Kade was like a man possessed as he raced after the enormous Jothus, utterly headless of the dangers the man presented. He wasn’t lost in anger, rather he could feel himself pulled forward by not just his own determination, but his skills themselves as he felt a desperate need to move forward. His speed reached new heights, and he intuitively understood that Relentless Pursuit wasn’t truly designed for his evasive method of fighting, but as the name implied it was meant to propel him ever toward his opponents.
As Jothus dug massive hands into the earth and finally arrested his motion, he only had a moment to look up before Kade slammed his resummoned warhammer right into the man’s face, sending him crashing backward once more. Kade realized his remarkable strength awakening at this moment was no surprise now that he understood the ability, and with a grin he charged after the Elementalist. Unlike the more common strength enhancing abilities he’d heard about, his was adaptive, and clearly based on the power of the foe he was facing.
While this was vastly less convenient than a continuous strength enhancement, he could sense that it was capable of making him far more powerful than the alternative. The drawbacks were in line with the power of the ability though, as he actually had to experience the enemy’s strength to adapt to it. This was what had finally awakened the ability, as it took being struck by the giant to somehow acclimate his body. He likely could have used the power sooner, but his instinct to retreat and stay away from the giant after that initial blow failed to meet the ability’s key requirement: he needed to challenge a more powerful enemy, not run away.
He knew these discoveries were going to completely change the way he fought, but for now he let himself become lost in the battle. Once more he allowed his chains to spread throughout the arena, though he only used them to keep pursuing Jothus, constantly adjusting his angle of approach. The duel was anything but one-sided however, as the far more experienced warrior quickly recovered from his shock, and despite Kade using his chains to adjust his trajectory at the last moment, the next swing of his warhammer was met with an equally powerful block from a stone covered forearm.
Normally this was when Kade would let his chains pull him away in an unexpected direction, but he now understood that was never who he was meant to be. Instead, he used his superior speed to continue the assault, dropping below the man’s gigantic arm, and abandoning his warhammer in favor of two small energy daggers. Jothus roared in pain as a dozen small slashes rapidly appeared across his legs, before stomping a foot into the ground, launching Kade into the air in an explosion of stone and rock.
Kade tried to ignore the pain as every part of him was struck by flying debris, and used his chains to yank himself back toward the giant before the dust had even cleared. Jothus was barely preparing his next move when Kade was back, a large two handed ax swinging down with all the force Kade could bring to bear. He felt utter glee as the glowing blade of energy sunk into the man’s shoulder, but a glance at Jothus’ face showed that his celebration was premature. The man had apparently chosen to absorb the strike, as it gave him an opportunity for a point blank strike of his own, and Kade could only brace himself as he felt a rocky fist smash against his left shoulder, shattering bone.
The force once more sent Kade careening across the arena, tumbling against the ground so rapidly that he couldn’t manage to orient himself, and instead ended up collapsing against a tree that had virtually exploded upon absorbing his impact. He was in shock for a brief moment before the pain in his shoulder assaulted him, and he felt paralyzed by the fresh agony. A part of his mind tried to focus on the inevitable follow-up attack, but he was surprised to find it never came, as Jothus once more turned his focus to the real threat–an exhausted looking Salarus who had finally returned to the ground.
Kade could only watch the lopsided battle as his lifeforce tried to force his battered body into a usable state. Sal was clearly running low on mana, likely having expended an enormous amount during the time spent battling while Kade had been unconscious. Now he was struggling to hurl lightning blasts at Gwen, while numerous orbs of intense gravity just managed to keep Jothus from getting close enough to end the match with his tremendous strength up close. Kade could tell that the valiant Sorcerer was being pushed to his limits, especially without the loyal Anton to protect him.
Sal apparently noticed Kade was still in the fight, as he looked over despite the endless waves of earth and ice that washed over him. Salarus appeared to take in Kade’s tragic appearance, but nevertheless took a moment to hold up two fingers, in what seemed to be an imploring gesture, before turning back to the fight. Kade thought he understood, and considered his options–could he buy the man two minutes? He tried to focus on his warrior abilities, hoping their twin urge to throw oneself into combat would give him the energy he needed to regain his feet, and was grateful to find it worked, even if he did feel like both his mana and life force were nearly depleted.
