.

- Chapter Thirteen -

- The Strange Magician vs The Protector -

- Bereallia -

"Snow. I hate snow. It irritates my skin, it's wet, and it's cold," Kanh muttered to himself as he brushed snow from his shoulders but it was a fruitless effort. The snow gathered just as quick as he could brush it away. "Blast it!" Kanh swept his hand through the air and fire swirled out of his palm. The snow sizzled upon contact with the flames, melting into steam. Kanh made a broad stroke with his hand and the fire burnt away a large chunk of the snow, revealing a glittering, crying frozen river beneath.

"Ice… I hate ice." Kanh snapped his teeth and crossed his arms. He wore an ornate set of golden armor, crafted by a smith in Ferabolt as a reward for protecting the city from the Grey Giant. Blue strips of cloth hung from his shoulders and waist, etched with strange golden circular symbols. At his waist hung a golden hilt bound in leather but it had no blade to speak of.

"This is all that guard's fault." Kanh growled, swinging his head about, eyes narrowing across the snowy landscape. "Telling me that I should fight in a stupid tournament and that I would be making my family proud. Humph, my family is long dead and gone. Ferabolt is my family now and would they be proud? Hell if I know, I doubt they even know I'm here. What's the damn point… oh, but he had to say that it would protect Ferabolt… I'm a fool. How is this protecting Ferabolt? Stuck in the god-awful mountains. Stupid, stupid, stupid…"

A particularly thick snowflake landed on the top of his head, where the golden band held his hair tight vertically in a ponytail, with the rest of his head bald. The flake slid down past thick eyebrows, past a number of faded scars, and caught one side of his moustache. It slid down the hanging thin hair to drop down under his collar.

"The Phoenix scorch you all!" Kanh roared, his left eye twitched. He outstretched both hands and fire formed in his palms. He pivoted on his foot four times until the flame completely surrounded him in a cocoon of fire. "Burn!" The fire exploded outwards with intense speed. It sprinted across the flat area where Kanh was standing, the snow bursting into steam instantly. Even the icy river completely dissipated, leaving a deep groove in the ground as well as revealing multiple large holes pockmarking the surface. The fire continued its annihilation and swept up the mountainsides. The flame disappeared over the peaks, a glint on the horizon.

Kanh closed his eyes and took a breath. It wouldn't do to lose his temper. He reached into the wrist of his leather glove and pulled out a cigarette. He placed the black cylinder into his mouth and touched it with the end of a finger. A small fire flickered briefly to light the cigarette before disappearing. Kanh took a deep drag before breathing out, smoke rising from his nostrils. He stared at the desolation around him; the mountains were now bleak and black, completely empty of life and color.

Now that he thought about it, Kanh could hear something at the back of his mind. "Opponent… what's this about an opponent? Stupid fighting, stupid snow, stupid ice…"

"I am your opponent, dear." Kanh swung around to come face to face with a lady floating in the air. "That would be me, Malecia."

"Malecia…" Kanh let the name roll off his tongue. There was something familiar about the woman. Her hair was white as that blasted snow, falling down into a loose ponytail bolted with a golden clasp. She wore strange garb of feathers and fur, with leather vest and breeches. A blue cloth descended from a leather scarf and tucked down her golden belt to hang to her ankles. The cloth was torn in places but Kanh realized with a start that it bore the same designs as his own. He bit down hard on his cigarette. "Malecia. You were exiled."

"Does this look like Ferabolt, my student?"

"It has been twenty years since you taught me and-"

"-and I will always be your teacher, and you, my student." Malecia drifted to the burnt ground, her blue boots landing softly on the stone. The gleam of the sun reflected off of the circlet about her head.

Kanh took the hilt from his belt and held it loosely in his left hand. "I have surpassed your power."

Malecia threw back her head and laughed. Kanh's eyebrows furrowed in anger.

"Stop laughing this instant!"

