Sighing a relief, Tharin felt her heart sink back to her, after it jumped pretty high up. The match was finally over, and she could finally breathe once more.
"That was close."
Tharin said.
"Quite, though it seemed like Feyrin had a plan all along. Like she knew who she was going to fight."
Kaine speculated.
"Marlen also looked as though she went rather easy on sis."
Keila added.
"She did. And for that, i am grateful."
Feyrin's voice said from behind them. Turning, the small mage stood there, her entire clothing covered with dust and dirt.
"Sis!"
Keila exclaimed, running up to Feyrin, taking out a handkerchief, and started to rub the dirt off Feyrin.
"Keila! Stop it! You're hurting me!"
"But you're covered in dirt!"
"Stop it!"
"Hold still!"
Keila used one hand to hold Feyrin steady, while using the other to clean Feyrin, and rubbing the cheeks quite roughly is a sure sign of pain, on Feyrin's part.
"So? What are you doing here?"
Kaine asked, once Keila was done with Feyrin's face, and moving onto her arms.
"I am given time to rest. My next match would be in three hours time. That is around five, isn't it?"
"Yes, it would be. So, what do you want to do? Watch the rest of the matches?"
Tharin asked.
"No, not really. I know who I'm up against. I was thinking of heading back to the mansion. There is something i need to discuss with all of you."
Back at the mansion, Feyrin got another big fuss, but by the maids and butlers, who looked as though they would faint at the sight of Feyrin's clothes. The others awaited in the study room, as Feyrin went to change into fresh clothes.
"What do you think Feyrin wants to talk about?"
Tharin asked, looking at Kaine, who merely shrugged.
"Let her talk about it."
He simply replied, though he did have a feeling that he already knew what the topic was going to be. Then, Feyrin walked in, with clothes that were actually no different from her usual wear. Mini dirt brown shorts, small size sleeveless black tunic with a zipped up collar. Her sort of large gloves and boots, with her black cloak.
"Right, i need to talk to all of you about something of great importance."
Feyrin started, sitting down on the chair behind one of the desks. Everyone sort of crowded round the desk, making breathing a little more difficult than usual.
"As you know, i am not really welcomed among the council members, not counting one or two. The thing is, they will try to get rid of me, but they cannot really do so until they find a successor, which i fear they may be closing in to already. I already knew what they were planning, and have already made arrangements. Tharin, i wish to accompany you on your journey, if that is not too much trouble. Call it 'running away', if you must."
Feyrin turned to Tharin, who looked rather surprised.
"Er... sure, but... what about Keila? Vesari? And everything here?"
"I would leave matters of this estate to Vesari, but unfortunately, Vesari has already made his escape, for what reasons i do not know. That would mean i would leave everything in Keila's hands."
Feyrin turned to Keila, who now looked surprised, and shocked.
"B-but sis! You can't possibly expect me to-"
"I do expect it of you. You're old enough to manage things here."
"No! I want to follow you! You can't leave me here all by myself!"
"Keil-"
"NO!"
Keila screamed, tears running down her cheeks.
"Don't leave me like brother did... not like how dad and mom left without saying a proper goodbye..."
"..."
"I don't want this... i want to go with you... WHY CAN'T I GO WITH YOU-"
SLAP
Feyrin silenced Keila, though her hand now stung from hitting so hard. Keila stood there, stunned, with one hand on her sore cheek.
"Don't be selfish, Keila. I do not remember ever teaching you to act like a child. I gave you a job, and you'd be best following my word, do you understand?"
Feyrin stared at Keila sternly, of which, Keila could only nod in silence.
"You are a member of the Mether family. Behave like one."
Standing there, she simply stared at her opponent. The young man who stood across the stage from her said nothing as well. It wasn't like they were friends before, but more of bitterness that had feud their wills. Feyrin had already prepared everything. She knew what to do. Barshovelet Vestrif, the Grand Summoner of the council.
"Barshovelet, aren't you going to call out your pathetic creatures to fight?"
Feyrin smirked.
"I will, Dark Mage, and i will enjoy wiping that smirk of your face. But for now, i am simply enjoying my time, savouring my memories for this, this is the time, when i can finally take down the powerful Dark Mage."
Barshovelet laughed, which didn't really suit his character. He looked more to be a quiet man, one who would sit by the lake and gaze at it tranquillity for hours and pick flowers. But the man who stood before Feyrin, had his face contorted with anger and hatred. Sadistic smiles that painted on his face. Feyrin thought of it to be weird, for though she knew that their family have a rivalry that ran deep, she never thought Barshovelet to act like this.
