It was a fair answer, but his defensive body language and tone told me that he wasn’t giving the whole answer. Interesting. Some history there? He’s got a similar accent, but it isn’t nearly as strong as Marissa’s.
“Interesting reasoning.” Lord Teft smiled. “Miss Callahan, will you please come to the stage? Roland Roland, you can step aside for the moment; you will not be participating in the first duel.”
Roland scowled, stepping off the stage. The teacher stepped back to the furthest point on the raised platform as Marissa reached the stairs, taking a position on the opposite side from Kent. I couldn’t see any exposed attunements on Marissa’s body, so I didn’t know what to expect from her. Kent seemed to know her personally, though, so maybe he was more prepared.
Lord Teft opened a compartment on the side of the stage, retrieving a large wooden box. After a few moments, he opened the top, reaching inside and raising a small metal disc. “Before we begin, I will need to check everyone’s shield sigils. If you’re still standing, you can sit down.”
He walked to Marissa and Kent, briefly putting a hand on their sigils and closing his eyes. “This shield sigil will be your best friend at the school. Currently, both of yours are fully charged, but I will recharge them between classes. Do not lose it. You will not like what happens if you lose it.”
As the combatants took positions on the stage, Teft walked among the rows of the class, checking every single student’s sigil to ensure it was on and fully charged. His jaw was set hard as he watched the students. His playful demeanor had temporarily vanished.
It made perfect sense. Even though there were presumably healers close by, it was tremendously dangerous to have inexperienced students trying to duel without any sort of protective gear. Our uniforms weren’t built like dueling tunics. They would offer minimal protection, if any, from magical attacks.
Lord Teft watched carefully as some of us adjusted the locations of our pins to his satisfaction, speaking as he returned to the stage. “If you use your sigil in class, see me or go to the Divinatory before your next class. For this month, you will have your shield sigil recharged by a teacher or a second year student, even if you think you are capable of recharging it yourself. I will not tolerate any accidents.”
He stepped to the back of the stage, and then turned to Marissa. “Since you are the recipient of the challenge, normally you would be able to refuse. If you wish to remain enrolled in this class, however, you must fight. Will you participate?”
Marissa nodded.
“Good. You may choose the conditions of the duel. Since your opponent is an Elementalist, I would recommend using only canes—”
“I think attunements will be fine.”
Both Kent and the teacher looked stymied by that. After a moment, Kent gave a deep belly laugh. “Your funeral.”
Marissa looked at the teacher. “Can we keep on fightin’ ‘til one of us gets a clean hit in, Lord Teft?”
I took a moment to process the question; her strong country accent was throwing me off. She and Kent were the first students I’d heard with accents like that, and hers was the thicker of the two. I’d seen other commoner students, but mostly merchants and such. Not a lot of people from outside of a major city could afford the cost of taking a Judgement.
What was her story?
Teft nodded in response to her question. “Oh, certainly. To be clear, I will ignore glancing blows and only call the match when one of you lands a solid attack?”
Marissa gave a slight bow. “If it’s all right by Master Kent, that is.”
Kent chuckled again. “’Tis fine with me. Means I won’t have to go easy on ye.”
She nodded silently, a look of intense focus crossing her features.
Teft stepped off the stage.
“Well, that’s settled, then. Begin!”
No preparation time?
I should have expected that, given the teacher’s prior behavior, but it still caught me off guard.
Kent, however, seemed more prepared. He reached with a gloved hand and pulled his cane off his belt, flicking a finger against the activation rune.
A burst of light surged from the cane, but Marissa was already moving. She pivoted to the right and leaned back, the movement causing the blast to miss her by mere inches. Her own cane was in her left hand a moment later.
Kent fired again, but Marissa merely stepped to the side, her eyes focused on her opponent with deadly intent.
A third shot, a forth. Each dodged with no sign of effort.
Marissa was half way across the stage when she raised her own cane for the first time.
The blast ripped across the stage in a moment. Kent attempted to twist out of the way, just as his opponent had, but he was too slow; the attack clipped his right arm. A flicker of sparks erupted as the mana shattered against his protective barrier.
Kent growled, tossing his cane aside and raising his attuned hand. “Was hopin’ to go easy on ye, Marissa, but yer not giving me much of a choice.”
Marissa continued to advance, eyes hard. “Yer not giving me much o’ one, either, m’lord.”
Kent raised his attuned hand and pointed it at Marissa, drawing in a breath before speaking. “Third Breath of the Tiger, I call you!”
A torrent of sparks manifested around Kent’s hand, flickering so brightly that I couldn’t look at them directly. He pointed two fingers directly at his approaching opponent, and then closed his eyes. “Violet Lightning!”
The voltaic charge was too fast for my eyes to follow, and it would have been far too fast for me to dodge. That was probably why Kent had chosen lightning. If Marissa was fighting based on dexterity, he had to choose something she couldn’t evade.
Marissa punched the lightning.
The crackling bolt deflected off her fist, flashing skyward and disappearing into the distance.
By the time Kent had opened his eyes, Marissa had closed the distance.
Her fist glowed brightly as she slammed it into Kent’s chest. The strike launched him back several feet and sent him tumbling to the ground. I winced — even with the barrier that had to hurt.
Lord Teft clapped once. “And that concludes our match.”