The display zoomed in on a pair of magisters near the river. One had dark brown skin and long red hair, with a red suit and pants to match. The other magister was shorter, with blue eyes and short green hair. Her black robes and pants gave her a gothic appearance and her expression seemed as dour as her wardrobe.
She tossed her spell tome on the ground then stepped on it as it rose into the air. Letting the spell tome carry her over the river, she cast a silent spell that gave life to ten water tentacles. Like whips they snapped and thrashed around, breaking trees as they reached for the dark skinned man.
He countered by drawing a complex spell in the air as he summoned a dark beast with a massive body of tangled vines and a large mouth with pointed fangs.
As the beast loped toward the river, it crashed through the water tentacles easily.
Seeing her spell collapse, the gothic girl chanted and ten swords of water rose out of the river, surrounding her and flying in formation.
She chanted another spell and a wall of water formed, cutting off her foe's attack.
The magi-beast slammed into her blades, knocking a few back and pressing forward without regard for its own safety.
Vines snapped up, trying to snare the blades only to be sliced apart.
The green haired woman floated higher away from the conflict, letting her blades hack into the beast relentlessly.
A heavy sigh escaped the man's mouth and the vines recoiled. As the water blades pursued the beast, the red robed magister began chanting once more. He summoned another creature, one that looked like a large bull, but its hide was hard tree bark and its legs were thick trunks.
As soon as it formed, the magi-beast charged at the water swords, racing right over the water’s surface as if it were solid. Long tendrils lashed out from the creature’s body, twisting around the woman’s legs and her spell tome. Pulling in different directions, her tome was sent flying into the river, while she crashed onto the shore.
The dark skinned magister shouted then the tree beast stomped. A wave of force spread from beneath the creature, sending a wave of water rushing over the gothic woman.
Her blades lost form and fell in little droplets, freeing the vine monster to rejoin the fray.
The woman cried out as the magi-beasts closed in and she vanished between them. When the beasts came away from the spot no trace of her remained except for crimson stains on bark and vines.
“That was just brutal! Crimson Jack has earned his reputation once again with a fresh reminder about why you better be damn careful when facing a spell tome of life!” The announcer called as the dark skinned magister raised a fist in the air.
As the water drained away from the area, the display zoomed across the arena to a different fight that was already underway.
A blond magister dressed all in white stood alone, but in front of him stood two women, one with long raven hair in a black robe and pants, and the other with long orange hair in a white robe and pants. The woman on the right raised her hand, letting out a wave of flame. The other woman on the left summoned a black mist to meet the fire. The two spells combined seamlessly into a black blaze that seemed to burn away light and color as it came for the white clad magister.
The white magister moved in an intricate pattern, dancing with his hands as if he were weaving an intricate tapestry. When his fingers finally stopped, a ball of light appeared in his palm and he tossed it at the incoming blaze.
A wall of golden light confronted the cursed inferno, burning bright until the black flame vanished. The wall of light remained, even as the woman on the right chanted.
“This is crazy,” I said. “Why do they throw their lives away in arenas like this?”
Alex shrugged, his attention remained on the holo as he said, “A magister is a tool for the public. We aren't free to do as we please. These people fight to win points, sparkz, or sometimes they fight for their freedom. Crimson Jack is one who they claim killed an enforcer. His sentence was to fight in the arena until the day he dies or he wins ten thousand battles, whichever comes first.”
Alex sat up, turning from the screen to face me. The concern on his face made my gut twist as I braced myself for some ‘you have friends and I just want to help’ speech.
To my relief, he just asked, “What do you want to do after graduation?”
The question caught me completely off guard. My mind raced for a second and then I blurted, “I'm going to hunt for spell tomes.”
“For the travel, or do you actually fantasize about digging through ancient ruins, risking your life and facing the unknown in search of lost spell tomes you’ll never get to use? I know you’re weird, but are you really that kind of weird?”
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I narrowed my eyes on Alex.
He flinched. “Woah buddy, I didn’t mean to offend you.”
I wasn’t weird. I was just following the plan. Mom and dad went first and I was going to join them when I finished training…
But they were already gone, there was no one to join.
It was like the plan was burned into my mind and now I had to do it. There was no choice but to follow it.