Malecia wiped away tears with her forearm. "Oh, heh, I'm sorry. Do you think I sat and twiddled my thumbs for twenty years, Kanh? You really don't think you are the only one who has developed?"

"An old dog can only learn so much."

Malecia pouted. "Well, that's not very nice. I'm only one hundred and three." She grinned, a glint in her eye. "You were always brash. In a way you remind me of Merana."

"I am far superior to her!" Kanh spat, fire trailing down his arms, embers floating off his skin.

"And yet she is the great master of Ferabolt."

"I protect Ferabolt!" Kanh fumed. "While she sits in that seat with her politics I stand outside the Golden Gates to fend off all opponents. I experienced ten years of harsh training! I conquered the Seven Trials of Honor, I survived the Pit of Delaron, I bore witness to the Shrine of the Gods to submit myself to the Phoenix! I am Kanh, master of fire, wielder of the ethereal flows, and a hero to the people! I-"

"You talk too much." Malecia stepped forward and plunged a dagger in Kanh's throat. Kanh blinked, blood spurting out in bright rivers to splash on Malecia's face. The cigarette fell from his mouth, spinning in the air to snuff out against the floor. Malecia smiled…

...then blinked. Kanh stood with his arms crossed, his cigarette smoking in his mouth. He was smiling. "You think I didn't know you were there? You underestimate me. The flow of the ethereal is my plaything."

"Mere illusions." Malecia spat.

"But this is not an illusion!" Kanh ran forward with surprising speed, holding the hilt in front of him. As he ran, a sparkling blue blade formed from the blade, curving slightly so the tip pointed at Kanh. He swung and slashed Malecia from shoulder to hip. Kanh turned on his foot so he was facing away from Malecia and thrust the sword backwards with both hands. It slammed into her belly. Kanh pulled the sword away and turned, only to see Malecia seem to fall apart and disappear. Kanh blinked and Melecia was floating a good ten feet away, a book hovering in front of her. She pushed the book aside to look Kanh in the eyes.

"Not an illusion, hm?"

Kanh grinded his teeth, snapping through his cigarette. "So you can colour your mist now. A fancy trick, but nothing much more."

"As much a trick as your ethereal manipulation. Both are illusion based."

"Oh? I would like to disprove that theory." Kanh held his hilt out and a battle-axe formed out of the sparkling blue matter. "I learned to harness the flows into physical constructs. One of many things I have learned."

Malecia chuckled. "Funny. I disproved that my mist was a mere illusion seven years ago. Fluent ad ventri, aere!" Malecia extended her hand; her palm facing Kanh. A tendril of mist shot out at intense speed and slammed into Kanh's stomach. His eyes widened as he staggered back. "Maxilla!" With a flick of her finger the mist snapped upwards, hitting Kanh's jaw. Kanh grimaced and swung the battle-axe to cut the mist in two. Malecia let the mist dissolve and crossed her arms. The book flicked past pages in front of her.

"Heh… heheh… stupid… mist…" Kanh growled. He straightened up, a bruise already forming on his jaw. "I think we are both fed up of showing off. Shall we fight, Malecia?"

"To the death?" Malecia inquired.

"To the death." Kanh confirmed.

The battle-axe dissolved into a long, straight sword as Kanh ran forward. "Ad ipsam crura, aere!" Malecia chanted as Kanh's left hand burst into fire. A tendril of mist whipped out of Malecia's hand, soaring horizontally through the air at Kanh's legs. Kanh jumped the mist and placed his fiery hand on the sword. The sword lit up in a blaze. "Cistam!"

The tendril shot at Kanh but he cut it away into sizzling droplets with his flaming sword. He landed deftly on his feet and sent a swipe of flame at Malecia. Malecia floated backwards, the book following her movements, and swept her hand through the air. "Horruit hastis aere!"