"If you're not beginning, then i will."
Feyrin said, and she thrust her fist forward, sending a giant fireball her opponent's way. With one wave of a hand, Barshovelet froze the fireball in its place, and it disappeared.
"Fire and lightning magic are your speciality, yet mine is water and earth. So what are you going to do now?"
Barshovelet laughed with sadistic glee once more. Feyrin backed away for a step, then multiple balls of electricity appeared around her. Throwing her next spell, the balls of electricity shot forth large bolts of lightning, tearing the ground as they flew towards the opponent, who simply raised his hand, and the from the ground, a wall of earth blocked Feyrin's attack. Just as Feyrin's attack had ended, the wall of Earth shot forth its own attack, spikes emerging from the wall. Leaping back once more, Feyrin swept her hand at the attack, and the spikes crumbled before it could hit her.
"If you want to play with earth, then let's play."
Feyrin gritted her teeth. She did a scooping action with her right hand, and the ground on her right rose up. Doing the same with her left hand, the ground on her left rose up as well. Throwing her hands down, the two giant risen earth shot forth towards Barshovelet, who froze them with ice. But from the risen earth, a large explosion erupted, completely destroying the ice. Multiple fireballs rained down, together with boulder size debris from the exploded earth. Bashovelet, quickly cast an earth barrier spell, blocking out the attacks. Feyrin cast another spell, and from her hands, a long line of ice traced itself to Barshovelet's shield.
Upon contact, the shield froze up, making it more fragile. Within an instant, Feyrin cast another spell, as dark clouds raged above the ring, and bolts of lightning joined in the attack. Unable to bear the onslaught, Barshovelet's shield shattered, and the remaining spells hit his position. The announcer was about to say something, when a giant roar split the air. From the dust, a giant shadow covered the entire ring. With large leather wings, rough scaly hide, and sharp claws, a beast of gigantic proportions appeared on the ring.
"HERE IT IS!!! THE GRAND SUMMONER'S BEAST, A DRAGON!"
Feyrin hated to admit it, but she has no chance against a full-grown dragon. And this was no simply dragon. It hide was dirt brown, its eyes were sharp and dangerous. This was an elemental familiar as well as a dragon. An Earth bound dragon. Spreading its mighty wings, the dragon glared at Feyrin, preparing to strike.
"How do like my pet, Dark Mage? Of course, i could summon more, if i wanted to, but i thought that maybe only one is enough to deal with you."
Barshovelet smiled. Feyrin did not like these odds. She could summon an elemental familiar as well, but it would drain her energy rather quickly. She still had other plans. The dragon slammed its two front legs down onto the ground, sending ripples of earth towards Feyrin, who immediately took flight.
"Where do you think you're going? Just because this is an Earth bound dragon, doesn't mean he can't fly!"
Barshovelet's dragon flapped its mighty wings, and soon, the battle was on in the skies. The dragon flew in constantly, trying to swipe Feyrin out of the air, at times it tried to eat her up, but Feyrin was quick and rather nimble, escaping death more times than she can count. At times of opportunity, she would cast spells at the dragon, hitting it with meteors, lightning bolts and even frost attacks. Almost all magic doesn't seem to affect it.
"Oh Feyrin, are you forgetting something?"
Barshovelet laughed. Feyrin wasn't forgetting it, but it wasn't like she had a choice.
Stadium side.
Tharin looked on at the match with great uneasiness. Biting her nails would get her nowhere, but still she did it.
"Dragons... they are one of the most powerful creatures of nature. They are naturally immune to most forms of magic."
Tharin said, remembering what Meilen had studied for.
"They are extremely rare, and are hardly ever seen. Elemental bound dragons are even more powerful than non elemental bound ones. Earth bound dragons have greater resistance to magic and to physical attacks, making it a very powerful shield."
Ring side
Throwing another bolt of lightning, Feyrin felt her energies being depleted. She was already using a large amount of magic just maintaining the levitation spell. Her reactions were getting slower and slower. It was only a matter of time before the dragon would finally make mincemeat out of her. Below, Barshovelet was laughing hysterically, like he had just won the lottery ten times over.
"Isn't this fun, Dark Mage? Hahahahaha! We should call in more guest to fully enjoy the fun!"
He screamed, as he began chanting once more.
"No!"