Kade considered his limited repertoire of abilities, and tried to formulate some kind of hasty plan. With few options, he reluctantly summoned a still-injured Drake, but was happy to see the damage that Jothus had inflicted to the gauntlets only amounted to a significant decrease in the Aspect’s mass of chains. Kade sent silent commands to his metallic companion, who immediately began anchoring chains into the arena floor. Kade’s plan could barely be considered as such, but he felt it would at least be hard to ignore. His left arm was still hanging limply, but he had one more technique he’d worked on during his nightly hunts, and with the familiar’s help it might still be possible.
He used Energy Construct to create a large horizontal wheel, with its axel digging deeply into the ground. Both he and Drake attached lengths of chains to a hook on the construct, then Kade added large handles to either side of the wheel, which Drake readily gripped. Knowing his time and energy were running out, Kade burst into action, charging at the three-way battle with all the speed he could summon. Both Gwen and Jothus looked at him with irritation, but Sal seemed to understand what was coming, and made sure their attention refocused on him, with lightning and wind assailing them from every direction.
Kade rushed to try to duplicate what he’d seen the diamond-skinned Keepers perform on the Elder, darting between the two targets with chains streaming out behind him. He even slid under Jothus’ legs, and jumped over Gwen’s head as he tied more and more knots around the frustrated warriors. At last they were so tangled that they both turned their attention to Kade, tearing at the chains covering their bodies and sending deadly projectiles of ice and stone, while Kade desperately darted and weaved. Sal had immediately jumped back and begun chanting some new spell, so Kade wasted no time in charging back to the waiting Drake, stumbling and sliding as he avoided the magical deluge hot on his heels.
When he finally managed to throw his body against the wheel, he worried it might be too late as Jothus was charging behind him, the loose chains barely impeding the giant. Thankfully Drake had done his part well, as there were anchor chains in every direction, and when they both threw all their strength into spinning the wheel, the chains tightened and pulled from multiple angles, launching the pursuing brute into the air. Gwen joined him only a moment later as the two were truly caught in the complex metallic web.
Kade grinned through the pain that seemed to emanate from every part of his body as he saw his plan work, knowing that Challenger’s Might was the only thing that allowed him to bind the far more powerful warriors. He didn’t unleash Chainsaw of course, both because of the grizzly nature of the attack, and because he didn’t think it would do more than annoy the two. At last the wheel ground to a halt as the chains ran out of slack, but Kade’s look of triumph turned to concern when he saw that neither opponent was bothering to attempt to disentangle themselves.
The reason became apparent as he noticed Gwen’s eyes were closed, and she was clearly attempting something in response. Without knowing what to expect Kade simply sprinted away as quickly as he could, but Gwendara Valoro was not to be denied. Kade had barely moved when frost began to gather around him, and in a sudden wave of energy he found himself completely encased in ice, which somehow traveled up every chain in the arena, bursting them a moment later.
Kade could only stare in frozen shock as the two warriors dropped to the ground, then turned back to the Sorcerer. But the complicated maneuver hadn’t been for nothing, as everyone in the arena saw a burst of flame erupt from the ground between Sal and his two opponents. Kade was confused as he didn’t believe the Sorcerer had access to a fire-based attack, but he could only watch in stunned awe with everyone else as the ability revealed itself.
The flame spread outward until it was more than four meters wide, before it seemed to carve its way into the sky a similar distance, then folded back on itself, creating a vaguely rectangular shape hovering over the arena. The moment the flame connected, the interior darkened until it became a pool of blackness, and Kade thought he understood what he was seeing: Sal had apparently figured out Gate.
Jothus and Gwen seemed frozen by the sight, as the ominous doorway in reality loomed over the arena, releasing a strange feeling of dread. Salarus didn’t appear finished, though, as the surface of the pool of darkness began to ripple, and enormous fingers slowly emerged from within. The flesh of the fingers was red and veiny, and as the rest of the hands became visible it was clear that they weren’t remotely human in appearance. There were five fingers on each sinewy hand, with a thumb on either side, and the moment they’d completely exited the Gate they snapped forward in an instant, gripping the stunned would-be Keepers and raising them once more into the air.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Both Gwen and Jothus seemed to be in pain as they vainly struggled against the enormous deformed hands, and their struggle turned to panic as they were slowly pulled back toward the liquidy black portal. Kade was surprised when they all disappeared entirely, and the gate simply winked out of existence. Salarus seemed unconcerned though as he began walking toward the frozen Kade, brushing off his robes as he did so. A simple tap of his staff shattered the ice, and Kade unceremoniously collapsed onto the ground, pain still ravaging its way through his body. He collected himself just enough to ask his desperate question, “Sal, what the hell did you do with those two? Are they even alive?”