Five different spears of mist shot out to hover in front of the open book. "Dextrum crus!" The first shot at Kanh's right leg. He cut it away with his flame and took a step forward. "Bracium sinistrum occupans!" The next spear shot at his left arm. Kanh slashed it away with ease. "Dextrum! Sinistro Crure!" Two shot at the same time, one for his left leg the other for his right arm. Kanh hopped in the air to avoid the one aimed for his leg while he cut away at the other. "Caput!" The final spear shot straight towards Kanh's head. Kanh barely twisted his head to the side. The spear cut past his cheek, drawing a small dribble of blood. As he landed he brought down his sword with both hands and cut Malecia in two. She drifted apart into mist.

Without missing a beat Kanh spun around to cut another Malecia in two at the waist. She dissolved once more. Kanh turned back around to find twenty Malecia's staring at him. Kanh just scoffed. "Your parlor tricks can't fool me. The flows tell me which one you are." Kanh pointed his hilt at one particular mist clone and it formed into a barrel with a trigger. "A weapon I saw a Shadow assassin use once." He pressed down on the trigger and a circular bullet shot through the air. Malacia moved to the side but was too slow. The bullet took her in the shoulder, drawing blood. She grimaced, the pages flickering on her book. She extended her hands.

"Multiplicentur!" Each clone multiplied by ten, each body stepping out of the other. Kanh just sighed.

"I told you… it won't work! Incinerate!" Kanh clapped his hands together. Fire burst out in a vicious cloud, engulfing all one-hundred and ninety clones in an instant. When the flame dissipated Malecia stood on the floor, panting, having protected herself with a shield of mist that dissolved from the heat. "What's wrong, Malecia, you seem exhausted?"

"This is just a workout." Malecia smiled. "You always were ignorant of your surroundings. Praemium!"

What Kanh had assumed were snowflakes continuing down from the sky were actually flakes of mist. They burst outwards in sharp tendrils. He cut away one volley with his sword before having to dodge more. He continued to dance, cutting here, dodging there. One sliced through his armor like butter, another impaling his thigh. A third scrapped his neck while a fourth caught him in the waist. Kanh just took the attacks while doing is best to avoid the others. There were hundreds upon hundreds of the spikes and to Kanh it seemed neverending.

Finally he cut the last spike away and took a breath before he sensed something behind him. He ducked and spun at the same time as a mist sword span around his head. He sent a punch to Malecia's stomach but she hopped back. The book floated by her head. "You're weapons are pretty, but did you train in combat? I made sure I did."

"Do you jest with me? I am a protector, combat is my nature."

Blue katana and mist blade connected, shimmering in the air.

"Magic is your nature, Kanh. The same as everyone."

"To think that magic is nature is to think wrong, Malecia." The blades collided again.

"Nature is who you are, Kanh. And we are all beings of magic."

"Wrong. While everyone may have some semblance of magic within the bit of their bodies, that is not nature. Nature is a person." The blades slammed together. "Nature is what makes a man a man." Kanh knocked away Malecia's sword and sent a punch at her throat, but she knocked the fist aside. "Nature is what defines you… and combat defines me! Magic… it is helpful, I cannot deny that. But being on the battlefield, not in that stuffy old tower, that is me! That is nature!"

Malecia failed to block the next blow, the katana cutting down her shoulder. Her free hand went instinctively to stem the flow and Kanh swung as hard as he could. It barely missed her nose. Malecia breathed a sigh of relief before the book fluttered to the ground in a hundred pieces. "What have you done?"

"You know a lot of mist magic, Malecia. But I'm sure it's hard to remember all of those spells. I wonder how many you have ingrained in memory?"

"All I need to defeat you. Carcere!" Her palm slammed on Kahn's golden chestplate. Tendrils of mist shot from her fingers, wrapping around Kahn binding his arms and legs tightly. The hilt dropped to the ground and the flame sword disappeared. Malecia stepped backwards. "Gladius magnus!" A great two-handed sword formed and she gripped it with both hands. She swung with all her might towards Kahn's neck aiming to behead her student.

