Notes: Thanks to those who reviewed and gave OC's. Hmm…nothing else so I'll start this. :D
Chapter Two: The Collision of Fates
Ardrsil walked sleepily to his bed. The first day hadn't really tired him out. He was just unused to having to get up so early in the morning. He removed his clothes then flopped down.
The next day…
"Ardrsil, wake up! You're running late!" A voice shouted from outside his room.
Ardrsil groaned and slowly pulled himself out of his bed. He pulled on his robes and exited into the common room.
"No time for breakfast, Ardy." Erika said. For some reason she called him that around half the time.
Ardrsil groaned again and grabbed his bag. He then walked outside with Erika. He walked up to the mage tower, climbed the twenty eight flights of stairs and slowly walked into the classroom for the dark arts instruction.
As was last time, Knoll was already seated behind his large oaken desk with his posse of phantoms looking eerily at the gathered students.
The bell rang and Knoll stood up. Once again, his two phantoms fell to their knees. The room dimmed to a light that made reading just barely possible and writing legibly a plain impossibility.
"We're done with introductions so today we'll have our first lesson. Before we begin with learning how to more effectively wield the elder magic hands-on, I'd like you to learn some of the principles and guidelines of this magic. In order to do that, I'm going to teach to you the teachings of one of the greatest shamanic magicians of all time, Dr Irvine Luna."
The class continued with few interruptions. Knoll went on lecturing as if nothing had happened though. So, mainly, the distractions distracted the students.
Ardrsil sighed and picked up his stuff. His butt was cramped and sore from sitting in the flat wooden chairs for so long.
Their next class was General Science so they went to the fifth floor of the mage tower.
When they got there Saleh was holding a large key. An Elfire tome was on his desk and wild barks and growls were coming from a large rectangular item covered in cloth.
The students were soon complete and that seemed to relieve Saleh greatly.
"Good morning, young students. Today I have brought with me a sample of a great abomination, an insult to life and to all that is natural. As you know I have strong feelings about such things, alchemy included. Therefore I will be presenting to you this creature. Who can guess what it is?"
"A Gwyllgi!" A few people shouted.
"No, a Gwyllgi would be far too dangerous." Saleh said. "I have brought a Mauthe Doog, an offspring of those disgusting Gwyllgi."
Saleh proceeded to unveil the cage. The mauthe doog was extremely disgusting to look at indeed. Its mouth kept on foaming. The foam partially concealed its disorganized and absurdly long teeth. Its fur was wild and missing in some areas and its eyes throbbed in a steady pulse. It seemed to have been stunned by the sudden infiltration of light; after all they mainly inhabited dark forests and foggy mountains.
"I will allow you to observe this beast but don't get too close. And be quiet…if it starts going wild get away quickly, I will deal with it."
Most of the class was spent in observing the beast and taking down notes. Towards the end of the class it fell asleep. Then Saleh dismissed them.
Their next class was Basic Combat Training. They hadn't had it the previous day so they didn't know who the instructor was.
It was held in the arena, a large open patch of ground surrounded by a circle of bleachers. There was a mini-armory located near by for training weapons. The arena was also used by students for practice matches in their free time.
Ardrsil and Arc were of course together for this session. (As mentioned they had all their classes together) There were already a few people there. In the center of the arena was a red haired man in a sleeveless cloak holding a shield and an axe. Flanking him were a lord and a mercenary. The lord was wearing a black breastplate and had a black cape. All his other clothes and armor pieces were white. The mercenary had a steel shoulderplate a steel hauberk and black pants. They both looked quite old to be freshmen.
"Get into that bleacher!" The red haired man shouted as the students began to converge.
They did as they were told. Soon the man approached them along with the lord and mercenary.
"I'm the instructor of the Basic Combat Training. My name is Sir Raymond Cornwell of Caelin. For today I've enlisted these two," he gestured at the lord and mercenary "to help me. If I am unable to perform this task due to illness or other personal matters, Miss Rebecca will take over. She's over there in the mini-armory right now. For starters I want you two to observe these two. Their names are Vai and Gabino." Raymond said gesturing again to the two. "Alright you two, in position!"
Vai and Gabino walked to the center of the large barren circle. Vai drew a rapier from a sheath hanging at his side. Gabino took a rune sword from a sheath on his back. They got into their fighting stances.
"Ready yourselves! On three! Two! One! Fight!" Raymond shouted.
The two participants sprung into action. Gabino started with a vertical slash. Vai sidestepped, dodging the slash. He raised his rapier and plunged it into Gabino's side. Gabino stepped to his side as Vai drew the rapier out. Gabino raised his sword to shoulder level and unleashed six ethereal leeches. The leeches passed through Vai, taking some energy as they went. Vai lunged at Gabino as the leeches returned, taking him by surprise. He aimed for his heart but Gabino jumped aside so it only grazed his ribs. Gabino swung horizontally, taking advantage of the moment. Vai ended the lunge but lowered into a crouch rather than locking his knee after the lunge. The sword passed over his head. Vai swung his foot at the side of Gabino's knee joint. As it made contact Gabino flinched. Vai forced his rapier through Gabino's chest.
A bell rang loudly. Raymond raised his arms. "Match set!" he shouted.
Gabino dropped dead. Then he disappeared and reappeared in the bleachers. He looked very much alive.
"As you can see, this arena is equipped with some magical barriers that make it rather hard for someone to be killed." Raymond said, extending his hand toward where Gabino was sitting. "For today I want you to take a partner and have a practice round. I repeat, a practice round. Only one."
Ardrsil looked around and saw an archer sitting idly. He approached him.
"Hi there. Wanna spar?" he asked him.
The archer looked up. "Okay…my name's Avalith, what's yours?"
"My name's Ardrsil. Nice to meet you."
"It won't be for long. I'll win, you'll see."
Ardrsil and Avalith proceeded to an unoccupied area of the arena. Ardrsil touched his Flux tome and muttered a soft incantation. Avalith tested his bow string. Then it really began.
Ardrsil unleashed several ribbons of shadows which disappeared into the ground and slammed Avalith in the back, knocking him down. Avalith got up quickly and shot an arrow at Ardrsil. He tried to evade but was pierced in his arm. Ardrsil began casting again as Avalith knocked another arrow. They released their projectiles at the same time, both receiving damage at the same time. Ardrsil staggered up and once again began his casting. Avalith got up. He put his bow in its case then drew a dagger. Archers in training to become rangers normally carried one or two. They were use when speed was necessary. Avalith rushed Ardrsil. In his rush he managed to evade the Flux spell and stabbed Ardrsil in the gut. Ardrsil collapsed.
Ardrsil waited the rest of the period out. He was dismissed early though. He walked off through the bleachers. Suddenly, he heard a loud crack. Someone shouted "Watch out!". Ardrsil looked up as a Pegasus knight fell from the sky above him He felt the wind knocked out of him and heard some cracks in his chest. He was filled with pain and then he fainted.
Notes!
Yay! I got quite a few reviews! Anyways…thanks to all who reviewed. Not too many…For those who are waiting for the update of "Game Over! Not Quite"…it's coming soon…when I have time to sometime this week.
