Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering.
Eva closed her eyes and focused. Arrathir didn't know the average learning time for mana tapping, but he knew Eva was showing great potential for a beginner. It was morning and Arrathir had not spent a pleasant night. He considered himself lucky not to have gotten sick. He was still bitter at Eva for kicking him out of the house.
Suddenly, Eva's hand burst into red flames.
She did it!
Eva opened her eyes and freaked for a moment when she saw her hand was on fire, but she calmed down when she realized she had finally managed to tap mana.
"So I just focus on what spell I want to cast?" she asked.
"Yes," said Arrathir.
The mana in Eva's hand pulsated and suddenly a jet of fire flew at Arrathir. He yelled in pain as the flame washed over him. His hair caught on fire and he screamed, trying to pat the flames out.
"Now we need to work on your aim," he said, angrily.
"It was just a Magma Jet," said Eva. She suddenly began screaming out it pain. "AHHH! IT BURNS!" Her hands were covered in burn marks. Arrathir hurried over. Looking over her hands, he nodded.
"Mana burn," he said, "It happens, don't worry. You just tapped more mana than you needed for the spell. Within time, you'll learn to control your mana."
As Eva moaned about her burns, Arrathir looked around. There was no denying it: They were being hunted.
What an idiot I was! I should have realized that the training would only intensify Eva's mana radiations and make us easier to find. Well, no good complaining about it now.
"Eva," he said, "Follow me."
"Why?"
"We're being stalked by Slivers. Don't panic or we're dead," said Arrathir.
Eva and Arrathir began walking back to the cottage. Arrathir's adrenaline was pumping through his veins. His every sense was alert, watching the forest around them. Though he could not see them, he could tell the Slivers were near. He readied himself, trying to detect where the first assault would come from.
They attacked without warning.
The first Sliver burst from the underbrush, its green body blending in perfectly with the forest background. It leapt at Arrathir who threw himself backwards to avoid it, landing on Eva. The Sliver crashed to the ground. Pulling Eva up, Arrathir hissed, "Run!"
They broke into a run, their breaths coming in ragged gasps as they ran for their lives. Arrathir looked back and saw the herd of Slivers chasing them. There must have been two dozen, all slithering across the ground at a great speed. The herd was composed entirely of Quick Slivers.
While Arrathir was looking back, his foot caught on a root and he fell sprawling to the ground, getting a mouthful of leaves. Getting up, he saw Eva had continued running, but she now stopped and turned.
"Go!" he told her "I'll take care of them!"
The Slivers were much closer now. Arrathir could hear their hissing cries. Gathering his mana, he summoned Havoc Demon. The demon appeared and roared a challenge at the Slivers. He attacked, slashing the nearest Sliver to bits with his claws. The next Sliver slashed into the demon's side with its claws. The demon roared and grabbed the Sliver in its jaws, biting its head off. Two more Slivers jumped onto the demon's back and began hacking away. The demon gave a final roar and collapsed, exploding into mana.
Arrathir grabbed a heavy branch and yelled at Eva, "Go! Get out of here! Don't wait for me!" Charging his mana, Arrathir faced the oncoming Slivers.
"Let's dance!"
Eva watched helplessly as Arrathir faced off against the Slivers, firing blasts of mana at them and fending off their attacks with his makeshift staff. She could tell he was in trouble. Already, he had taken several wounds from the slivers and his energy seemed to be wearing out. She knew if she didn't do something, he would die. She only had one option left. Closing her eyes, she concentrated…
Arrathir yelled in pain as a Sliver slashed his back. He was very tried and the Slivers weren't intimidated by his attacks.
Too…many…
A Sliver's claw caught him in the leg, knocking him down. Looking up, he saw a Sliver raise its claw for the killing blow.
I'm dead…
Suddenly, an enormous fireball took out the Sliver. Getting up, he saw a flaming cat attacking the Sliver, driving the off.
Blistering Firecat? Eva!
Arrathir turned to see Eva passed out on the ground. Looking back, he saw the Slivers were still attacking the Firecat. He ran over to Eva and picked her up. Running as fast as he could, he managed to make it back to the cottage. Throwing Eva in the passenger seat of the car, he jumped in just as the Sliver herd burst from the forest.
Arrathir gunned the engine and the car took off, leaving the herd behind. Arrathir let out a sigh of relief. They were safe, for now.
That was too close.
