The Eternal Dance of Light and Dark

by The King of Ravens

Having just survived a nine year long civil war, those of Lucael would be forgiven for entertaining the notion of peace. However, new threats are rising, and as the son of the king, it is Caiellis's job to combat them, despite his youth. But as the leaders of a rival nation declare war and mysterious figures pull strings in the shadows, Cai will be drawn into the fate of the world.

9. A First Test

The chimera launched itself at Quioni, the fish-like water elemental turning herself into watery blue liquid in response, forcing the goat-headed creature to plough through what was the enemy Summoning and into a tree. It snarled, furiously beating its feathered wings and pushing off with its hooves, propelling itself straight into Annia's waiting spell. The jet of water hit it full on in the face, the dispelling magic encoded into the spell slowly unravelling the conjured essence of her opponent's Summoning in concentric layers.

Meri was another Yentarian youth whose father was a prominent scientist in the League of Xechun, often shunning his son and familial responsibilities in favour of continuing his research after the sudden disappearance of his wife. The boy was not known by Annia in much detail, though the two had shared a conversation on the merits of third-wave runic ciphers.

The boy opened his hands wide and sent out a rather crude tongue of flame into the girl that scorched the air in its passage, his concentration split between the opposing Summoner and maintaining the presence of his chimera. Annia emulated the technique Quioni had shown earlier and morphed into water, swiftly flowing down to the ground, the tree she had been on set alight.

The two teams were fighting in a forest bioscape, the vast scale of the trees reminding Annia of the monolithic Erian oaks, although Freya had mentioned that they felt artificial, nothing like the trees of her homeland. The battleground had probably been created by Landshapers, as to not offend some Erians who would object to the abuse of the living features of the terrain - especially mighty trees. The engagement had not been a chance encounter - indeed, Annia, Freya and the boys had been subtly tracking the others for at least half an hour, waiting for the perfect locale in which they could split apart and neutralise their foes individually.

She materialised back into human form – her clothes were still on, the fabrics enchanted with spells her mother had invented to allow them to act as Annia did without the expenditure of additional mana for purely cosmetic purposes, just in time to see Quioni slam into Meri as the boy was teleported back to the Scholaria before any severe injuries could be caused, out of the challenge. His Summoning vanished also, the chimera hissing in frustration at the girl.

Her team had decided that the best way to defeat enemies would be to isolate them individually and duel them, each person fighting with their counterpart in the other teams. Annia had reasoned that as they were more accustomed to the magic of their own nation, they would have an easier time overcoming it - and honestly, she didn't want to be the one to have to convince the others to act as one cohesive force.

"An expected outcome," Quioni commented almost idly, batting her eyelids and elegantly floating through the air, returning to Annia's side.

"Thank you for the help. You can go now," the girl replied, as the other members of the group walked quickly towards her whilst her Summoning dispersed into droplets of shining water. Obviously Team 6 had been fully removed from the competition; Annia felt slightly sorry for them – none were particularly powerful in comparison to their factional counterparts, especially the spoiled Welkalite girl that Kaled would have had no trouble dispatching from what Annia had observed of his combat style. Her eyes met with the taller youth, and he smiled. Though his eyes lit up with a mixture of happiness and tease that Annia had come to expect from the younger student, the sadness that had drawn her to him in the first place (she had wished to do something to salve it but didn't want to bring attention to it) hadn't left in spite of his demeanour.

The current plan wasn't the most preferable option, nor the most efficient, but it was the best she had come up with for the time being – they would easily crush weaker teams, but when others of similar strengths found them, the abject lack of teamwork would definitely be their downfall. She had chosen to be team leader after none of the others offered to take the role, but so far it wasn't working out well.

Kaled insisted on repeatedly arguing with her over every single plan she came up with to the point where she had considered instating him as the leader so that they could enact his tactics and figuratively crash and burn just to prove her point. And while at least Freya followed orders she wouldn't contribute to the strategizing, instead shyly averting her eyes whenever Annia tried to make contact. Caiellis was respectful and kept his thoughts to himself also, but Annia knew that no matter what plan she came up with, the prince would continue to do as he wished if said plan didn't suit him. Luckily, neither Freya nor the youngest of their group had Summoned in their first fight, at least listening to her point about theirs being far more mana intensive – they should be kept in reserve until they had to battle the other top-tier squads.

That meant that while Annia and Kaled may have to aid them against enemies that were too powerful to face without their Summoning (to Kaled's amusement in terms of helping the Lucaelian), but almost contemptuously easy with it, their mana wouldn't be expended in the first few battles – potent Sancturia creatures tended to require a vast amount of energy to even Summon, much less sustain.

"That was … easy," Kaled admitted, planting himself at the base of a tree and pulling out his data-sheet, inelegantly whipping scarlet light across it to activate the device. After every battle, Annia maintained that they should leave time to recover and examine the map, finding out where they should go next and what areas of terrain they expected their classmates to be situated at. For once, Kaled wasn't disputing that.

"I-I think we should take this time to make a list of the most formidable foes from each of our nations," Caiellis suggested, nervously at first, remaining standing as Annia and Freya also sat down (though it didn't place him that far above them), the Erian appearing without comment and not electing to join in the discussion immediately. "I'll start – there are three others in this year that can Summon an angel, although all of the Lucaelian students are powerful, so do not underestimate them. However, their angels are "only" Second Sisterhood, which means that Orzhova and I should theoretically be able to defeat them, though I have less experience with my Summoning having only just passed her trial - but they can utilise them more frequently and sustain them for longer in any case. Mysos Grandé of Cassida Principia is blessed by Iridis, Seraph of the Sword, Kierra Esse of Civitas Sol uses Abigale of the Firemane, and finally Ollis Pax of Gol is graced by Linvala, Keeper of Silence."

"You do know that most of that is gibberish, don't you?" Kaled laughed, stopping when Annia sent a glare his way. She didn't miss how Cai's head lowered for a moment in embarrassment, so decided to speak up on his defense. Besides, even if Annia hadn't sensed the youngest's discomfort, she would still be arguing his case as identifying potential threats was important.

"No, the information is very useful. The Yentarian students we should watch out for are Tai Zhing from the League of Isak, Ianus Mecur of League Uveria and Jayrahl Phransis from League Xechun. However, I think we are all at a similar power level, and that I should be able to hold my own against them," the girl added, turning to Kaled.

"How does this help, again?" the Welkalite questioned as he got back to his feet but continued to lean against the tree, his casual pose irking the young prince, "It's not like we can avoid them, and telling each other their names doesn't do anything."

"Actually, it does," Caiellis snapped back, shooting the older boy a frustrated glower, and Kaled retorted irritably with: "Care to explain?"

"We have met these students and seen their powers - unless you haven't been paying attention. But Annia and I have, and names are more than enough to come up with stratagems for defeating them. Freya, are there any Erians we should worry about?" the thirteen year old ripped his gaze away from Kaled and directed it towards the girl he addressed, inadvertently pinning her to the tree with the intensity of it. He couldn't comprehend why his roommate insisted on being so deliberately obstinate when they had to be focussed if they wished to emerge victorious - and no other outcome would be befitting of a Lucerna. Caiellis just wished that he didn't have to work with these three, that he could fight on his own or with his brother who he didn't feel anxious talking to.

"I...I don't know," she stuttered meekly, turning away from the prince's piercing green eyes. Caiellis frowned in a way that was almost a scowl, not noticing that he was perpetrating something that he would have hated had it been directed towards him despite having experienced it much worse.

"Glad you could contribute," he spat sarcastically, and she went bright red. Kaled reached out and clapped him a little too hard around the head (forcing the junior adolescent to stifle a hiss of pain), putting his other arm around the Erian's shoulders and growling. "Don't antagonise her."

"Or what, exactly? Any threat you could make won't mean anything," he scowled at the older boy, once again irritated by his over-familiarity, and subconsciously annoyed that Kaled was treading on Alexander's territory. He only permitted his big brother to act in that manner because he knew that Alex did love him and that it was (mostly) an odd way of showing brotherly affection (and that he didn't have much of a choice, but would prefer not to call attention to that fact).

"What the hell is wrong with you all of a sudden? Was that battle a bit too hard for you to handle?" the Welkalite also stood up to his full height, leaning over the younger boy in a slightly intimidating manner, hands clenching into threatening fists. Caiellis's hand reflexively grasped around the hilt of the Sword of Glass at his waist, before he forced himself to pull away. That sort of violence would help no one.

Kaled isn't going to kill me, he reminded himself, even if the slight bruise on his neck (which now eclipsed the mostly faded evidence of Alexander's grip despite having been there longer) protested against that. Instead of continuing the argument, he exhaled deeply and sat next to Annia, refusing to meet the eyes of the older boy.

