliffside as the rocks unfurled themselves, leaving a staircase in their wake. At the top, Marina and Grephor waved to them—Marina much more enthusiastically than Grephor’s simple raised hand. Both glad to see their friend again, Friedrich and Teleri marched up the stairs towards her.
“I was worried you two would be buried beneath the sands without me,” said Marina, putting an arm around each of them and hugging them tightly.
“Still alive,” wheezed Friedrich as Marina’s shoulder wedged itself in his jugular.
“Please unhand me,” said Teleri uncomfortably.
“Did you have fun without me?”
“Well,” said Friedrich tilting his head from side to side. “We did a few jobs, killed a few rats, were briefly married before an amicable separation. The usual sort of stuff, you know?”
“What was that last part?” asked Marina, cocking her head and raising an eyebrow.
“It is a long story,” said Teleri, putting her face into her hand. “It is not how it sounds. I assure you of that, Marina.”
“It would be funny, if it didn’t end with us being attacked,” muttered Friedrich. “How are you, Marina?” he asked more loudly.
“I am very well,” she said, turning to Grephor who nodded.
“She has shown a lot of promise in the arcane arts,” said the mage. “It was a great shock when she said that she learned how to use the lightning bolt spell without any formal training.”
“That’s what Hansel said,” said Friedrich, folding his arms and nodding along.
“And you’re sure it isn’t inherited from your parents?” asked Grephor.
“Nope,” said Marina, smiling, but her eyes flickered back and forth momentarily. Teleri caught this and was immediately suspicious, but did not say a word.
“Come, come,” said Grephor, beckoning them all to follow. “Let Marina show you what she has learned. I am sure you will be most impressed, as I was. A week is not a long time to learn how to use a spell like this, but…she has.”
“Lightning elemental?” asked Friedrich excitedly.
Marina simply smiled and walked along, half-skipping as she moved. The trio stopped outside the front of the temple at the edge of the cliff and a number of the other mages filtered out from the doorway. They all lined up as though they were about to watch a show, leaving Friedrich and Teleri confused.
“What’s happening?” asked Friedrich.
Marina took a few steps away from him. “You have been nominated, Friedrich,” she said slyly.
“For what?”
“Battle!” she called out, twirling her staff around and then placing the butt of the staff on the sandy stone.
“I don’t follow.”
Marina sighed. “I need someone to test my new spell on, and there’s nobody who I’d rather have fight it than you. Will you please play along and stop ruining my moment?”
“Alright,” said Friedrich, adjusting his shield and drawing his sword. “Battle!” he cried out, making the mages laugh and Marina roll her eyes. Teleri simply stood by stoically with her arms folded.
Marina took more steps back, creating a large gap between her and Friedrich. She focused her arcane energy and her eyes flickered with electricity as the purple amethyst embedded within her staff began to glow. She spun her staff around and swung it through the air, sending a lightning bolt out before her.
Unlike a normal bolt, it froze in place and expanded. As it took the shape of a legless humanoid, pebbles and dust floated up from the ground and hovered around its limbs, giving the rippling, crackling elemental a very basic corporeal form.
With no desire to be burned to a crisp, Friedrich charged towards the creature with his shield raised and swept his blade through the air, striking the elemental. The motion of the attack swept Marina’s summoning aside, but it was completely unhurt, as though it had just been pushed by a small breeze.
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Friedrich knew that the fight would be impossible if he couldn’t land a hit on his opponent. Unlike Grephor’s earth elemental, there was no physical body to strike. It was a magical creature that required magic to defeat. Suddenly, Friedrich had an idea.
Marina stood with a confident smirk on her face that was most unlike her. As she watched her elemental do nothing, she saw Friedrich draw back his shield. Her eyes widened as she realised what he was about to do. He bashed it with the shield, activating its magic. The elemental was sent whizzing through the air, flailing its arms to stop itself.
As it halted, it shot a bolt of lightning, much weaker than Marina’s ones, striking Friedrich’s shield before bouncing away. Although Friedrich could not defeat the elemental with his sword, his enchanted shield’s magic was strong enough to deflect its attacks.
The elemental flew through the air, moving around to Friedrich’s side before casting another bolt at his legs, which he leapt over. He burst towards the summoning and smacked it with his shield again, flinging it backwards. Marina was visibly annoyed and glanced towards the line of mages, who were all murmuring to each other. They were surprised that the young man had a method of defending himself, and they were all impressed.