A sigh slipped from my mouth and my shoulders fell as the tension left my body. It felt as if a heavy weight were being lifted from my back. I looked at Alex as he smiled at me. He seemed relaxed, yet there was a sharpness in his blue eyes that reminded me of my father.
Alex was waiting patiently for my response and as he sat with his eyes locked with mine, the whole situation just felt weird. “I don’t know,” I finally said to break the awkwardness, not even realizing how much truth there was in those words until they passed my lips.
My throat tightened. I wanted to cry, to shout, and yell out how unfair life was. I wanted to tell Alex how lucky he was, but the words just stuck in my chest as the weight returned, pressing down on me and my stomach knotted up.
I squeezed my eyes shut, blocking out everything until a cool wave washed over my body, leaving my mind numb. I opened my eyes and looked at Valentina. She was sitting beside me now, leaning against my shoulder.
Alex stood from the couch saying, “I've gotta take a call, but I’ll be right back.”
I gave him a half wave as he left, then I turned my head back to the display, focusing on it instead of Valentina.
The two women were hanging upside down, both impaled on a golden spear. As the crowd roared, the light magister ripped open his shirt and pulled a knife from his pocket. Next to a series of crooked scars on his chest, he carved two new lines then licked his blade clean of blood.
The display changed again, flashing to a pair of magisters in purple and gray at the center of a barren rocky area. I watched listlessly as their battle raged. They seemed evenly matched at least, but I was only half paying attention. Mostly I was wondering if I’d end up in an arena one day. If I took too long to pay my debts, would I be forced to fight? Or maybe I’d go by choice. If I didn’t earn enough to pay off The Society, I’d at least be free in death.
The woman in gray won the match, leaving a gash that nearly split the purple clad magister in two.
My heart ached. To think anyone could find amusement in watching magisters kill each other over and over.
Alex came back, sighing heavily as he took the couch opposite mine. His head hung as he ran his fingers through his blond hair. After a moment, he said, “Sorry about that.”
I shook my head, but remained quiet. Pulling my knees up to my chest, I pressed my face against them and crossed my arms in front of me. I didn’t want to watch these duels, I should’ve just stayed in my room.
----------------------------------------
With the duels done, Alex apologized, saying he had to check in at home and I’d be on my own for the rest of the night. I did my best to act disappointed, but I was relieved when he was gone.
I raced back to the dorm and ignored Amhir asking, “Is it true? Did he really have tickets for the showdown?”
He wasn’t in our class, but he was a first year.
“Hey,” he called as I powered past the kitchenette and into my room.
“He’s a bit tired,” I heard Valentina say. As she pushed the door shut, she finished, “Don't disturb him if you can help it.”
I slumped down onto my bed as a dark cloud rose up from it to devour me.
Mom and dad were strong but they still died in less than a week on Terminia.
What kind of place is it really? Would I be able to survive with Valentina? What even killed them anyway?
Questions piled like weights, dragging me down into a dark pit. It was hard to even breathe with all the thoughts circling in my head.
Valentina's touch broke me away from my thoughts. Her fingers stroked my cheek, pulling my eyes back into focus as my chest grew hot and the knot in my gut loosened.
“I can help…if you let me,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.
I opened my mouth to ask her to stop touching me, but closed it without speaking as I rolled over and pulled out my phone.
As if in response to my touch, the phone buzzed and beeped. “You have one missed call, and one video message—retrieving.”
The screen turned dark. There was a burnt face, so melted it looked like they’d bathed in lava, in the frame. Behind the nasty mess a woman was holding something shiny. She looked horrible, but I recognized her. It was mom! I hit play.
“Dex, buddy you can— st — iety! Terminia isn’t ou— we found something Dex, but we — ack.”
There was so much static I could hardly understand what he was saying. From the voice I knew it was dad, but what happened to his face?
Mom screamed.
Blood splattered on the screen, covering half the camera.
Dad frowned. “Sorry Dexter… be safe, buddy. Do— ollow the plan. I—”
The message cut off.
I watched the whole thing three more times before it registered that it had truly ended.
My hands shook. I squeezed my eyes shut, but the image was burned into my mind. It felt like the floor beneath me was going to give out and send me crashing down into the abyss. My breath came in gasps and the air felt like acid in my throat.
Valentina rested a hand on my back.
Her touch was so comforting, but so painful at the same time.
My world went black and the pain…my thoughts all faded away.