"I guess I'm just not used to working in a team. I would much prefer to be alone. Sorry if my attitude is causing you problems, I don't mean to," he offered unemotionally, trying to keep his words at a level tone instead of allowing it to devolve into quiet timidness, which made his apology seem less than genuine. Kaled narrowed his eyes, figuring that there was no point in saying that unless Cai meant it, though he couldn't look the Lucaelian in the eyes since they seem fixated upon the mossy ground.

"I have to say, I didn't expect that. Very adult," Kaled intended it to be interpreted as a commendation, expecting Cai to carry on with the quarrelling, but it came out quite patronising. He wanted to reach out and give the youngster a friendly pat on the shoulder, but decided against the idea - it was what he would normally do for a friend (or more like an acquaintance in this instance), but with the way Cai had reacted to it with a mixture of mild but visible discomfort and nervousness so far he thought it might just aggravate him further. "I meant that as a compliment, by the way."

"Than-"

"Caiellis?" Annia asked, as the boy instantly became silent, his green eyes becoming alert and focussed. He snapped up to his feet, the girl he had been sat next to flinching back from the sudden movement, unused to fighting and not having the experience required to instinctively repress such a reaction.

"Freya, do you feel that?" he demanded urgently, sensing the mana building up within the ground around them as a wave of raw magic seething beneath the surface. The Erian nodded quickly in response, eyes wide, as Annia and Kaled shared a look of confusion - their sensory abilities not as honed as the other two. The older boy demanded tersely, "Feel what, Cai? Mind telling us what th-"

"Scatter!" Caiellis shouted, blatantly interrupting the Welkalite - something that he would have felt no small amount of trepidation about in a normal social situation, but right now his honed instincts were taking over and he had no time for shyness. Spiralling light flashed from the prince as he leapt with enchanted wings of scintillating stained glass onto a nearby branch, the stocky wood more than thick enough for him to stand on safely and overlook the undergrowth beneath.

It wasn't a technique he had ever used before, but his mind had little time to pay heed to that now, and was thankful for the gift of manoeuvrability that his mana had conferred to him. Kaled Summoned Regata hesitantly in a flash of flame, while Freya sent an orb of Green mana into the ground, yelping in panic when it returned to her.

"What are you doing? Get out!" the Lucaelian yelled, as titanic vines burst out of the ground, smashing through the solid earth as if it were water in an explosive impact and flinging Kaled and Freya off their feet. Their fall was caught by a cushion of watery Blue mana and a less gentle circle of White light underneath it, Annia's figure forming from scattered droplets after she had been hit by a huge tendril of plant-matter and almost eliminated from the year spanning challenge. The firecat landed on the lower ground, slashing at another opportunistic stalk that ripped its way out of the earth in front of it with claws of flame.

Quioni appeared by her side as the Yentarian wove the liquid mana into the creature's shape, the elemental quickly analysing the battle situation as more vines broke out of the ground and came at them. The being opened its mouth and breathed out a spray of corrosive mist that Annia directed at the roots with the sapphire magic surrounding her fingertips, the acid dissolving them and blocking more from attacking the imperilled members of Team 3.

A figure leapt through the fog, catching Annia off guard, his conjured armour of light hissing as it slowly decayed but nonetheless protected the occupant from the mist. His large great-sword swung at her, and she involuntarily screamed and fell backwards. An indistinct blur darted past her face and the girl heard the scraping sound of metal grinding against metal, though Annia soon realised that assessment was slightly inaccurate.

His sword shining like a beacon, the section surrounding the tip and edges like a shroud of starless night, Caiellis grunted as his opponent, Mysos Grandé, pressed against the younger boy's weaker strength – both boys wielded their weapons two-handed, although Mysos clearly was used to fighting in this manner.

No sooner had she come to terms with her sudden deliverance and processed a strategy to aid her teammate a fork of Blue-tinged electricity coruscated at her from above. Slashing a crude but effective counterspell into the storm bolt allowed her to behold her new opponent, silver-haired Jayrahl Phransis of the League of Xechun and a wielder of impulsive Red and calculating Blue mana.

"My prince. It is truly an honour to cross swords with you, and I hope that I can provide a suitable challenge for a Lucerna such as you," Mysos bowed his head respectfully as he intoned the words, utterly out of place in the battle that had begun to rage around them in flickering storms of clashing magic. Cai's arms were shaking with the exertion of holding the taller boy's broadsword at bay, sliding across the ground and knowing full well that he would have to disengage soon before his defence was broken. His mouth was clamped tightly shut, jaw locked in his strain making him unable to return the pleasantries to the senior Lucaelian.

"Hey, Mysos!" Kaled tried and failed to direct the attention of the other Lucaelian away from Cai, realising that in a battle of purely physical strength the younger one of the two was going to be overwhelmed soon (despite being stronger than he looked even without magic enhancements, as Kaled had found out). Growling, the fifteen year old closed his fists, crackling fire erupting from the gaps in his clenched fingers as he summoned his rage. He flicked open his hands, the flames roaring into life as he felt his own excitement rising, "Catch!"

Kaled hurled the bolts of fire at Mysos from the side, who kicked Cai (who would have physically cringed at Kaled had he not been more preoccupied) in the stomach and swiftly deflected the bombardment with a flourish of his sword. The prince staggered back, coughing and winded, and the Principian rounded on him. The Lucerna cursed under his breath, internally berating himself for not predicting such a reaction and stepping away to widen the distance between himself and Mysos.

Caiellis could feel his mana already endeavouring to reduce the pain he had experienced, but the boy had been subjected to worse in his short life and thus didn't pay any more heed to the strike. The surprise of having a foot slam into his abdomen had taken him aback, but the fact that Mysos had been more concentrated on blocking Kaled's magic instead of driving his boot further upwards meant that the thirteen year old hadn't sustained anything worse than a potential bruise. He didn't know whether or not Mysos was strong enough to break his bones, but didn't doubt that he would be capable of it given the chance.

The senior Lucaelian quickly strode into the gap left by Caiellis, giving him no quarter to recover or bring any long ranged magic to bear. The boy's eyes locked with Mysos's own as he flicked the last remnants of the fire away from his great sword, and this time both Cai and the Principian refused to look aside as each prepared for the next meeting of their blades.

Only a few metres distant from the Lucaelian duel, Annia was encountering her own form of problems. She weaved another water-based nullification, a quick mental calculation giving her the amount of mana necessary to extinguish the bolt of bright blue energy heading towards her with only a small margin of error. Quioni shot upwards, colliding with a descending efreet in an explosion of cascading water and hissing steam, and Annia saw the excited expression of Jayrahl grinning enthusiastically in her direction, floating on a storm cloud next to his Summoning.

He flipped her a thumbs up, the animated motion of his wide eyes belying the intense series of deductions and strategy creation that Annia knew would be going on beneath the surface of Jayrahl's enlivened demeanour. She was also well aware that the odds were not in her favour for a confrontation between them, as no matter how precise her application of Blue mana could be not only did Jayrahl have a range advantage but his ability to use chaotic Red in conjunction with his Blue meant that Annia's mental arithmetic would always be off - the girl knew she wasn't quick enough to be able to accommodate for the spontaneous tendencies of the emotion-fuelled magic and respond to it in time.

But, then again, she wasn't a member of the cold and calculating League of Uveria who relied upon their mathematical predictions with an insular obsession that bordered upon fanaticism. Annia wished to join the open-minded League of Isak like her older sister, and that meant she had to think outside of and around the problems that the world presented her with. The Yentarian quickly glanced around her, taking into account the wider engagement and ensuring that no one was about to ambush her from behind.

Sidestepping a green creeper that reached towards her, she noticed Kaled snarl as another Welkalite emerged from the fading mist. Arceus smirked cockily, lightning surging around him and forming a malicious grin before vanishing back into the storm, clearly taunting the taller male. As expected, Kaled took the bait with gusto, charging alongside his elemental towards the other citizen of the New Empire. It seemed like their opponents were using the same tactics as them, although with far more precision and teamwork.

Annia briefly wondered who had taken command of Team 1, before banishing the thought from her mind. Whoever it had been, they had evidently had an easier time organising their comrades than she had, but now that the battle had begun she couldn't say that she wasn't grateful and happy to have them by her side. She flicked her gaze away from the dance of swords straight in front of her, turning to where Freya was busy wrestling control of the vast majority of the vines still ripping themselves out of the ground not far away. Annia quickly decided that Freya must have wanted to help one of her teammates with their own opponents but was too wary of committing to any single fight and possibly getting in the way, instead choosing to try and combat a foe that was too far distant for her to defeat.

"Freya! Switch with me, I'll take out Leleth at the back!" she ordered, quickly concluding that in a battle of the sky, Jayrahl's djinn would easily defeat her elemental, and Freya would have no way to challenge the other Erian girl with her lack of mobility and the animated plants delaying her at every step, whilst Annia could morph into water and propel herself there whilst ignoring most of them.