Feyrin summoned a bolt of lightning from her palm, and sent it towards Barshovelet, but it was too late. Her spell slammed hard into a pair of sky blue wings. Standing around Barshovelet, was not one, but three more dragons. One more dirt brown Earth bound dragon, and two sky blue coloured ones, Water bound dragons. The three new dragons took to the skies, and Feyrin's nightmare had begun.
Stadium side
"Blue dragons? What the hell?"
Kaine exclaimed, his expression covered with fear.
"Water bound dragons, known for their excellent magic resistance. They have the ability to turn a spell against its caster. They have better attack power than Earth bound dragons."
Ring side
Dodging talon after talon, jaw after jaw, Feyrin had felt her energy run out some time ago. Now all that was driving her was willpower. Or so she thought.
"You cannot run anywhere!"
Barshovelet jeered at her, and that really ticked her off.
"Damn you..."
Feyrin turned her attention to Barshovelet, and flew towards him at break neck speed, a lightning bolt being formed in her hand. But just as she was about to hit him, one of the Earth bound dragons swept her away with one sweep of its tail, which hit her head on, sending her flying off the ring. Her energy spent, Feyrin fell into the abyss below.
"HAHAHAHA!!! I DID IT!!!"
Stadium side
"Feyrin!!"
"No!"
"SIS!!! NO!!!!!"
Ring side
"This isn't over, Barshovelet."
A voice boomed, causing surprised looks from everyone. From the abyss surrounding the ring, fire and lightning shot out, completely encircling the ring.
"No... it can't be... you-"
Barshovelet stammered, and it looked as though he just pissed in his pants. From the abyss, rising slowly, was the small figure of Feyrin. And she was not alone. With her, three dragons followed. A red dragon, a bright yellow dragon, and a green dragon, and all three made Barshovelet's dragons look like hatchlings. From atop of the green dragon, Feyrin stared down at her opponent.
"You don't think that you're the only one who can call forth the guardians of the elements, now do you?"
Feyrin's gaze was as menacing as the dragons she stood atop of. Barshovelet did not know what to do. He simply did not know what to think any longer, but he managed to get back to reality after a few seconds.
"I-impossible! There is no green dragon!"
"Barshovelet... you are a blind fool. Just because it is not made official, doesn't mean it doesn't exist."
Feyrin said, her eyes flashing dangerously.
"Wha-... There is no-"
"Ever wonder why i was called the 'Master Mage'? Because i had founded and developed many new spells, but in truth, i had only discovered new elements. Things that cannot be truly explained in books or in words. Do you understand? This here, Barshovelet, is the elemental familiar of an element i had discovered and made a pact with. This here, is the first ever seen, Wind bound dragon."
"WIND?! THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE! WIND ELEMENT IS JUST TOO WILD TO BE TAMED!!! I WILL NOT ACCEPT THIS! ATTACK!"
Barshovelet ordered, sending his dragons forward. Feyrin snapped her fingers, and her red dragon and yellow dragon soared ahead, tackling the other dragons head on.
Stadium side
"A wind dragon? This is new. Supposedly the wind element was founded by Feyrin's grandfather, but no one has been able to control it, given its wild and free nature."
Kaine said, feeling more relieved, but still concerned over the match.
"The fire dragon is said to have the most attack power, and its fire can spread far and wide. The only weakness it has is that it is rather wild and hard to keep under control. Its hide is not as thick as most dragons, so it cannot stand up to much attacks. The yellow dragon, also known as the lightning dragon, excels in speed and agility, though its attack power is rather weak. It can, however, attack multiple enemies. It also has a weak hide, but it makes it up for speed."
"You sure know a lot about dragons, don't you, Tharin?"
Meili asked.
"A friend of mine asked me to test her on dragons many times over since she has a test on them...!!!"
"Tharin? Tharin?! What's wrong?!"
Ring side
She felt it, a dark surge, flowing through her. It ran through her veins, it surged through her nerves. A dark revelation. She was beginning to feel alive, yet not herself. It threatened to take over her. The darkness. She fought to suppress it, but she wouldn't know when it would take full control over her. It was too empowering, too seductive, too enticing. What could it be? Truly, the form of darkness.
"..."
She had it under control, if only for a bit. Her wind dragon flew down, touching down on the ring. Jumping off, Feyrin took a moment to study the battle that went overhead. Nodding to her wind dragon, it took off, joining its comrades in battle. She turned to Bashovelet, who was trying to back away fast.