The elemental summoned two bolts in a row, each weaker than the previous and flung them at Friedrich who swept one away with his shield and narrowly dodged the other one. He ran forwards again as the elemental started to shake, becoming unstable. He bashed it with his shield once more and, much to his surprise, it fizzled out of existence. Somehow, he had defeated it.
Marina’s jaw dropped. “I don’t believe it,” she muttered. “It’s still so weak.”
Grephor walked towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “To have achieved what you have in the space of a week is nothing short of astounding. All you need is practice and patience, Marina. As you train with the spell, it will grow stronger. As you continue to read the tome and master your control, it will become a much more powerful force of nature. Do not fret.”
Teleri walked over to Friedrich. “That was…impressive,” she whispered.
“I hope I didn’t embarrass her,” he said, feeling like perhaps he should have just taken the loss, but he was too caught up in the excitement.
“A false victory would have taught her nothing,” said Teleri as though she had read his mind.
Marina and Grephor approached the two. “That didn’t go to plan,” said Marina awkwardly.
“Well, at least I didn’t get shocked again,” said Friedrich with a shrug.
“You’re still going to be my training guinea pig, alright?” she asked with a wink. “Every night before we sleep, you’re going to fight against Shockwave and watch him grow stronger.”
“You named your elemental?” asked Teleri. “Is it not a new force every time you summon one?”
“And you stole the name of my shield!” remarked Friedrich.
“Shush,” said Marina, putting her fingers in her ears and shaking her head. She wondered why the name Shockwave was in her, but hadn’t realised that Friedrich’s shield was the source of the thought. She giggled and then turned towards Grephor. “Thank you very much for everything you and the other mages have shown me.”
“Think nothing of it,” he said, stroking his beard. “It was interesting to teach a mage who isn’t in favour to our own elemental preference. I learned a thing or two as well.”
“I’m glad,” said Marina.
“Friedrich,” said Grephor, turning towards the young man who was sheathing his sword.
“Yes?” he asked, surprised he was being addressed directly.
“Do you know why you were unable to damage the elemental by conventional means?”
“It didn’t have a body.”
The mage nodded. “That is correct. There are magical beings, notably elementals and spirits, that are immune to basic weaponry. It was fortunate that you had a shield with a magical effect that you could use to protect yourself with until Marina was unable to sustain the elemental for any longer.”
“I bought it in Port Balsia a fortnight ago. To tell you the truth, after my sword failed to do anything, I thought that I had no chance in the battle.”
“To defeat a creature such as this, magic is what it takes. An enchanted weapon, even one with a mundane effect, would aid you greatly. I would advise that you consider arming yourself with something magical.”
“Yes,” said Friedrich. “I think that would be wise.”
His mind was drawn to his father. If he had tried to rescue his father with a mere steel sword, he would have fallen. When he first set out on his journey, he presumed some weaponry and a boat would be all that he needed, but he knew now just how naïve he had been. He needed magical power and he needed much more of it.
“There is something else I would urge, for each of you,” said Grephor, walking over to Friedrich and casting a spell upon him. White light trickled over the Mercian before fading away, leaving him feeling slightly tingly.
“What did that do?” asked Friedrich.
“Do not raise your shield,” said Grephor as he walked backwards and raised his staff.
He shot a white orb of light at Friedrich, who fought his instinct to defend himself. The orb collided with Friedrich and then dissipated into thin air, leaving him unhurt. He looked all over himself, expecting to see some sort of damage to his leather armour or the clothing underneath, but there was nothing.
“I cast a temporary protective spell upon you,” said Grephor, walking back over to the trio. “There are many types of protective spells, but this one is particularly effective. It can also be applied to armour in such a way that it reduces the impact of magical attacks.”
“That would be most useful,” remarked Teleri, looking at her own armour. “We have been fortunate to not have been attacked my magic often.”
“There was that mage friend of yours yesterday who tried to burn you alive,” said Friedrich.
“What did you two get up to?” asked Marina, shaking her head and then clicking her tongue.
“It was a strange week,” said Friedrich.
“Must we leave immediately?” Teleri asked Grephor. “We find ourselves unable to return to Kar’thay to rest for reasons beyond our control.”
“You are all welcome to stay the night and depart in the morning,” said Grephor with a warm smile. “Apprentice Derik is in charge of the meal preparation tonight so you are in for a treat.”
“Oh!” squealed Marina excitedly and clapping her hands like a seal. “This will be a tasty dinner.”