Additionally, whilst Jayrahl might just leave when Annia pulled Quioni away from where she was harassing him and his Summoning, she believed that even if he knew well that it would be a strategical advantage to maintain air dominance and begin to attack Team 3 as a whole from above, the boy wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to test out his capabilities and spellcasting on Freya's unusual - to a Yentarian at any rate - Summoning.

"Ok!" Freya nodded her head quickly and seriously, glancing up to where Annia's shimmering Sancturia partner whirled in a shower of droplets and spiralled back down towards her Summoner, leaving the efreet crackling with Blue energy and his Yentarian partner alone in the sky once more. The creature crossed arms that sparked with grey/blue energy and glared down at her with a mixture of disdain and inquisitiveness.

Freya looked inside the earth, pressing herself to the ground and feeling nature call out to her. She concentrated this energy into herself, sensing the land's fury and it's resentment of the destructive, unnatural magic of the non-Green mana colours. It reverberated through her, and Freya whispered a small supplication, thanking the earth for its strength. Green magic flowed out of her palms and into the waiting ground, which began to rise. A huge, giant-like wooden incarnation of the essence of life itself inexorably pushed itself out of the dirt, its four massive arms of plant-matter causing the land to crack beneath it as it rumbled. Where its face should have been was simply a patch of moss, with antler-horns of bark majestically framing it.

Freya heard Gaean murmur quietly, although its deep voice still shuddered through the air, and the elemental gently plucked her off the ground and deposited the girl in the soft face-cavity – her Summoning was threatening and destructive to the enemies of nature, but ensured that not even a single insect or weed was crushed underfoot. It mumbled something ancient and incoherent to non-shamans, and Freya smiled – Gaean wanted to show the Yentarian that the skies belonged to nature as it took a swipe at the efreet, creaking tremendously as it did so. Jayrahl and his Summoning both quickly dodged the thunderous blow, firing arcs of energy at the towering elemental that pattered near ineffectually off of its bark-skin.

Annia turned herself and Quioni into sapphire liquid and propelled herself past the titanic distraction of Freya, heading towards a circle of Green mana in the distance, where a centralised tall girl swayed as if in the midst of some sort of ritual, surrounded by pulsing vines and trees that resonated with Green mana generated from the very land itself. A few of them cracked into motion, shooting towards the jets of water, and they were too fast for the Yentarian and her Summoning – Annia turned into human form when roots covered in millions of tiny hairs reached to capture her in their deadly embrace.

She certainly didn't want to be absorbed into them, and swiftly dispelled the animating force of the roots with a pulse of Blue that severed their mana ties to their master – this wasn't the Erian girl's Summoning, just a by-product of it, so was easy enough to counter. Annia landed next to her new opponent, readying her mind for the incantations she would need in order to prevail.

Back at the site of the main confrontation, Caiellis flipped away from Mysos's attack, the older boy's larger sword carving swathes of air apart as he narrowly avoided its steel edge. His blade was also enchanted, though not even close to the same degree as the Sword of Glass was, but enough so that the superior weapon wouldn't just slice straight through it. The younger combatant sent a blinding flash that broke apart on the son of Xathan's defensive magic armour, but was only intended to cause a distraction anyway by forcing Mysos to avert his eyes, if only for a short moment.

He stepped back, channelling a titanic amount of White mana into a beam of destructive light that lanced from the tip of his ancient blade, golden energy swirling around the prince as he grasped his slender wrist with his other hand, steadying the course of his spell. The shaft of luminescence gradually increased in intensity as it travelled quickly through the air, hitting Mysos and exploding in a ball of White.

Caiellis narrowed his eyes when his foe was obscured by the incandescence, readying another spell – the mana he detected surrounding Mysos wasn't his own, and seemed very potent. This was definitely something he should be wary of, the tell-tale light descending from the sky warning the prince about the impending danger.

Thin sword held elegantly aloft, shimmering with the energy absorbed from Cai's assault, the angel of Mysos stared aloofly down at the prince. She was clad in shining black armour and framed by wings of the same colour, although those wings were not nearly as dark nor sinister as Orzhova's. Iridis's long brown hair shone in the remnants of light from her rapid Summoning, her perfect features etched with the determination to bring her Summoner victory. She was a small angel, which didn't necessarily equate to power, but still invoked a sense of awe and inspiration from onlookers and stood at a height above that of any mortal man.

"Prince Caiellis, allow me to introduce Iridis, Seraph of the Sword," Mysos declared proudly, in the manner of ancient Lucaelian tradition. The duels between influential figures, such as Light-bearers, generals or even sometimes members of the royal family, were very formal and respectful battles between two people and their Sancturia creatures. It came as no surprise to Caiellis that Mysos would attempt to be traditional when battling the prince, and he could sense that the older boy had been itching for the opportunity to test his mettle against a Lucerna ever since meeting him. Now he had access to the Angel of the Black Sun, he was more than happy to humour the Principian.

"Iridis. You are a daughter of Akroma, Angel of Wrath, correct?" Cai asked, and the seraph nodded briskly, examining her physically unassuming opponent with an expert eye - no doubt mentally relaying what she believed the correct course of action to be to her young Summoner. Cai felt equal amounts of pride and trepidation beating in his young chest, not immune to the radiant wonder inspired by a Second Sisterhood angel but less affected by it than those without Lucerna blood - those without an even closer connection to the Goddess.

He hadn't ever encountered the seraph before, but had read accounts of her deeds in the many conflicts of the past, from the Purging of Kallidus (one of the monstrous temple-cities of the Scarifax, an abhorrent cult of demon worshippers who had been one of the first victims to the descent of the First Angel) to the Erian Crusade. Entering the fray against adolescents and their Summonings seemed almost mundane compared to Iridis's long list of triumphs, though Caiellis knew that he would soon be bringing a greater force to bear.

The angel simply stared back at him, her wings gently beating and keeping her ascended, and the prince considered that perhaps he had misrecalled, that she was instead an orphaned daughter of the First Sisterhood angel Serenity that had taken an oath of voiceless quiet until the perpetrator of her creator's death was brought to justice.

"My apologies for the silence of Iridis, but it is part of her code of honour that she does not favour the enemy with words," Mysos apologised – Caiellis fully understood, many of the creatures of darkness that Iridis would be regularly fighting would not be worthy of talk, and whilst many angels would exalt those around them to a greater zeal by verbally damning their unholy foes Iridis clearly did not wish to be distracted from her task of directing her blade's edge. "The enemy in this case being you, Lord Caiellis."

The thirteen year old was glad he was fighting against Mysos. Any other non-Lucaelian opponent would have tried to interrupt his Summoning, as it would probably take a comparatively long time considering it was his first ever and the fact that Orzhova required a huge amount of mana - although the reward he would reap would undoubtedly be worthwhile.

Not to mention the fact that his angel needed Black magic, which Caiellis had never actively utilised before, though he definitely was aware of its presence in his body. It occasionally called out to him, whispering at the edges of his consciousness when he called upon the magic of light and just begging him to use it. He had placed mental forbiddance on it, catechisms of mental focus coupled with a disciplined will preventing him from giving into the temptation during even the direst situations of the civil war. Of course, the mana of darkness had been unintentionally released by him before, such as yesterday where he had been unable to control it bleeding out of him and corrupting his surroundings, but this would be the first time that he willingly called upon it.

And whilst Cai was scared, frightened of the possibility that he wouldn't be able to control it, that it would hurt his family or friends and forever stain his soul with inky darkness, he was also excited. This was his birthright; he had worked extremely hard and sacrificed a lot for the ability to employ this power and seek the aid of a First Sisterhood angel, and he was eager to test out Orzhova's capabilities after seeing his big brother fight alongside the Warleader for so long.

He planted the Sword of Glass in the ground, the crystal blade becoming inactive as it lost contact with the mana he was providing.

Caiellis took a deep breath, shutting his eyes, relaxing his muscles and taking part in a moment of introspection, looking inside himself and making his way towards the abandoned cathedral in his mind. White mana was conjured first, majestic golden energy spiralling down the left side of his body and turning his right eye into a pool of light, that opened again and viewed the world through the Lens of Innocence.

Orzhova had explained the concept to him when he had fallen asleep again – the angel always acted like she was indulging him just by talking, although it seemed to Caiellis that she was incredibly lonely and was eager to converse with him after all the years of isolation, considering she pulled him from his unconscious dreaming to go there (he could still leave whenever he wanted). She had said that to truly master White and Black mana, the antagonistic forces of light and darkness, he would have to view the world differently to others, gifting him with the sight-altering enchantments for whenever he Summoned her – Orzhova enigmatically explained that Caiellis would have to find his own way to observe the world, but said that the Lenses would suffice for now.