"The wind element. Founded by my grandfather, and it took two generations for it to be finally wielded. I actually intended to use it against Hyigren, but i guess, there is no point in not using my trump card now."
Feyrin's eyes flashed dangerously. Bashovelet screamed in fear, and with a sudden blast, he had summoned more creatures to aid. Five rock salamanders, each the size of a house, two rock golems, larger than salamanders, and three ice sirens, which had the same appearance of a woman, but with pale blue skin and pupiless eyes.
"... Worthless."
Feyrin spat, as the newly summoned creatures charged. Though she had to applaud him for summoning so many at once. Raising her right hand, she swung it down like she was holding a sword. From her hand, a barely visible wave shot forward, cutting across the ring, and through a salamander, cleaving it into two. Thrusting two fingers forward, the same sort of magic fired off like an arrow, piercing through two of the sirens and a golem, each exploding from within shortly after. A golem had picked up a large piece of the ring, and hurled it to Feyrin, who raised a hand towards the boulder, and the boulder stopped in mid-air, before thrown back to the golem, smashing into it. Raising both arms to the sky, Feyrin cast her next spell, and from the dark clouds above, hurricanes descended down onto the ring. The hurricanes carried off the remaining summoned creatures, sweeping them up into the clouds. Snapping her fingers, the hurricanes burst into flames, transforming into giant fire storms. With a wave of a hand, the hurricanes disappeared. She turned to Bashovelet.
"It's your turn now."
Stadium side
The pain, it was unbearable. She gripped onto her chest tightly. It was hard to breathe. Darkness, overtaking her. It was unbearable. She just could not take it any more.
'Kill me.'
It ached her every muscles. She could not stand it, the pain, it was unbearable.
'Just kill me.'
"Tharin! What's wrong?! Get her back to the mansion!"
'Death... is the only salvation.'
"She opened her eyes! Tharin! Can you see me? Are you alright?"
Kaine looked worried. Why does he look so worried?
"... Ka... ine..."
"Tharin! Get a hold of yourself!"
"St...op... Fe...y...rin... Sh... mus...n't... us...e... it..."
Darkness swallowed her whole once more.
Ring side
Her heart was beating hard. It was odd. With so much power, why doesn't she feel like herself? Feyrin looked at her own hand, and though she could not express it on her stoic face, she was shocked, and horrified. Engulfing her entire arm, was a visible dark aura. It wrapped around her entire body, and almost tried to take over her completely. But she was losing control. Her arm raised itself to Barshovelet.
'No... don't do this...'
A concentration of dark energies gathered at the centre of her palm.
'No... please stop! I don't want this!'
The power gathered was strong enough that Feyrin felt her entire arm shake. The dark energies felt as though it could rip her arm apart. Barshovelet still stood there, fear overcoming him.
'Run! Run away!'
"Darkness... rules... supreme..."
Words that were not hers escaped from her lips.
'NO!'
The dark energies fired from her hand.
"NO!!!"
Feyrin finally got control of her own body, but it was too late, the energies were speeding away towards Barshovelet, who still could not move. Calling forth a quick spell, Feyrin flew forward, propelled by her wind spell. She gave a quick whistle at the same time, and her green dragon answered her call, cutting away from the arieal battle, diving at break neck speeds to the dark energy. Her dragon fired a ball of green fire at the energies, but the dark energies consumed the ball of fire, and grew larger.
"Barshovelet! MOVE!"
Feyrin screamed, but her opponent was still rooted to his spot. The dark attack was already closing in, and Feyrin's speed spell was not helping. She had never felt so hopeless, within such a short amount of time. There must be something she could do, ever so slight.
"DAMMIT!"
Feyrin shouted, and her hands emitted a bright green glow. And within an instant, she disappeared from her last position, and reappeared right next to Barshovelet. Though surprised, she quickly went into action, pushing Barshovelet out of the way, but it came with a price. By moving Barshovelet out of the way just in time, Feyrin was in the path of the energy blow.
"!!!"
Feyrin braced for impact, but it never came. Appearing from nowhere, a tall figure stood before Feyrin, with dark brown hair and blue eyes, the man met the dark energies head on with his hands. By using magic amplified hands, the man managed to hold the dark energy off, though it pushed him back slightly. With one great thrust, he pushed the dark energies away, and it dissipated into thin air. With her exhaustion finally caught up with her, Feyrin collapsed, her world turning black.