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Chapter 12: Spar
🕑 Added 2024-09-23 09:00:07 +0000 UTCWookan the Dead’s people, the Hooadin lived in a barren and inhospitable region of the pre-Flood Kaltis realm. While the environment was hash, the region had very low monster activity, and they chose to face the ravages of the savanna plains over those of claws and teeth.
As a culture, the Hooadin abhorred waste of all forms. They also had little regard for the gods. These two cultural facets built on each other to create a unique advantage. When the Hooadin died, their spirits chose to stay in the Ethereal Realm, forsaking the peace offered by traversing to the Celestial Realm to either live on for eternity with the gods or brave rebirth.
-Excerpt from Wicket’s Guides to the Pantheon.
“No Invisibility,” Jaryn said, as he was examining the training rapier he’d selected. It was a metal blade but with a blunt edge and runes that further dampened the blow if they made contact with an enemy while giving off the signal for a hit. The sword was expensive, reserved for the higher level students and official duels, but getting into the locked weapons cabinet had been a simple task for the Mirage Knight.
As one might guess, infiltration is a large part of the training a group of Illusion warriors endure.
“Fine,” Kole said, inspecting his own, mundane and unruned quarter-staff.
It was for the best, despite Kole’s resigned tone. It would hardly be a test of Kole’s talent if the two Illusion primals just ran around blindly swinging at the air.
They stood twenty paces apart in an empty dueling ring,
“When the coin lands,” Jaryn said, getting a nod from Kole.
He flicked a copper into the air, and they both watched it intently as it tumbled to the ground.
Drawing lightly on the Font of Illusion, Kole Faded, as he reached into his shirt to pull out his blasting rod, putting his staff in his off-hand, and forced his Will to trace the pattern of the blasting rod stored in his mind. The effort was more difficult due to the active Fade, but he had the time.
As soon as the coin landed with a metallic ping, he sent the intent into the wand, the Fade falling apart as we couldn’t maintain the focus and activate the blasting rod together
While Kole had been scheming, so had his Uncle. As soon as he’d flipped the coin, two illusory versions of Jaryn had appeared beside him, one tracking the coin with his eyes, while the others held their rapiers at the ready.
Flood Kole cursed internally, trying to guess which had been which.
Center watching the coin? No, too obvious.
He sent his bolt at the one on the left.
When the coin landed, all three had burst into motion towards Kole, and the target of Kole’s bolt ducked out of the way, the other two not breaking their stride.
Flood! Cursed internally as he backpedaled to maintain a gap.
Changing tactics, Kole cast Magic Missile, sending each bolt at a different illusion. Kole saw the surprise on his uncle’s face as the three bolts split, one traveling to each copy.
All three hit their targets, the two on the outside disappearing as Kole’s magic passed through them, while the center one grunted in pain and ran on, only a few feet away from Kole.
Kole let his blasting rod drop to the ground where he hoped it would roll away safely, grabbing his quarterstaff with both hands.
His uncle, smiling despite the pain of the wound he’d suffered, came in with a swing even Kole could tell was being held back.
Kole blocked the far from optimal swipe from the rapier, and when his uncle followed up with a thrust he knocked that aside as well.
With each contact, Jaryn picked up the pace and aggression of his offense, pushing Kole to the limits of his abilities with the quarterstaff.
Kole sensed as his Uncle began to draw on the Font of Illusion, and while Kole didn’t know what was about to come, he made an educated guess.
Just as Jaryn thrust an open palm up, Kole did the same, closing his eyes
A blinding flash of light shone out of Jaryn’s palm, and Kole saw it as a red glow through his closed eyes.
“Bo,” Kole said, calmly following up his literal blind guess, with a Shield to block the stab he expected to follow.
Kole opened his eyes as soon as the glow faded and saw his uncle recovering from the tip of his rapier glancing off the Shield he’d summoned.
Taking advantage of the moment, Kole cast Thunderwave, catching his Uncle on unstable footing. The roar of thunder echoed off the buildings and sent Jaryn into a tumble.
The Mirage Knight turned the uncontrolled push into a tumble, and when he regained his footing, there were once more three of them.
Kole felt the sudden crash of a Will drain head ache, as he brought his staff up to defend.
Kole got lucky, choosing the correct illusion to block the first attack from, but when he tried to counterattack, he was quickly disarmed with a flourish he’d thought he’d learned to defend against from Zale, but clearly he’d been wrong.
Kole stood still, hands raised in surrender, as three identical rapiers pointed at his neck.
“I give up,” Kole said, smiling despite the loss.
“Amazing!” Jaryn said, smiling himself, the swords in the hands of the two on the left vanishing as they clapped slowly, while the one on the right slipped his through his belt.