As Cai felt the purity of the mana well up inside of him, suffusing his limbs with light, he felt the Black Sun on his cheek respond to the build up, converting the radiance into darkness as it passed through the birthmark. A shudder of trepidation reverberated through him, though he quickly suppressed it, knowing that he had to be intensely concentrated in order to place restrictions upon the use of the dark magic. The youth harnessed this magic, concentrating on negative thoughts to channel the Black mana – he focussed on the emotions of pure, unflinching hatred he had experienced as he watched his mother - and his perfect childhood - being ripped away from him by the cackling demons.

As an innocent four year old child, the youngest Lucerna had under no circumstances ever hated something before, but right in that moment he had absolutely despised the existence of the thing killing his mother, and while one demon stroked an unconscious eight year old Alexander the other plunged its claws into Emili's heart. Caiellis had never suffered such a feeling of utter loathing before, and had exploded in a blast of pure Black mana, obliterating the demons and falling unconscious himself after such a momentous release. When he had awakened from a replenishing slumber, his big brother had been holding him protectively (and softly crying) as the men he knew as Uncle Tybalt and ("just" at that time) Tristram, argued loudly in another room, far away from his home.

Cai felt tears dripping down his cheeks and past the birthmark as he relived his most painful memories, the conformation of royalty reacting to his emotions and a sphere of abyssal unlight forming above and within it instead of the usual emission of a sombre purple glow. Then the left eye opened, the Lens of Guilt perceiving the world in a riotous display of dark thoughts and shame, blending the golden expanse shown by the Lens of Innocence into a confluence of vision that reflected the world but allowed him to see far more than with his mundane sight. He sensed his mana levels rising, the light increasing in intensity to match the tendrils of shadow wrapping around the right side of his body.

He grabbed the orb with both his hands, suffusing it with both new White and extra Black mana, and threw it into the air, where it hovered ominously, expanding as he poured more and more energy into it, the sheer power unlike anything he had ever wielded before. The sound of a distant choir could be heard, the hymns rising in volume and drowning out all other sound as the sphere became even larger, becoming like a shadowy sun, light and darkness pulsing out of it in equal measures. A corona of darklight coruscating atop it was matched by a crown of radiant shadow playing around the prince's thin shoulders.

Caiellis slid his artefact armament out of the earth, the glass igniting with a significant amount of light, although the edges were substantially darker and dripped with tenebrosity. The incandescence of the aerial Black Sun was becoming unbearable, and he etched a pattern into the air directly in front of it with magic focused through his sword – a large scythe of gloom appearing when he finished the drawing. The youngest Lucerna raised his left hand, focusing more on the vision his right eye, the Lens of Innocence, showed, and White mana coursed through his palm and around the shadow-scythe, flowing around it and coating it in gold, a sun-shaped circle at its heel, its haft still obsidian apart from a golden grip at in the middle and a bottom of the same blessed metal.

An arm, gloved in black leather but leaving pale fingers exposed, reached out of the now massive star of darkness, gripping around the middle of the scythe as the Black Sun, crackling with white and amethyst lightning, began to be absorbed into an angelic figure.

Mysos gaped, open-mouthed in silent wonder and terror as a First Sisterhood angel, one of the rarest, was Summoned in front of him. The boy would have involuntarily fallen to his knees and pressed his face to the dirt in supplication of the divine had Iridis not been gripping his shoulder tightly. Orzhova opened her glittering, black eyes and spun the scythe, regarding Caiellis haughtily, showing not even the slightest attention to her current enemies. The boy could feel several pairs of eyes latching onto him and his Summoning, more than just those possessed by his two current adversaries, but paid little heed. I guess the power of a Lucerna really is something to behold.

"My, my. That certainly took a long time," she shook her head in amusement, Orzhova's velvet voice capturing the attention of all around the seraphim, her dark eyes now flashing to the other angel aloft across from her. Caiellis knew that this would definitely be the time to strike – he had never felt so powerful in his entire life – as he wouldn't be able to sustain Orzhova for long. That was the problem with First Sisterhood angels, a problem that was mitigated by age and experience, of which Caiellis had pretty much none, they were difficult to Summon and maintain, however a Lucerna's power level went into godlike when they did so.

He could feel the Black mana within him, the blood of the abyss surging through his limbs, and though it had a similar source the energy was far removed from the corrupt power of demons. The boy could also sense that, past the mental restrictions he had already placed upon his usage of it (even though employing it felt natural and, save for his inhibitions, was far easier to use than White), Orzhova herself had imposed limitations - although whether that was because he was not ready nor familiar enough with the dark angel to embrace that power yet or she was forbidding him from it was unknown.

Whilst the Black made him feel powerful yet wary, he was surprised to find that it was the outpouring of White in unison with its counterpart that made him truly ascendant. Radiant light was veritably pouring off of him, the relative darkness of the eve replaced by celestial luminescence that was barely matched by his own blackness. Combing the two opposites, instead of producing a fractious, unstable power created an empyrean harmony that heightened his White and probably did the same for his Black (though he had no frame of relevance for that, having never intentionally used it before).

He felt closer to the divine than ever before, felt as if he could single-handedly scour the enemies of Lucael from the face of the continent, and while he was aware that such an assertion was hugely incorrect as this was the first time he had ever Summoned Orzhova and he was still very young the power he was controlling was immense.

Crushing Mysos and his Second Sisterhood angel should prove to be no great challenge.

The Lucaelian people maintained that there was nothing that could defeat a Lucerna that had Summoned, and although Cai was always sceptical of their beliefs he felt as if there would be little to prove them wrong. Mana was overflowing out of him, and the prince resisted the sudden incentive to laugh maniacally, instead favouring his subject Mysos with a radiantly ascendant and confident smile.

.*.*.*.

"Marik, my boy, we are doing the right thing," Tybalt assured the restless king, the ancient man still using the moniker despite the fact that his former student was the ruler of the kingdom. The Hierarch of Capitalia Lux had taught Johnias and his twin before he had inherited the role from the previous religious leader, and although he now mentored the king's young sons he still offered advice like he was Marik's teacher, never quite calling him anything like "my lord" unless in formal circumstances.

He had been one of the few people to prefer the quiet and calculated younger twin over his outgoing and cheerful brother, which had helped immensely when Marik had become king. Marik had lived up to his full potential, but his brother's betrayal had tarnished that in the mind of the king - despite proving himself the greater military commander within the civil war and earning the unanimous respect, loyalty and love of all those who resided within the Kingdom of Light during its darkest hour.

They were sat in an aerial vehicle of Yentarian origin piloted by one of the Republic – the fastest way of getting to their destination, even if flying sat ill with the king. The passenger compartment was spacious, with more than enough room for the King, Hierarch, Guardian, the pensive Isakian diplomat named Pasko, two hand-picked praetorians of the illustrious Lucerna Guard and Jenna, whom Marik had insisted stay with them after her research period was over. He liked the girl's diligence, honest attitude and work ethic, deciding that she would be the Yentarian representative to Lucael – which had no doubt created great uproar in the Republic.

Just the night of yesterday, Welkalite forces had pillaged a shipment of vital goods sent from Civitas Sol to the rapidly expanding Gol Secondus, brutally murdering the soldiers guarding it as well as the innocent civilian traders and workmen. But what was even more insulting to the Kingdom of Light was the fact that the bandits - who hadn't bothered to even make an effort to mask the allegiance of their dead - had taken quite a substantial number of prisoners, as the corpses found and subsequently burnt by the knights of Gol sent to meet the group did not match the original numbers of journeyers from the City of the Sun.

That had forced Marik's hand, and the monarch immediately began mobilizing the forces of each city when the reports had come in – the foolish New Empire would be forced to learn the folly of challenging the Kingdom of Light when its cities lay smouldering, reduced to purified ashes.

Eager to stop the brewing violence, the Yentarian Republic had quickly tried to placate the leaders of each faction by arguing that negotiations should be tried one last time before outright warfare, if peace was achieved then both nations would be grateful for it - and perhaps a constructive solution for the so called "renegade issue" could be established, even if Marik no longer believed that those encroaching onto the cursed land of Lucael were merely splinter factions of the Orders of Passion.

To do this, they needed neutral territory for diplomacy, as there was no way in which either of the nations' leaders would be convinced to travel into the territory of the other. They Yentarians suggested the Scholaria Magnus island, as it would prove a good meeting point for the leaders of the Welkalites and Lucaelians, each of which would be arriving in a matter of hours.

Marik looked forward to meeting them - and showing them that the blessed might of Lucael was not to be trifled with.

