AR10 Ch8

Chapter Eight

The crowd was cheering loudly as the last honor fight of the day had a Kroggian winning. Mindie rushed over to heal the magi guard, leaving Gregory with Stenson. It was time to ask for their duel.

“High Priest,” Gregory said, turning to face Stenson, “I request an honor duel, one that is closer to my range. If you would, my request is that you would limit yourself to under grandmaster in aether and skill.”

One of Stenson’s eyebrows went up as he stared at Gregory. “You wish to face me, and ask me to restrain my ability?”

“If you are willing, sir. I have not faced a user of force magic for years. These duels are to build goodwill, and I’d like to face you as my old mentor would have in ages past.”

Mentioning Lightshield brought back memories to Stenson. Nodding slowly, the older man clapped a fist to his chest. “For my old friend Linus, I will give you your duel. Are you sure you want me to be so much more advanced than you?”

Gregory removed his haori, letting his ring take it away. “The best magi come from the hardest paths. I want to be tested, but not so thoroughly crushed as to never have a chance.”

The crowd had grown quiet, those nearest them having fallen silent, and it had spread. That was why Stenson’s laughter rang out over the crowd farther away, getting them to fall silent, too. Mindie glanced back with a look of worry, but not fear; Gregory had explained it to all of them earlier. Greta, though, was shocked as she stared at the pair near the entryway into the pit.

“You are just as daring and mad as he was, Pettit,” Stenson chuckled. “Very well. Just short of what your empire calls grandmaster. After you.”

Gregory dropped into the fighting pit, walking calmly to the middle as he summoned his naginata to hand. He paused beside Mindie, who’d finished healing the guard, to kiss her cheek. That got a lot of murmurs from the crowd, as the magi was being very forward. Mindie’s blush turned her face scarlet, and she trembled slightly before she left him.

“Everyone, out of the arena,” Gregory said, but he was looking at the magi guards. “I have a friendly spar with the high priest. We will be staying to heal after the fight.”

The five guards and their sergeant all saluted before leaving the pit. Greta ushered the Kroggians out, too, before standing beside Mindie at the gap once they were out.

“Mindie, is this okay?” Greta whispered.

“It’ll be fine,” Mindie said, her face still red from the kiss. “He said it would be, and Ambassador Glowstone approved it.”

Stenson walked calmly to the stand opposite Gregory, then took off the outer robe he wore. Under the robe, Stenson had on the normal shirt and pants any Kroggian would wear. There was no extravagance or excess in his attire outside of his enchanted rings, which were still understated in design. “Today, I give honor to an old friend. Linus Lightshield was a magi and the leader of Aether’s Guard until his passing a few years ago. Lightshield saved my life multiple times in our youth, and I was never able to fully repay him. Today, I lay a small fraction of the debt to rest. Gregory Pettit of Aether’s Guard has asked me for a training spar in Lightshield’s memory. As Aether’s Guard has been honorable and shown goodwill with these duels, I have accepted, but so as to make it fairer, I will only be using a fraction of my power and skill. We don’t rank ourselves as the empire, but for those who are watching who are…” He looked up at the sky as he spoke to where a few people were watching through wind magic. “I will be just under a grandmaster in power and skill.”

Stenson addressing the sky got a murmur from the crowd. It was clear that the whole duel had been watched by magi. Angry murmurs started to grow in the crowd until Stenson raised a hand, cutting them off.

“Do not blame the ambassadors who have shown honor. The insects who slither to watch are not worthy of our time,” Stenson said, then turned a hard look on Gregory. “Are you ready, Pettit?”

Gregory saluted as a Kroggian, then brought his naginata around into a defensive posture. “I am ready.”

“Greta Vexadottir, call us to begin,” Stenson said as he stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Greta swallowed as everyone glanced her way. “Umm… yes, sir. Begin!”

Gregory moved instantly, his eyes darting as he watched Stenson craft force walls to hem him in. The walls weren’t all huge, either— Stenson made some that were only a foot tall, hovering right at chest height. It was clear the older man was testing Gregory’s ability to see the future and adapt rather than just going for a win. Gregory decided to test a few things since it wasn’t going to be a decisively quick spar.