"Incinerate." Flames burst from Kanh, dissolving the binds easily. The sword dissolved in the heat as Kanh stepped forward and latched his hand around Malecia's throat. She made a gurgling noise that could have been speech. "You know, you need to put down an old d-hurgh!"

Kanh glanced down to find a dagger in belly. He glanced up, eyebrow twitching. Malecia dragged the dagger across his belly, letting his entrails fall to the ground. Kanh stumbled back, trying fruitlessly to gather his innards. "I am done with you, Kanh." The dagger took Kanh under the chin. Kanh blinked slowly, before collapsing to the ground. Malecia smiled and crossed her arms. "You could have been a Great Master, you know. You would have brought honor to Ferabolt."

The light came down upon Malecia, coating her in the white light.

The next thing she knew she was sitting at her desk in her cave. Stacks of books stood haphazardly around the dark cave, lit by a sole candle that dripped with hot wax. There was no sign of the bearded man who had invited her to the fight. That man had mentioned multiple fights… perhaps she would appear when the time for the next fight came?

The fight never did. The years passed by and Malecia learnt to wield fire in honor of her fallen foe that brought out the very best in her. Ten years after the fight with Kanh she received a message from Ferabolt. It told that the Great Master had died and left no heirs. Thirty years of exile was enough, it said, and invited her back.

The year's seemed to flicker by as Malecia led Ferabolt. It was there she met Gelios, a magician of water, and they fell in love at first sight. It wasn't long after a tumble in the basement that Malecia found that she was with child.

The next years were the very best of her life. She and Gelios raised Darion as a magician of fire and water, who excelled at creating infernos of scalding mist. Malecia chose Darion as her heir and watched with pride as he led Ferabolt to great heights.

After defeating the latest threat to Ferabolt, Darion turned to his mother. Malecia felt nothing but pride for her son that had come to far. Gelios put a hand on her shoulder and leant close to whisper to her.

"Awaken."

Malecia opened her eyes, confused. Kanh stood in front of her with his arms crossed, cigarette smoking. "What… did…"

"Did you see yourself winning? How was our fight? Was it dramatic enough?" Kanh smiled. "And I wonder what you did when you won."

"Gelios… Darion... " Melacia grasped at the memories, fading from her mind. "Bring them back…" She stepped forward and grabbed Kanh's shoulders. "Bring them back! Now! Kanh! Bring them back!"

"I can't bring back what never was." Kanh grinned.

"BRING THEM BACK!" Malecia screamed, longing for her husband and her son.

"I can take you back to them." Kanh flicked his finger. In an instant Malecia fell to her knees, her hands sliding down Kanh's armor. He waited a few moments before stating, "Awaken."

Malecia's eyes widened and in an instant tears formed, sliding down her cheeks. "Gelios… why did… you…"

"You just experienced another fifty years of your life."

Malecia looked up, looking like a lost puppy. "...Kanh… my student… what are you-"

"It would be about the time your spell of extended youth that got you banished ran out. Would you like to see your son and husband again?"

"Yes! Please! Take me back to them!" Malecia grabbed at his legs, still kneeling. "I need to see them again." The tears ran in streams down in eyes.

"Before I send you back, I figure a lady of magic like you would like to know why I can make you see your very dreams in an instant. It's the flow, really. As simple as that. But the flow feeds on magic and Malecia, you are perhaps the strongest of all magicians. It made it all ridiculously easy."

"...Take me back… please…"

"So be it. It has been an intense pleasure." Kanh clicked his finger. Malecia slumped, her head lolling back. After a minute a sliver of blood slid from her nose. Kanh sighed. "I hope you appreciate the life you think you lived. And I hope your death was peaceful. This was just luck, really… power doesn't always ensure survival... " Kanh looked up as he was bathed in light, taking him away.

A cloaked figure seemed to appear out of mid-air. He kneeled in front of the comatose Malecia to take her pulse. While her body was alive, her soul was dead. The figure reached under her jaw and with a quick movement snapped her neck with ease. Then he was gone as quick as he had appeared.