Many Light-bearers had argued against the course of action, maintaining that it was just a delaying tactic so that Welkas could escape retribution (and possibly assembling their own armies, as undoubtedly they would not have the same military efficiency necessitated by life within the eternal darkness) – they also argued against the king going. Marik was confident that he would be safe, as Bruna and Athela flew alongside the sky-ship, and needed to impart upon the Welkalite representatives the dire seriousness of the situation. Plus, despite the fact that Tybalt and Tristram were more than capable decision makers and heralds of Lucerna will, he felt like it was his duty to be there.

Now his mind was consumed with niggling doubts – what if the people thought he was weak, tolerating negotiation instead of bringing down heavenly justice upon the New Empire? What if his council of advisers and Light-bearers thought him too easily influenced, too willing to bend to the suggestions of the Republic in lieu of forging ahead with his own path. What if the Yentarians were actually allied with the Welkalites and planned to assassinate him in order to send the kingdom spiralling into disarray? It had not escaped his notice that all three members of the royal lineage would be in one location, and eliminating the bloodline in one fell swoop would destroy Lucael.

On the other hand, all three Lucernas fighting alongside one another would have a combined power that could shake the foundations an entire civilisation, especially now that all three of them could call upon the scions of the Goddess.

Tybalt had sensed his former student's mind at unrest due to the fact that Marik was pacing down the length of the passenger compartment, his armoured boots clanging loudly on the corrugated metal. The boy had always possessed a penchant for movement when lost in thought, and it had not faded away into his adult years - a trait shared by his eldest (even if an exasperated Tybalt sometimes wondered if Alexander ever thought things out before plunging into them) but strangely not his youngest, who could become so incredibly still when captured by the workings of his own mind.

"Could you please sit down? Making all that racket isn't going to help you think," Tybalt scowled, Jenna raising her eyebrows at the admonishing tone he used with the king, like one of the most influential men in the world was still a petulant child. Marik chuckled – the Hierarch had inspired a huge amount of respect from his younger self, and though he hated to admit it, far more than his late father, King Garius II.

This was not just due to the man's religious influence - as the Hierarch of Capitalia Lux the man was responsible for the reinforcement of faith throughout the entire Kingdom of Light (although it worked slightly differently within the capital, as the Hierarch of that ancient bastion against the dark also had a duty to teach the youths of the Lucerna family and thus shared the role with the Arch-Cardinal), answering only to the ruling Lucerna - but because of the confidence Tybalt had shown in him and his abilities, instead of either the ambivalence shown by his other instructors when they compared him to his twin or the barely concealed disdain of his father, which had inspired nothing but resentment from himself.

He hoped that neither of his boys thought the same way about him – he used to despise the strict and cold man, especially since his mother had died at the birth of her twin Lucernas. Marik had never felt the nurturing hand of a loving parent, and tried to give that same sort of instinctive encouragement to his children now, which was hard without Emili's constant support.

He wanted them both to feel loved, but to also feel that they should try their damned hardest to please him an excel in his eyes - and the eyes of the people, a balance that was incredibly tricky to strike and had already led to pushing his youngest son over the edge, a predicament that the youngster was only now recovering from.

The king had so far decided not to inform his sons of his arrival – the diplomacy would take place out of the way of the students, in fact Pasko had said they already had rooms in place, as after its usage as an academy the Scholaria Magnus was intended to become a place of international negotiation in a roughly equidistant location between each major nation.

He did not wish to disturb their studies, nor throw them into a tense situation that they weren't yet properly briefed on. If they saw him, it would hopefully be a pleasant surprise for the boys, but it wasn't necessary for them to know. Marik had not yet considered whether or not he would visit his sons if the negotiations were successful at obtaining peace - though if war had to be declared, he would be pulling the Lucaelian students out of the Scholaria Magnus, which could destablise the whole endeavour.

.*.*.*.

"Oh, and who's this?" Orzhova asked in mock confusion, motioning languidly towards Iridis with her scythe, the other angel glowering at her. Her demeanour was a far cry from the solemn and deadly serious angel who had signed the Summoning contract, which perturbed the youngest prince, although the power infused in every syllable spoken by sacred lips was certainly no joke. Caiellis ignored her question and carried on with the tradition of the combat, saying: "Mysos Grandé, allow me to introduce Orzhova, Angel of the Black Sun and Daughter of the First Angel."

"You're not a talkative one, are you?" Orzhova mocked when Iridis didn't respond to her apart from scouting. She opened her huge black wings to their fullest extent, and said: "No matter. You are just a lesser angel anyway. Caiellis, couldn't you have Summoned me to fight something more challenging?"

"Do not underestimate Iridis. You may be more powerful and First Sisterhood, but Mysos has far more experience with her than I have with you," Caiellis warned direly, his solemn words at odds with the sensations of absolute might cascading through his small body, and his angel pouted at him. "He can sustain her for far longer, so let's begin the fight," he ordered.

"Excellent idea. Since you are lacking slightly in Black mana, I shall use more of that to compensate and maintain the balance. This will of course reduce our overall power, but it will still be more than enough to crush our enemies," she grinned, diving forwards and arcing her scythe at Iridis, who blocked it with her sword, straining and grunting as the shadows surrounding the other angel expanded, tendrils of shadow billowing light a black wind towards her and Mysos. The boy and his Summoning, her eyes alight with righteous hatred, whispered the words of a dispelling ritual, blinding light glowing from their swords and cutting through the miasma.

The smallest Lucerna's crystalline blade thrummed with twilight power, shining brighter and yet darker than he had ever seen before. He shot at the older boy, the Sword of Glass whipping round in an arc of incandescence that was parried by the broadsword of his opponent, a flash of energy erupting from the impact. It was with no small sense of satisfaction that Cai beheld Mysos grunting and being pushed back, the younger boy gaining ground as he forced his elder to skid along it in a spray of magical sparks from their clashing blades.

The enacted Summoning ritual had enhanced all of Caiellis's attributes - not only was his mana generation figuritively shooting through the roof, but his strength and agility were also empowered. Though his physical capability alone wouldn't be sufficient to drive his normally stronger opponent back even in his current state (as both had Summoned and Mysos was older and had a lot more muscle than his slender liege) the fact that magical power was pulsing through his limbs and his sword made his weapon-based attacks very potent.

Mysos twisted, letting go of his sword with one hand (allowing Cai's blade and attack to scrape past and barely miss his chest) and swinging a strong fist at the boy's face with the other. His hand stopped mid-air, a golden shield formed from interlocking layers of consecrated, mana-borne glass intercepting the blow and halting it before it would have crashed into the prince's cheek.

Mysos gasped at the power pulsing through his closed fist, numbing White and Black mana running through his fingers and into his wrist, equal amounts of pride in the sheer strength of his Lucerna lord and instinctive disgust at the magic of darkness that he could wield blossoming into life within his mind, before both warring emotions were subsumed underneath absolute awe. His hand was stuck, the enchantments woven into his own skin utterly eclipsed by the ensorcelled barrier protecting the thirteen year old, shimmering waves of light dissipating the mana-charged force of the blow into nothingness.

The sudden and yet inexorable urge to bow, to press his face into the dirt and spend an eternity in supplication to the Lucerna family and the Goddess, flooded through him, even as the proximity to the prince sapped the strength and life from his limbs. He gazed into Caiellis's oppositely coloured eyes, the boy grinning at him, before his own were drawn to the radiating Black Sun on his cheek. That such an incredibly young and innocent-looking child could be the host to this immense strength and the dark angel that fought with his own Summoning was a testament to the blessings of the First Angel.

A burst of determination flashed through his mind, inspiration and courage coming from both within himself and from the blessing of Iridis just before he was overwhelmed by the imperative to kneel. He ripped his hand away from the draining defence of the thirteen year old, swinging his sword one-handed in a large arc to put some distance between himself and the prince and causing the younger boy to have to step back.

Being defeated by the son of the king so easily would do nothing to aid Caiellis's training nor help Mysos's own pride, and thus the boy resolved again to give the prince as much of a challenge as possible - or even defeat him, though he knew if such did occur it would only be down to Cai's youth and inexperience with the Angel of the Black Sun. Caiellis could very well become the king himself one day, and it would not be fitting for his current opponent to simply give up because he was a Lucerna.

Caiellis conjured up bolts of mana that he flung at the older Lucaelian, bombarding Mysos's defensive enchantments as he inched towards Cai. The prince smiled, excited and wary, and harnessed the energy of darkness, plunging the Sword of Glass into the ground as dusky arms of White-streaked shadow began grasping at Mysos. With his left hand he released yet more of the beams of White mana, battering the teen's defences and slowly stopping him as he fired a singular ray that shone with a purple light. The older boy, who had done an admirable job of protecting himself against the barrage of pure light, was unable to resist the combined force of White and Black magic.