The question was obviously on the mind of more than just him, as Keeper Denna came running toward them looking panicked. Sal merely rolled his eyes though. “Of course they’re alive. I think the Gate would be capable of killing them, but I wouldn’t test that level of power on our allies.”
Denna seemed unconvinced, and there was a touch of fury in her tone when she came to a stop. “What are you talking about, and just what was that skill? I’ve never even heard of such a display, and I can’t sense the students anywhere!” Salarus politely waited for her to finish speaking as he helped Kade regain his feet, then patiently explained.
“I needed to end the match, but those two are impressively powerful, so the other Gate needed to be extremely high up.” Both Kade and Denna looked at him with confused expressions, before turning their gaze upward in disbelief. Sure enough, two spots could be seen descending from the sky, and only moments later the bodies of Jothus and Gwen crashed back into the arena, leaving enormous craters and tossing up small mushroom clouds of dust and earth.
“They should be fine in a while,” Sal said dismissively, then turned to Kade. “Thank you for the distraction, I hope you had a chance to test out your abilities thoroughly–Jothus and Gwen are excellent sparring partners.” Kade could only stare at him open mouthed as the mage half-carried him from the arena.
“Damn that man,” he heard Keeper Denna whisper as she rushed toward the fallen students.
***
Gwen was lying in the Academy infirmary, staring listlessly out the nearby window. The blue sky gave her very different feelings now that she’d plummeted through it for what felt like hours. She had been confident that she’d survive the fall, even if she didn’t land in the training arena where such an impact would be lessened. What had left her shaken was the utter lack of control, which seemed to be the theme of the frustrating battle.
She turned her head to look at Jothus, currently sitting perfectly still as several younger healers seemed to be fighting for the chance to tend to his limited wounds. Always taciturn, the man had been mute since he pulled himself out of the crater his fall had created, and she could see the burning anger behind his dark eyes. The fight didn’t sit well for him either, and not because of anything as trivial as class rankings–they’d been made to look like fools.
The battle should have been a joke, effectively a two versus one encounter against a Sorcerer. You could ask almost any Keeper alive what the expected result would be, and they’d all have been wrong. Salarus had surprised them both, with his newly unlocked path providing even more options to the already crafty mage. She was confident they’d have worn him down eventually, but that supposed spy had made things even more complicated.
The way he fought…it was like her mind couldn’t quite process it. There was a piece of it in Salarus as well, a way of looking at things sideways that she’d never experienced anywhere else. She’d been praised for her strength for years, always fighting exactly as she was taught: bringing her full power to bear, and simply leveling anything in front of her. The fact that her Soul Core matched her Elementalist affinity had made her incredibly adept at that type of fighting, as she could usually outlast any opponent, or simply freeze anything that dared stand in front of her.
This was how Keepers fought; it was how Keepers had always fought. And yet she and Jothus had looked like amateurs out there. Salarus’ performance could be explained by his entire life being dedicated to finding ways to use sorcery to counter the abilities of his fellow Keepers, but they simply hadn’t been prepared for Kade. It wasn’t that they feared his power–he hadn’t even attained Primus–but the way he moved, the way he dodged, the way he was never where she thought he would be. He just didn’t think like a normal person. And that damn, creepy laughter, she thought.
Gwen allowed herself a few more moments of self pity as she waited for the healers to finally leave her enormous friend alone. His eyes found hers as soon as the door closed behind the last of his admirers. “We shouldn’t have lost,” she said simply. Jothus didn’t reply, but he did let out a long sigh. “That gate he pulled us into was horrifying. I can’t get the images out of my head; that creature that grabbed us…” she shuddered before collecting herself once more. “But that’s not why we lost.” Joth paused for a long moment before nodding his agreement.
