THE NEW SORCERESS
Amira Leonhart shifts violently in her bed, sweating and clenching her sheets. The dreams from the night are reminiscent from many nights prior.
Explosions, magic and death.
Explosions, magic and death.
Explosions, magic and death.
Several people make cameos in the dreams. Fell. Swan. Her parents. One figure always appears as a blur. Her shape appears female, but her identity remains a mystery to Amira. (Does she have horns...?)
Explosions, magic and death.
Amira jolts upright in her bed. The room is dark, but she can tell from the dim glow of the outside lighting she's in her dorm at The Garden. She saddles the side of the bed, cupping her face in her hands. She sighs, and looks up at the item on her nightstand.
She gently grabs the necklace from the nightstand, caressing the lion pendant it in her fingertips. "I hope I make you proud tomorrow, Dad."
———
A normal morning would allow for a brief recumbence and reflection. However, today is not that day.
The SeeD exam is today.
Amira brushes off the torture of the night prior, showers and dresses in her pressed academy clothing. Her father always told her "The appearance of your clothes can get you far..."
Her father is a former SeeD. One of the first.
Years of training have led to this day. Amira knows this. She stares into the bathroom mirror, silently debating with her reflection how much effort she should put into arranging her hair and/or makeup. She ultimately decides to devote time to neither. She tugs the collar of her Garden vest, piercing her eyes into her own reflection.
"You've got this," she says to herself. She grabs the necklace from her nightstand, carefully clasping it around her neck. She caresses the lion pendant it carries carefully, hoping its former holder will carry her through today's trial(s).
And then she departs.
—————
Amira - finely dressed - leaves her dorm, anxiously anticipating the exam. She has as much to lose as she does to gain. Once upon a time, her parents helped save the world. Everyone knows this. It's common knowledge.
While walking down the hallway, she glimpses into one of the many reflective glasses lining the hallway of The New Garden - examining her reflection a final time. She hears a familiar voice-
"MIIIIRAGE!"
It's Fell Dincht. His outfit mirrors hers, only his is navy versus her royal blue. His collared vest and leggings aren't pressed, which is typical for Fell. His bright blonde hair signifies his lineage.
Amira flinches, then sighs. "Hey..."
Because of their parents, Amira has known Fell her entire life. She considers him to be unavoidable at this point. While other girls her age at the Garden swoon over him, Amira sees him as her best friend. He protects her, even when it's unneeded.
Fell delicately approaches, sensing Amira's nervousness-
"We got this," he whispers, gently approaching her. She strikes a quizzical glance at him. He's just repeated the mantra she spoke to herself earlier. His eyes and goofy grin reveal it to be coincidence.
"Yeah" she whispers back, a gentle reminder that she doesn't want to be distracted from the upcoming exam.
She briskly walks past him, seeing the unmistakable and never ending painting of the walls by Garden staff in the hallways. This is a brand new Garden, still being polished.
Fell quickly catches up to her, deeply breathing in. "I love that smell," he says, slyly grinning at Amira.
"You would," she replies, before stopping in her tracks.
Fell continues his trek, "I wonder if getting high before the exam would make it easier or-" he glances to his side, noticing his companion is stopped several feet behind him.
As he walks back to Amira, he continues "I wouldn't actually get high on paint before the trial-"
She stops him. "I had the dreams again," Amira explained.
Fell registers this, and then quizzically looks into Amira's eyes and asks, "The horned bitch?"
"Yeah, the horned bitch," she answers.
He pats her hair, "maybe you need to be huffing the paint, girly," before walking off. He glances back and sees the hurt look of his dismissive remark, and trods back to her. "It's just a dream, Mirage. And it's probably not...her...nobody even knows what she looks like..."
He continues onward.
Fell started calling her Mirage when they were 14. The woman he was referring to had been dead for years. Before they were even born. She was the big bad her parents and Fell's father defeated - a sorceress - the equivalent of an urban legend to Amira and Fell.
Amira doesn't move. Several steps away, Fell looks back "Heyyyyy come onnn." He slicks back his short, spiked hair. "If I pass this, do you know how many chicks are going to want to bang me tonight?" He grins, adjusts his belt and walks off.
Amira rolls her eyes and follows.
———
In The Garden parking lot, a bus awaits Amira, Fell and 3 other candidates attempting to achieve SeeD certification. They gather on board, all awkwardly shifting their weapons to not inadvertently injure one another. Amira's sais and Fell's knuckle grips are easily maneuvered. One candidate has a shotgun, and another a trident. Amira silently thanks an unknown being she wasn't trained on either solely because of their bulkiness.
Because there's only five candidates, they each sit separately. Fell sits down across the aisle from her. She notices his silence, and stoic face. She realizes it's finally sinking in for him.
Their parents did this years ago, during a time of Guardian Forces and sorceresses. SeeD exams were more physically demanding now.
In the lull of the wait, Amira imagines her late father-gunblade in tow-on his exam. She'd held the gunblade before. It was incredibly heavy. She remembers thinking how impossible it would be to battle with such a device.
The bus driver comes on the intercom, "Students, your instructor-Selphie-is a few minutes late. Thank you for your patience."