He was sent spinning backwards, slamming into the ground with a force befitting of the weighty armour he had chosen to equip himself with in the armoury before the team challenge's commencement. A note of concern that broke through Caiellis's ascendant thoughts at using the mana of darkness against Mysos (considering what it had done the only time he had ever bent it to his will before) was soon submerged as the fifteen year old clambered quickly back to his feet, a resolute expression adorning his face.

There was no denying that even the mere presence of the Black enhanced his White, particularly so if they were employed in harmonious unison to the ruin of his foes. Besides, he felt less guilty and scared of using the same wellspring of power as the enemies of Lucael that he had hated all of his life if it was tempered and controlled by his control over the light. He felt exultant, glad that he was finally able to use his birthright that he had worked so hard for, though it hadn't yet made amends for all of the fear, stress and pain he had been subjected to in recent months.

Spells that he had theorised in the past but had never possessed quite enough mana to cast were flooding through his mind, although as he was still coming to terms with the amount of power he had now he had to disperse those that were not relevant from his thoughts, collecting together the techniques that would directly aid him in obtaining victory as quickly as possible while he could still maintain the Angel of the Black Sun's presence.

Orzhova opened her wings wide and pushed Iridis away from her, spinning the in her hands scythe in a shimmering circle of light and darkness that pulsed outwards, sending the seraph reeling. Iridis felt intense pain and gritted her teeth, pulling her wings and sword protectively in front of her as the circle compressed back into a dense sphere. She swung her weapon into it, and as the scythe hit it detonated, Orzhova laughing as the life drained from the opposing angel flowed into her, a cascade of glittering golden particles gently falling onto the dark angel.

She hurled her scythe at the other angel, the weapon spinning blindingly fast as it repeatedly slammed into the Daughter of Wrath's blocking sword and the shining shield surrounding her, a tether of magical energy connecting the scythe to Orzhova and allowing her to change its trajectory at will direct the shadow-wreathed weapon to where it would deal the most damage.

Freya could see the destructive combat below her from her vantage point atop her elemental as Gaean swung around, roots and vines called by her growth magic and arcing up from the ground chasing the elusive djinn and his Summoner. Jayrahl dodged grasping arches of plant matter and the huge wooden fist of the nature avatar, launching a flickering tongue of flame at Gaean as his efreet blasted at it with crackling lightning. Freya's Summoning rumbled in pain as some timbers caught fire, and the Erian swiftly sent out healing pulses of enhanced natural regeneration that nullified the painful flames, restoring the bark back to its natural glory and erasing the cinder evidence of the attack.

The avatar and efreet continued their dance for a few swings, the djinn and his Summoner avoiding the ponderous swings of Gaean – Freya's Summoning was almost unparalleled in taking out stationary targets, although it suffered greatly against enemies with high mobility and the ability to assault it from a long distance away. Jayrahl shot upwards and dropped fluorescent spheres of Red and Blue mana aimed at the moss-cavity the girl was stood on. Gaean raised one of his arms defensively to protect his little Summoner, and the orbs detonated in a deafening boom of unstable energy that ripped the elemental's limb apart.

The second the explosion rippled out and the djinn plunged in for the kill as Gaean staggered back, the muscular creature of air leaving a trail of fading storm clouds behind it. Freya's yelp of panic was echoed by the rumble of pain that shuddered through Gaean's form and the enthusiastic (but not sadistic) laugh of Jayrahl. The djinn dove between the lumbering reactionary strikes of the elemental and headed straight towards Freya as his Summoner focussed his fire-magic on its legs, causing it to sway violently and toss Freya off her feet.

Panic flooded her mind as the efreet hurtled towards her, and she quickly conjured up a scattering of leaves that instantly ignited and crumbled to ashen dust as soon as they came close to the djinn – Freya had hoped to use that as a distraction to prepare some more mana, but her breath caught in her throat as the enemy Summoning reached towards her with a coil of lightning that cracked thunderously as it shot at her position.

The Erian breathed deeply, collecting her thoughts and hearkening back to the warrior techniques of her tribe that had been used to prevent slaughter at the hands of the predators in the Deep Forest – her plan was a gamble, as the djinn would likely be unaffected by the physical attack, but it was the best thing she had at the moment.

Freya didn't want to let down the other members of her team, not when they were all fighting so hard, and if she was teleported out when the teachers knew she would be wounded otherwise, Jayrahl would be free to wreak aerial havoc upon her newly made friends and the massive bastion of Gaen would be know more. Determination flooded her mind, making the Green mana she was gathering grow in strength as a steely resolve gripped her. She would not fail her team - and more than that, she would impress them in addition.

Time slowed to a crawl as a heightened flow of adrenaline coursed through her at the proximity to danger – Freya wouldn't actually be killed or hurt, the whole purpose of the teleportation shields was to extricate them from danger, but the primal regions of her mind still responded in the same instinctual way.

She felt Green mana augment her strength and waited until the last second to dodge the efreet's blow, leaping into the air by using the power of the natural energy she had accumulated and had welled up within her limbs. Freya kicked downwards into the djinn when its whip lashed out into the space she had been a second ago, her legs gifted with the might of one hundred oaks, crushing its corporeal form into ethereal mush and cracking Gaean's wood beneath her as she slammed into the creature of Sancturia's islands, ignoring the jolts of electricity that ineffectually poured through her as she destroyed the Sancturia creature.

Jayrahl jolted back when his Summoning unexpectedly crashed back into him, and Freya's own Sancturia avatar used the brief pause in the weaving evading patterns to slam his massive hand downwards and into the Xechunan, the boy being forcefully removed and ported back to the academy before Gaean's fist splattered him into a pulp of mashed organs and bone.

Freya spoke soothingly and released pulses of rejuvenating Green mana to augment the healing process of her elemental – Gaean was severely wounded, her stunt with the efreet doing little to help things, and the Erian wanted to use a few seconds of respite to help it recover before aiding her team-mates. She apologised with a wordless murmur, hating the fact that she had inadvertently harmed her Summoning. It grumbled at her in its strange language and she smirked – Gaean had told her that he wasn't a small sapling and could take care of his own wounds. Even terrifying incarnations of nature could be stubborn and boisterous.

She was well aware that she likely didn't have enough mana to repair all of the damage inflicted upon Gaean and would soon have to dismiss him, but for now she could use the brief respite to recover enough and decide which of her allies was in need of the most aid. Freya glanced down, forcefully wrenching her gaze away from where it was automatically drawn to the beacon of light and darkness that was young Caiellis - at the moment he definitely did not require help - and looked at Kaled, who was circling around some unknown locus with his opponent, the tension in the air palpable.

"I haven't forgiven you for the humiliation you caused me, Kally-boy!" Arceus sniggered loudly as he ran at Kaled, the hissing lightning spirit taking the form of a grinning devil-like creature of very undevil-like proportions as its warped body elongated and contorted through the air, leaving only fiery ruin in its wake as a trail of flame followed it across the ground. Regata snarled at the creature, cautioning Kaled with a bark before the boy hurled himself at it.

"Be wary! That thing is a Malignus. No defensive measures that we could take would help against that, it just pierces right through them!" the fire-cat hissed, the smaller Summoning's jaws dripping with embers and its choler rising. His last Summoner, a resistance fighter named Garteh who fought alongside Jarred Redhand in the freeing of the Welkalite people from the leash of their Imperial oppressors, had been brutally murdered by the same Malignus that they fought now, which had then been controlled by one of the last tyrant's bodyguards.

The thing clacked its jaws together in malevolent recognition, electricity spitting into the air around it, and Arceus used that to send a sizzling bolt of the stuff at Kaled. The taller boy automatically raised a shield of flame to protect himself, but the coruscating energy completely bypassed it and slammed into him, who involuntarily shrieked in pain as the electricity coursed through his nervous systems, causing him to spasm before he could regain control of his muscles.

Regata roared and leapt at the Welkalite noble, who smiled disdainfully and brought his Malignus in with puppet-strings of lightning to intercept the blow. The fire-cat's jaws tore great chunks of ethereal substance from the creature, which responded by smashing the other elemental away and shrieking painfully. Kaled watched the exchange intently even as he prowled closer to set up an attack – Arceus's Summoning hadn't intended to be the recipient of that blow, but the aristocratic Welkalite had still forced it to become just that. There was quite clearly no bond between the two forged through hardship, no teamwork between the Summoner and Summoning – Arceus utterly controlled the Malignus.

Mysos waded through the abyssal murk Caiellis had created, swiftly blocking the barrage of offensive White mana the prince sent at him and staggering back in torment when a shimmering Black ray hit him square in the chest after piercing right through his defences. It felt like his vital energies were being siphoned away – it shocked Mysos that Prince Caiellis, one of the most innocent and pure people he had ever met could use such "evil" magic, although he supposed that was mostly due to the Angel of the Black Sun - and the dark mana didn't quite inspire as much hatred in his mind as that of traitors.