When Gregory’s legs took on aether flame, the crowd roared in response. Leaping up, Gregory kicked off a force wall to propel himself up and over another one. Twisting, he came down, then immediately rolled under another barrier. Springing to his feet, he hurdled the next barrier that Stenson threw up just in front of where he was rolling. The flame vanished from his legs to coat his entire weapon as he smashed it into a barrier beside him. That barrier cracked, but didn’t break, making it briefly visible to everyone before Stenson dropped it.

“Good,” Stenson said. “Your foresight can control a battlefield. The minor tricks and traps are being defeated handily. Are you ready for more?”

“Are you?” Gregory asked as he came to a dead stop.

Stenson laughed, then extended a single hand. “Come, Magi. You will not touch me.”

Gregory focused for a moment as he watched the future spin out. He let his naginata vanish and stood still as barriers surrounded him. “You would be correct if I tried to force my way to you, but no warrior who will have to face magi would ever be without a trick or two.”

Stenson’s eyes narrowed, watching Gregory as he layered barriers around the magi. Even if Gregory had a way to break past one, he would never be able to get past two or three. But what if he had other tricks? His dear friend Lightshield had always had an escape, with spatial and shadow magics being his favorites. Stenson started to make a barrier behind him when Gregory fell into his own shadow. Spinning, Stenson exhaled— his barrier had appeared in time to catch the sheathed wakizashi that’d been thrust at his back.

The jeers from the crowd shook the air, but neither man cared at the moment. Gregory locked eyes with Stenson before he vanished back into his own shadow again. Stenson just shook his head, turning slowly to find Gregory outside of the previous barriers.

“Lightshield always had a way out, too,” Stenson said, then raised a hand. “Stop.” The word was directed at the crowd. “That was an enchanted item. Our own champions use them at times.”

Gregory held up his hand, showing off the rings on his fingers. “A ring, in this case. It was a long shot, but my only one since I can’t break your barriers.”

“You concede?”

“No, not until you trap me, and I can no longer get free.”

Stenson put his hands behind his back again. “I am waiting.”

Gregory took a deep breath, then let aether cover his body. The small blade went back into his ring as his naginata reappeared. With a hard step, he was moving faster than the audience could see, but the trail of aether flame told them where he’d been. The crowd gasped as the flame went airborne far higher than they thought it would, all eyes looking up at it.

Gregory did as he had previously, rushing in and kicking off the walls. He misjudged his amplified strength when he leapt up and over one, soaring thirty feet into the air. As he started to come back down, he had a moment of concern when Stenson angled two barriers into a vee on his trajectory. If he hit that, he could be seriously injured. Using the naginata as a spear, he managed to catch the tsuba on the angle and slip down one instead of flying into them. That jarred his arms, but he held onto the weapon as it came free of the lip. Hitting the ground, he rolled with the impact, throwing sand right until he slammed into a half dome. Kicking off it, he just managed to slip out as another half was formed and slapped into place. Getting back to his feet, he was four feet away from Stenson, who just smiled at him.

“Surrender, Magi,” Stenson said calmly. “You can see the future if you do not.”

Gregory’s eyebrows shot up at the future he saw. It wouldn’t kill him, but it would hurt, and he wouldn’t get any closer to Stenson, who was in the tightest barrier he could make. His weapon vanished as he bowed to Stenson. “I surrender, High Priest. Spiked force walls would cause me more harm than I would like my wife to heal.”

Stenson clapped a fist to his chest, and when he did, all the barriers burst into aether flame. The crowd gasped when they finally got to see just how thoroughly the arena had been covered. They went out a few seconds later, leaving no trace behind. “You fought well, Pettit. If I was a priest at your level, I might have been defeated.”

“I am honored,” Gregory said, bowing as a magi to Stenson. “I will have to train harder if I ever have to face you.”

“Few of your magi could face me and survive, and none without taking injuries.”

“I concur,” Gregory said, pressing his fist to his heart. “Thank you.”

The crowd began to cheer loudly. Gregory smiled as he looked at the people surrounding the pit. None of them were taunting him; they were celebrating Stenson. He gave Mindie a smile when she reached him to check for injuries. His smile faltered for a moment when her aether pushed into his body, but he was glad that she’d healed the strains and sprains he’d collected during the spar.

“We are done,” Stenson said, loud enough to be heard. “Everyone but those who need healing, go and celebrate. Tomorrow, our raiders return in triumph.”

“Would he have hurt you that badly?” Mindie asked softly.

“As a lesson, yes,” Gregory murmured back to her when she finished healing him.

“I’m glad you stopped.”

“Me, too, my heart.”