Amira looks at Fell. He's still lost in thought. "Hey...PPSSSTTT..." she alerts him. He glances up at her, an eyebrow arched, quizzing her request.
"Can we at least get one drink tonight before you go and bang whoever? I think...my Dad would have liked that."
Fell smiles at her and nods assuringly. "You got it, Mirage," he says. "But just the one...I have important things to get to...unless you want to be the one to tuck me in toni-"
Before he can finish, a blast explodes in the distance. Everyone in the bus flinches down instinctively, and then gradually rises, searching for the origin of the explosion. It's several cars in the parking lot in front them, all on fire.
Fell stands. "What the hell?" he asks, pointedly looking at all angles of the parking lot. "Is this part of the exam? Damn, this new garden has upgraded their shi-"
Another blast. This time from behind the bus. Amira gets out of her seat, a nervousness overcoming her.
Explosions were in her dream. So were magic and death...
And that bitch with horns.
She barrels to the front of the bus, taking her sais from their hilt, ready. She knows something bad is happening. "Whoa, young lady, this may be terrorists!" the bus driver proclaims. She glances at him and dismissively opens the bus doors.
"Wait!" Fell follows suit, pumping his kuckle grips, also preparing for battle. The other candidates follow behind. Whatever this is, they're going to fight it.
Amira, Fell and the other candidates exit the bus. Amira arms her sais, furiously glancing for a target.
A shadow darkens over the group. Glancing up, Amira realizes she's never seen the being before. He has horns -
(The bitch with horns...?)
-He's huge, smoke protrudes from his nostrils and she unmistakably knows he is here to kill them. Her father told her about him. Although Amira has never seen him before, she knows his name is Ifrit, a Guardian Force that should still be locked away like all the others.
(How is he out? Are the others out???)
Fell knows it also, probably hearing a lot of the same stories she did growing up. "Is that-?" he doesn't finish and he doesn't have to. Amira nods slowly and carefully at him, not wanting to alarm the beast any further.
Fell reciprocates her caution, flexing his fists, whispering "Why isn't he in the Deep Sea Facility where all the others are...?"
Amira shrugs. All the Guardian Forces were condemned years ago to a Deep Sea Research facility. It was ordered by the government. People feared their power and the effects of any one person having access to one. Was this...revenge?
"Our parents dealt with him, we can too," Fell courageously proclaims.
"Our parents had magic and could junction," Amira responds.
Both had been outlawed when the Guardian Forces were imprisoned. Amira's mind begins to race on how to defeat a 12 foot Guardian Force with sais, knuckles, a shotgun and a trident. She looks at Fell for reassurance and there is none. He is as scared as she is.
Suddenly, Ifrit begins to inhale, smoke coming from his mouth and nose. Amira knows what's next: Fire will rain down upon them. They will all die. The SeeD exam will never happen. She will never make her late father proud. She will never get the chance to reconcile with her mother, who she hasn't spoken to in 3 years.
And-Fell. Despite his misgivings, he'd worked just as hard as her. His father would have to bury him instead of attending his SeeD certification banquet.
All because of a loose Guardian Force.
As Amira accepts her fate, the sky around them darkens. The other SeeD candidates may not know who Ifrit is, but they appear to realize their near-demise.
Red flashes across the skyline. Amira notices the bus driver giving up hope, and swiftly driving away from them. The sky smells of sulphur.
Suddenly, Ifrit arches his menacing hands-and in doing so-wields whatever power he has to deliver fireballs from the sky-aimed at Amira, Fell and the other students. This truly is an assassination mission.
Amira closes her eyes, thinking of holding her fathers gunblade long ago.
And then-her ears pop. The sounds of fire and destruction are muted. She carefully opens her eyes and glances around.
Amira's arms are held in a protective stance above her head. Protruding from them is a shield of sorts. It's like electricity, shifting between her fingertips and hands. As she shifts her head, she realizes the field coming from her has also protected Fell and the other students. Fell's mouth is agape, staring at her in awe. She analyzes her arms and hands, trying to process what is happening. When her eyes arrive at her fingertips, she sees Ifrit in the sky above, appearing as confused as her.
In anger, Amira takes the unknown power in her hands, screams and in a large flash, directs all the energy at Ifrit, engulfing him. They all stare as it appears to paralyze him in midair, his demonic screams almost deafening before he plummets to the ground, lifeless and mute.
The electric energy dissipates from Amira and the field collapses from Fell and the others. Amira is left baffled at Ifrit's unconsciousness. She slowly approaches his still body, wide-eyed, trying to fathom how a Guardian Force is loose and what the hell just happened.
"HOLY HELL," Fell screams, startling Amira. "Next time, I'm huffing so much paint beforehand," shaking his head, bewildered. He stares directly at her "I mean, are YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS FUC-"
"SHH," Amira says, index finger over her mouth. "I don't want him to wake up," she whispers.
Fell gently responds, "You took him down single-handed."
Amira diverts her gaze from Fell, choosing to focus on the huge beasts' stillness, still grappling with what has happened.
"What?" She shakes her head. "No..." she pauses, and clears her throat- "I don't know what happened just now."
Fell crosses his arms over his chest and cocks an eyebrow. "You're obviously the new sorceress, Mirage," he says.
————