Arrathir looked over at Eva who was still passed out.
She completely wore herself out with that spell!
Just then, Eva groaned and woke up.
"Ugh," she moaned, "What happened? I feel like shit."
"Your Firecat saved us both," said Arrathir "What were you thinking? Summoning such a powerful creature? You're lucky it attacked the Slivers and not me! However, you did save my life, so thanks."
"Now we're even," said Eva, smiling.
"OK, first, promise me you'll never try such a powerful spell again," said Arrathir "It was extremely dangerous!"
However, she must somehow trust in the Heart of the Cards. How else could she have summoned that creature?
"So, what do we do now?" asked Eva.
"We head back to the city," said Arrathir "My guess is that's the last place the Planeswalker will look for us, plus, it would be harder for her to summon without attracting attention to herself."
They drove on. Arrathir knew they wouldn't get back until late at night.
"Arrathir?" said Eva.
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to sat thanks for everything, you know, saving me and teaching me to summon."
"Oh, you're welcome," said Arrathir.
"I don't know what I would have done without you," said Eva "I probably would have been killed by the Slivers at the PTQ. Who would have thought going to a Magic tournament could change my life completely?"
"You sure you want to stick with me?" asked Arrathir "I could drop you off at a friend's or something."
"No," said Eva "There's really nobody left for me now since my parents are, well, gone." A single tear fell from her eye as she remembered.
"I-I never said how sorry I was about your parents," said Arrathir "This whole thing's my fault! After all, it's me the Slivers are after, though I have no idea why."
"Does your spirit know who she is?"
"He only said she was a Planeswalker," said Arrathir "But we've had a…disagreement since and now he's not talking to me."
"What's it like?" asked Eva "Having someone else living in your body?"
"It's really weird," said Arrathir "It's a unique, but disturbing experience. The spirit know, sees, and hears everything I do, so I have very little privacy, but at the same time, it's comforting to know there's always someone there to talk to, even if he doesn't always listen."
It was near midnight when they finally arrived in the city. Arrathir was extremely tired and hungry.
"Want to stop somewhere for food?" he asked Eva.
"Sure, I'm starving," she said.
Since it was so late, there wasn't much choice, but they eventually found an Internet Café that was open 24-7.
Coffee. That should do me good.
They entered the café. All around the walls were tables with computers on them. Most of the computers were taken up; it seemed a LAN party was going on due to the high number of people playing Counter-Strike (A/N: I don't own that either) and other on-line games. In the middle of the room were several round tables with chairs around them. The coffee bar was in a corner where a tired-looking woman was watching television. After ordering their drinks, they sat down at one of the tables.
The minute the warm brown liquid in Arrathir's cup passed his lips, he could feel the caffeine making its way through his veins, invigorating his senses. His brain cells began whirring and he began thinking of what to do next.
"Hey, wanna duel?" asked Eva, taking out her deck.
"Sure, why not?" said Arrathir "Not like there's much else to do." He rolled a 6 on his D20. Eva rolled a 17.
"I'll start then," said Eva "And maybe actually beat you this time! I play a mountain and summon Jackal Pup (2/1). Go."
"Sure you will," said Arrathir "One swamp and I summon Putrid Imp (1/1), discarding a card to give him flying. Go."
"Always with the Imp, eh?" said Eva "I know your strategy now, so I can better counter it. Mountain! Next, I play Grim Lavamancer (1/1). Your move."
"Draw," said Arrathir "And I play a swamp, tapping out to play Exhume, you know what it does, so I'll return Havoc Demon (5/5, flying) to play. Next, I discard another card to give my Imp flying and attack with it. Your turn."
EVA: 19
ARRATHIR: 20
"I'll take your demon down," said Eva "I play a third mountain and summon Mogg Fanatic, sacking it to deal one damage to your Imp. Next, I'll Magma Jet you for two and scry." Eva looked at the top two cards of her deck. Frowning, she slipped them to the bottom of her deck. "Your move."
EVA: 19
ARRATHIR: 18
"Third swamp," said Arrathir "And I play Vampiric Tutor." Arrathir searched his deck for a card and put it on top. "Next, I'll play Night's Whisper to draw two cards. Finally, I attack with Havoc Demon. Go."
EVA: 14
ARRATHIR: 14
"Take this!" said Eva "I play a mountain and remove two cards from my graveyard to deal two damage to you and I play Seal of Fire, sacking it to deal you two more damage. Finally, I attack with Jackal Pup, so that's six damage total!"