The fifteen year old had always been cognisant of the potential for corruption nestled within his young prince, and though he had tried to push in down in their prior interactions it was difficult considering the evidence that had always stained the boy's young face. The officials of the Scholaria Magnus monitoring them wouldn't allow any of the students to get hurt, but that didn't stop the mixture of pride, awe and terror that coiled around in the Principian's gut. Though it was much easier to focus on the prince than Orzhova, whose bloody history and godly ability made it difficult to even consider the thought of her as an opponent - despite the reality that he was the Summoner of an angel also.

He let pure determination pulse through his mind and broke free of the draining force, charging at the prince who neatly sidestepped his cleaving blow, the Sword of Glass still pulsating with globules of shadow and stuck in the ground.

Caiellis was still wearing his almost conceited grin, partially wanting to extend the fight as long as possible so that he could keep the addicting thrill of the power - and Mysos was a good opponent to test that against - but rationally knew his mana, which would be rapidly dwindling despite the fact his ascendant mental state refused to even entertain the notion, wouldn't be able to sustain that.

Iridis rushed at Orzhova, feeling extremely weary due to the debilitating magics of the dark angel, but still determined not to lose against Akroma's, the creator of Iridis and her Wrathful sisters, hated sibling. Orzhova tutted disapprovingly at her and effortlessly blocked the blow, shaking her head when Iridis was knocked away and immediately came back at the First Sisterhood angel. The Seraph of the Sword was nothing if not persistent, in that, she echoed the artisan of her lineage.

"Please do something more strategically taxing than pointlessly swinging your sword around," she sighed, releasing an immensely potent flash of White mana from a flick of her scythe and forcing Iridis to back away from her. "I swear, all you daughters of Akroma are so incredibly flat."

Iridis snarled and launched a spear of radiance at Orzhova, who easily batted it away with a wave of consuming Black mana, scolding the other angel like she was an unruly child and not a scion of the Sanctum Angelica, the condescending lilt to her tone belying her very serious prosecution of the fight, "Such temerity. But then, what did I expect?

"Caiellis! I'm bored of Iridis, and we don't have much time left. Lets end this," she announced, grinning down at her Summoner who was still embroiled in combat with the larger boy, though could still spare the attention to gaze up at her for a moment - not that he had much of a choice, his vision captured by the dark spectacle of his angel. Orzhova twirled her scythe above her head, conjuring up the Black Sun that had birthed her into reality this day, infusing it with tremendous amounts of both light and dark energy that visibly vibrated the air around her. A choir could be heard in the background, rising in volume ever second Orzhova poured more power into the midnight orb.

Sensing the danger, Iridis dove towards her, a rare battle hymnal whispered on her lips, and Orzhova swung her thrumming scythe into the angel, slamming her downwards and into her Summoner, who she had specifically aimed at to free up Caiellis from his battle. The youth found his eyes gravitating upwards now that Mysos was preoccupied, and despite the gradual crescendo of the magic woven by the Angel of the Black Sun he was suddenly, acutely aware of the pounding of his own heart as he beheld the seraph and the star of dark light.

"Provide the light," she commanded, and Cai raised his left palm to the sky, a pillar of luminescence rising up out of it and into the dark star. Orzhova shut her eyes, pushing the White mana in her to the back of her mind and focusing solely on the beckoning void of Black, letting go of her weapon (which had returned to her) and weaving smoking symbols into the air, setting the stage for the incantation she had chosen to truly demonstrate her power to Caiellis – the ritual of the Culling Sun.

She laughed as Iridis shot towards her furiously and Mysos did the same in the direction of her young Summoner, his feet pounding on the ground in rhythm with the beat of his angel's wings - though both noises were drowned out by the sound of the choir.

"Too late," she jeered triumphantly as the Black Sun started to shine, the choir becoming a haunting scream that pierced through her ears. Iridis's expression turned from one of fury and defiance into one of agony and defeat when the radiance of the deathly sunshine illuminated her in darklight, the annihilating rays draining the life from the angel. The second Mysos was touched by the light he was dragged back to the academy, Unsummoning the Seraph of the Sword.

"That was more fun than I had initially anticipated. See you soon, my young Summoner," Orzhova favoured the boy with a magnanimous smile, returning back inside of Caiellis's body. The exhilarating feeling abruptly ended and the youngest student of the Scholaria fell to his knees wearily, the god-like sensation of pure power fading back into his mind, quickly supplanted by exhaustion setting in. He was drained after the Summoning, but in his opinion it had gone well – they had bested a Second Sisterhood angel, which despite Orzhova's boasting and sneers was a mighty foe indeed.

Caiellis knew it would take a few minutes for his mana to recuperate enough so that he could start using it again, but also remembered Tybalt telling him that the feeling would get better and the time required to rest would decrease every time he Summoned. It was an amazing sensation, he could well believe that Xarius and many other mages had become addicted to the feeling of power, to the knowledge such power could shape the twinned worlds and bend kingdoms of human and otherwise to their will.

He wiped his brow – the heat of the Welkalites fighting was setting the artificial forest alight, and now his own personal battle was over Cai was beginning to sweat. When his mana returned he would be able to help Kaled, but right now all he would do was get in the way.

Arceus blasted Kaled away with a wall of electricity which collided with the boy's own flaming attack, sending Regata and his Summoner scampering back for a few seconds. The instant he felt the aching sensation in his mind dull he looked left, where the two duelling angels and Mysos had gone, leaving a fragile and vulnerable looking boy on his own – a perfect target. The child had proven himself the greatest threat out of Team 3, and even though Jayrahl and Mysos had been defeated Arceus and Leleth could still carry Team 1 to victory if they could eliminate the remaining opposing members.

Elsewhere, Annia shot out jets of water at the twisting plants, occasionally catching a glance of a wild-looking Erian girl through the mass of vines, Quioni adding her own fire-power to the bombardment from the air – huge roots erupted from the ground and absorbed the attack, drinking thirstily of the water as Annia had planned, and the Yentarian grinned and called to her Summoning.

"Now!" she shouted, and Quioni rapidly began to decrease her body temperature, freezing the contrails of water that Leleth's botanical Summoning was greedily drinking up. Annia dodged a thrashing vine that obliterated the ground that she had been stood on, and raised her palm, a wave of kinetic force discharging from her hand. It crashed into the frozen Summoning, shattering it apart in an explosion of ice and revealing the startled Leleth.

Annia leapt at her, Quioni returning to normal heat and diving down at the enemy Erian. Leleth raised her arms frantically and a storm of arrow-like leaves descended on the elemental, tearing her apart in a flurry of Green mana – the arrows that impaled Quioni would absorb and pierce through the elemental should she try to morph into liquid. Instead, she retreated back into Annia after intercepting the attack, as the Yentarian conjured a staff of numbing Blue mana and swung it at Leleth.

The other girl shrieked as she was hit, baiting out another blow from Annia as she cried in pain. Annia swept the staff again for a second strike, when Leleth cackled victoriously and pulled her closer, vines growing out of her own body and wrapping around the Team 3 leader. She gasped as they crushed the air out of her – Annia knew she couldn't turn into water to escape, but the vines would eliminate her soon enough if she didn't do anything. Her mind worked at overdrive to think of a solution as the vines tightened; any spell she could cast wouldn't be effective or would take too long to conjure.

Feeling her time running out, the Yentarian quickly morphed into water and was absorbed by the vines, almost beginning to drink up the nutrients before she was teleported out of the danger. Leleth cried exultantly at her victory, just as a titanic wooden foot crashed down, annihilating the area and defeating her too. Freya shouted out Annia's name, knowing that her friend would already be out and safe but feeling ashamed of herself – had she arrived a moment earlier, she might have been able to keep the other girl in the challenge.

Arceus grinned sadistically at his new plan, figuratively throwing his Malignus into combat with Kaled and Regata and leaving it to its own devices, spinning around and running towards the small, huddling shape of Caiellis.

Realising the boy's malevolent intention, Kaled yelled in rage and clapped his hands together, igniting the air around him and sending a massive fireball at the Malignus. "Get back here, you bastard! We aren't finished yet!"

Regata shot into the path of the flame, letting the contrails wrap about him and roaring in fury as they augmented his already potent speed – the flames surrounding him started to become white as he reached a ridiculous intensity; this was Kaled's finishing move. He cracked the sound barrier in his haste, bursting forwards like a fiery missile, ripping into the screeching Malignus and tearing it apart in an eruption of super-heated flame, returning to Kaled's side as an explosion of white fire pulsed out over the ground.

Arceus grimaced as his Summoning was bested, but no matter – it was just a tool for him to use and dispose of at will, and Kaled would be too late to stop him from eliminating Caiellis. He was confident that he could defeat the talentless street-rat after dealing with the Lucaelian heir anyway, and was positively brimming with excitement at the embarrassment he would cause the stuck up royal in denying him victory.