“I need to understand why everything we did in there felt wrong. I feel like we could have taken down an Elder with the amount of power we unleashed against those two, but it was like they were toying with us.” Her words came faster as she let out her frustration. “I had half my strength and focus directed toward defenses I never even used! I kept waiting for the expected counterattacks, and head-on collisions of power, but it was like that Sorcerer was bending our abilities around him, like they were nothing.”
Finally Jothus spoke. “It was more than that. He never used his abilities in the same way twice. Each time I thought I’d learned something that would help in the fight, his next attack would be a different angle, or a different shape. He was annoying when he just had wind and lightning, but with those new powers…” He trailed off, his thoughts seeming to echo Gwen’s own.
“We can’t let this stand,” she said with a confidence she didn’t completely feel. Jothus just nodded. “We won’t let this happen again. We’ll grow, we’ll become more powerful, we’ll…” she had to search for a word, thinking back to the battle. “We’ll adapt.” Jothus looked back at her, contemplative.
“We will adapt,” he agreed.
***
Kade was sitting atop the city wall, sharing a drink with Sal. He’d insisted that the view was worth the effort, and was surprised to find that the Sorcerer had followed him without complaint–though the whirlwind that he’d employed to scale the wall had been more eye-catching than Kade might have hoped. Now they were both watching the sun-that-was-Korthos slowly disappear behind the mountains as they enjoyed a bottle of Alara’s wine.
“I can’t decide if that was fun or not,” Kade said, almost to himself. Sal answered without hesitation.
“It was definitely fun. I’ve never seen Jothus upset before; he looked like an angry mountain.” Kade considered, then glanced back at Karthas for comparison, smiling when he saw the resemblance.
“Thanks for letting me join you, I can’t imagine there are many other students who would have taken the chance.”
“Likely quite a few now that your other Warrior ability has awakened,” Sal replied. “You’ll find that there are many other Warriors who share your blessing of speed, or your blessing of strength, but very few who can claim to have both.”
Kade looked at the mage with surprise, “Those seem like pretty common powers, why’s the combination so rare?”
“Likely because they’re considered to be opposites, and it’s rare for opposing forces to manifest in a single Soul–at least from the same Path. It’s extremely unlikely that I could awaken both fire and ice, for instance. Though there’s a greater chance now that I have two pure magic Vocations.”
“I’m not sure I entirely see the connection, but I’ll take your word. So why do you think I was able to unlock the set?”
“Likely from the unusual conditions you mentioned for both abilities. Neither are entirely without precedent, but it’s far more common to receive less powerful, but more controlled powers. I suspect that you’ll find more depth to both abilities than what might be immediately apparent.” Salarus paused to take a slow drink, seeming more relaxed than Kade could remember seeing him. At last he spoke again, “So, are you planning another one of your nightly adventures?”
Kade almost spit out a mouthful of wine. “How did you know about that?” Salarus let out a short, mocking laugh, his haughty tone reminiscent of their first heated encounter.
“You have much to learn about Karthas, my friend, and how people view the activities of Keepers–even potential ones. We’re interesting to the common people. They want to know what we do with our remarkable powers. And apparently what you do is scale the wall every night to go play in the woods.”
Kade took another sip as he considered how his actions might appear to locals just minding their business. “Okay, I can see how that might be worth speculating on. Do you think I’m in trouble?” Kade asked while standing up and stretching. Marveling that the Academy healers had managed to make him good as new in such short order–something he’d been made to understand would become more difficult as he grew in power.
“No, you’re not in any trouble, but only because no one is truly worried that a few beasts can kill you.” Sal looked right into Kade’s eyes, suddenly far more serious. “But don’t forget what I’ve told you before: you’re an expensive investment, and your Bonds are too valuable to be wasted.”
Kade let a small smile touch his lips as he felt the call of freedom beckoning once more. “I won’t forget, Sal. But you should think about letting loose once in a while too. It’s good for the soul.” He held the man’s gaze as he let himself fall from the wall, leaving behind a mildly irritated Sorcerer.
Salarus stood and brushed off his robes, looking down at his retreating friend. “Good for the soul, is it?” He considered for only a moment, before a gust of wind sent him soaring after the chained madman he’d somehow grown attached to.