EVA: 14
ARRATHIR: 8
"Then I'll just have to do this," said Arrathir "Swamp, and I play Zombify to return Hypnox (8/8, flying), to play! I attack with Havoc Demon."
EVA: 9
ARRATHIR: 8
"Mountain," said Eva "And I summon Blistering Firecat (7/1, haste, trample)! I attack with Firecat!"
"So? I block with Hypnox," said Arrathir.
"I'm not done!" said Eva "I'll remove Firecat and Seal of Fire from my graveyard to deal two damage to your Hypnox! Your move."
"Damn!" said Arrathir "I play Exhume to return Hypnox to play. Now I'll attack with Havoc Demon!"
EVA: 4
ARRATHIR: 8
"If I'm going down," said Eva "Then I'm taking you down with me. I play a mountain and I summon Slith Firewalker (1/1, haste) and Mogg Fanatic (1/1). I attack with Firewalker and Jackal Pup."
"I'll block the Pup with Hypnox," said Arrathir.
EVA: 3
ARRATHIR: 7
"Now I sack Mogg Fanatic and Magma Jet you," said Eva "Finally, I use Lavamancer to deal two damage to you."
EVA: 3
ARRATHIR: 2
"Good game," said Arrathir "But I attack with Havoc Demon for the win."
EVA: 0
ARRATHIR: 2
"I'll get you next time," said Eva.
"I'm sure you will," said Arrathir "That was a close one." He raised his cup of coffee to his lips.
Just then, a man bumped into Arrathir, causing him to spill coffee on his coat.
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" he said.
The man turned to face him. He was about Arrathir's age. His hair was a very dark brown, almost black. He was wearing a dark polo shirt and khaki pants. He glared at Arrathir.
"You got a problem?" he asked.
"Yeah! You bumped into me and made me spill my coffee on my coat!" said Arrathir "The least you could do is say you're sorry!"
"Don't have a fit," said the man "It's not that coat's worth anything. Where'd you find it? The Salvation Army?"
Arrathir choked. It was at times like these the other Arrathir would be begging him to let him kill the person insulting them.
"That's it, you're going down!" he said, balling his fists.
"Now, now," said the man "No need to fight like uncivilized bums." He glanced at the table. "I see you play Magic: The Gathering, so how's this: We can settle our score in a duel. If you win, which I doubt you will, I'll apologize, but if I win, you apologize for being in my way. Sounds good?"
"Fine!" said Arrathir "What's your name?"
"Erik Morlock," said the man "You'll need to know that for when you apologize to me." He pulled out a deck and a D20 from the pockets of his pants. Eva grabbed her cards and Erik sat himself in front of Arrathir. He rolled his D20, getting a 20.
"Good for me," he said "Bad for you."
Arrathir rolled his D20, getting a 1.
"I'll start then," said Erik.
To be continued…
Author's note: Well, another chapter finished. Who is this Erik? What deck will he use? Another thanks to Lu Chao who's being a tremendous help with this fic. Oh, yes everybody: Yawgmoth's Messenger wants decklists! Send him your decklists! Also, check out my profile for a link to my DeviantArt account on which I'll be posting character sketches and other images related to this fic!
ACS Dude: Yep, Eva's a mean one all right.
SeraphSong: Well, I think the advantages of Arrathir teaching Eva how to summon are equal to the risks.
Kitsu: The Sliver Overlord and the Sliver Queen have the same attack and defense, but when I first wrote the chapter, I chose to use the Queen.
Yawgmoth's Messenger: You got your wish. Soon, decklists will be flooding your in-box. I hope you know what you're getting into.
John: Emmm…Look over there! Runs away
Grayangle: Making Eva the Keeper of Blue Mana would be funny, but you'll have to wait and see.
Khell: Well, you were right in that they would get attacked by Slivers. Also, thanks for letting me use your post.
Demonslayer: Well, I will read your fic when you post it.
Technomagus: Eva would flip if she found out she was the Keeper of White Mana, but I guess the devastating spells like Wrath of God, Armageddon, and stuff would make her happier, and more dangerous.
Destroyer Lord: Mana is like the Force in "Star Wars." It can be sensed by those skilled enough to detect it. Basically, skilled summoners are like human mana Geiger Counters. By the way, "Revenge of the Sith" is finally out!