Even though he had witnessed the youngest student's might first hand, it still irked the Welkalite aristocrat's son that the age rules of the Scholaria Magnus had been blatantly flaunted simply because Lucael was the only remaining nation archaic enough to still slave under the will of a single family - that despite Arceus's vaunted and wealthy lineage proceeding the revolution he would be considered inferior to Alexander and Caiellis because of their blood. It was ironic that someone who had gained so much from the nature of their birth would hate those he thought to rank above him in the hierarchy of familial power, but then envy never was the most logical sin.

The boy's head snapped up as he heard the crackle of electricity, his tired and over-exerted mind registering that he was still in the middle of a battle and that he had stopped paying attention to Kaled's conflict, and Arceus smirked maliciously as claws of lightning appeared over his hands. Cai tried to move away, but couldn't go far – he was still exhausted from his own combat, and weakly raised his relic blade of inactive crystal in a pathetic defence as the Welkalite threateningly stalked closer.

It was embarrassing to be caught out, and a mixture of fear (as the knowledge of the teleportation that would prevent serious injury still didn't stop his mind equating the situation at hand with the similar ones that had happened in the civil war) and shame that he was acutely familiar with burned in his face and down his spine. He cursed himself for so easily forgetting Uncle Tristram's most important battle instruction - to never lose sight of his position in the middle of a fight. Cai had just needed some time to recover his mana, and had become distracted by his thoughts concerning his recent Summoning.

"I never did get to pay your brother back for the humiliation he caused me. I guess I'll have to take it out on you instead," Arceus smiled viciously. Caiellis could feel his mana slowly returning, and mentally urged it to come back faster. Come on, come on ... Maybe if I get him to gloat longer, he thought, and prepared himself for a counterattack when his mana regenerated. "What humiliation?"

The other boy cocked an eyebrow down at him, not falling for his ploy of playing dumb to buy himself more time. Frustration poured through him - in his compromised situation, there was no way he could dodge an attack, no way that he could defend himself at all.

"No! Please. Come on, this isn't fair," he pleaded pathetically despite knowing full well that it was, inching away from the older boy who came even closer. Shit! It's not working! Panic shuddered through his veins – he knew he wouldn't get hurt, but as a Lucaelian prince he should carry his team to victory – it was expected of him, but as Arceus raised his arms Cai realised that even with Orzhova, he was still a failure.

It was stupid, stupid that he had wielded such immense power only a few minutes prior and now could do nothing to stop Arceus eliminating him, stupid that he was getting so attached to a mock conflict anyway - but the outcome of this would reflect that of a real battle, and even if no one said anything he knew the expectation that he would be on the winning team and one of the last ones in the battle zone within the Lucaelian students would be sorely disappointed.

He didn't know if he could stand much more shame, especially after how he had acted in front of them yesterday. Cai extended his hand, willing for the transcendent power that had suffused him only moments ago to return and smite the older teen. All that responded was a sensation of bone-aching weariness, before that gave way to a cold, sinister whisper. It was wordless, though its purpose was obvious.

You could have more, you know.

It was Caiellis's own mind that had conjured the words, merely providing definition to the dark shadow in his thoughts. The boy immediately drew away, shutting down his temptation for just a little mana and retreating from the darkness that had responded to his desire. His pride was at stake, his reputation in the eyes of those who already feared him and thought him unworthy, but he would rather lose that pride than call upon the force of Black. Not without Orzhova here, not without his White mana to restrain and balance its ravenous lust.

And besides, he was well aware of what obtaining just a little mana would entail.

"Even though you'll be teleported out, I'm going to enjoy this," Arceus murmured, swiping at Caiellis with his thunder-claws. A form blurred and shunted in front of the blow, Kaled yelling in rage as the talons tore into him instead of Caiellis, whose mouth was gaping open in shock. The older boy cried out in brief agony and was teleported back to the academy, but not before landing next to Cai and weakly grinning at him.

Caiellis's mana rushed through his body, the Sword of Glass lighting up and reflecting his incandescent rage. The prince whipped it around and sliced it through Arceus's block, easily tearing through the Red mana and forcing Arceus to be ported out before he was hacked apart. Tears of anger blurred the edges of his vision – Cai shouldn't need anyone else to look out for him; he was supposed to be one of the strongest mages in the world. It never occurred to the young prince that the reason he wasn't as powerful as he thought he should be was because of his age.

He didn't understand why Kaled had thought it necessary to hurl himself in front of the attack meant for him - perhaps the older boy, in his newfound revelation of Caiellis's heritage had begun to comprehend some of the stresses bearing down on his roommate, although Cai somehow doubted that. More likely, it would be the result of the protectiveness that Kaled had exhibited recently over his new friend (despite his unwillingness to acknowledge that fact, the prince was aware that Kaled had hardly been subtle).

Cai would make sure to thank Kaled for it once they finished this exercise, even if he didn't quite know what to think of his actions. Wiping his eyes, he quickly appraised the nearby area to ensure that there were none of the other teams' students, but could see no sign of them.

He slowly paced towards the towering elemental of Freya's in the distance – it was a sorry sight, with an arm missing and numerous scorch marks spotting its bark exterior, and stumbled slightly as it noticed the prince and began plodding in his direction. It reached into a mossy area where its face should have been and delicately plucked a figure from there, placing Freya in front of Caiellis and slowly dissipating into peaceful Green mana, murmuring quietly to itself.

The two remaining team-mates stared awkwardly at each other for a few seconds - neither the conversationalist -, Freya slightly taller than the Lucaelian, before Caiellis pulled out his data-sheet and turned away, intent on finding and eliminating whoever was remaining - or preparing to avoid them, as the two were in barely any condition to continue fighting.

"I'll check how many teams are left, but that was definitely the strongest one," he stated by way of explanation, tapping the sheet in nodding in satisfaction when there was only a single other one left, missing a member as well. He conveyed the information to Freya, who accepted it silently. Identical to himself, the girl was breathing heavily after her exertions, although obviously trying to hide it. Making his mind up, Cai suggested: "We should rest for a bit before trying to find them. It's getting dark."

"It looks like it is going to rain. The trees should provide enough shelter, though," the girl added helpfully, motioning towards the sky. Dark clouds were gathering overhead as the sun drifted below the horizon. The younger of the two hummed his agreement as he gazed upwards, and set off towards a part of the somewhat artificial forest that wasn't so scarred by battle. He suspected that the landshapers of the Scholaria Magnus would have to repair the area when the older years did the test the youngest was still finishing.

"Caiellis?" Freya asked suddenly, as light began to bleed off the younger boy – the light signalling a teleportation. He looked in confusion at his hands, glowing with a turquoise glimmer that steadily brightened.

"What's going on?" he demanded, the girl flinching back at his abrasive tone. He glared around for one of the observers he had noticed watching the students before becoming too preoccupied with the challenge itself than what their teachers were thinking of them. "I'm still fine! I haven't been defeated yet!"

It felt like he was begging to some uncaring deity, and swung his sword in the air in sheer frustration. "Why is this happening?"

Then, the concerned face of Freya was gone, as was the ground beneath his feet, and a spinning sensation left Cai feeling nauseous as he was roughly deposited on a soft mat. Doctor Argyle stood with his side to the boy, fingers on a wall-mounted terminal that glowed with a soft blue light. The prince realised that the small room surrounding him wasn't the recovery room the students were supposed to have been transferred by the teleportation into.

He rounded on the Yentarian, releasing his anger, almost shouting: "What is the meaning of this?!"

Caiellis's instincts - which he somewhat trusted when he was properly focused on the situation at hand - weren't directly telling him that something was amiss, but the sudden extrication from the battle zone made him suspicious. He wasn't exactly in a good position to start fighting for his life should the teleportation to this strange room be the start of something sinister.

Argyle stared blankly back at the irritated youth, pressing a button on the wall next to him and stepping aside as a gleaming metal door swished open. Caiellis's glare instantly switched to the figure stood in the doorway, but he immediately converted the gaze into one of cautious respect when he recognised just who it was that had authorised the teleportation.

"Good evening, son," King Marik uttered, and Alexander gave his little brother a friendly wave from behind their father.

---

Liber Sancturia:

Mulldrifter: Summoning of Annia Bylae

Spellheart Chimera: Summoning of Meri Hayato

Gaea's Revenge: Summoning of Freya Oluseyi

Seraph of the Sword: Summoning of Mysos Grande

Firemane Avenger: Summoning of Kierra Esse

Linvala, Keeper of Silence: Summoning of Ollis Pax

Serendib Efreet: Summoning of Jayrahl Phransis

Malignus: Summoning of Arceus Etin

Vinelasher Kudzu: Summoning of Leleth Barkbite