Vivienne wielded a wand—a duellist’s weapon, designed with ease of carry and style in mind more so than practicality. Its small size meant that it required more specialist components and enchantments to compete with a staff, and of course, that made them far more expensive.

She balanced her wand delicately between her fingers as she waited for Bud and Celaine to join her on the field. “The same rules apply. The spar ends when one is disarmed or concedes. For the purpose of this exercise, I will restrict myself to Tier 2 spells or below.”

“What should I do?” Celaine asked. “Arrows aren’t exactly ideal for sparring.”

“No need to concern yourself,” Vivienne said. “Both of you come at me with everything you’ve got.”

Bud and Celaine shared a look. The huntress shrugged and readied her bow, while Bud on the other hand seemed apprehensive.

“Robert, I assure you, if I was concerned about my safety I wouldn’t be suggesting this,” Vivienne said.

Bud nodded. “Very well.” He drew his sword, frostfire blazing along its blade.

Celaine whispered something and Bud nodded. Vivienne waited patiently, allowing them as much time as they needed to create a plan. She stood there at ease, her wizard’s robes swaying gently in the wind while she fiddled with her fine wooden wand.

When Bud and Celaine parted, Vivienne smiled. “Are you ready?”

Celaine nodded.

“I’m ready,” Bud said, adopting a sword stance, blade extended.

“Wonderful,” Vivienne said. “Then let’s begin. Come!”

Hump’s party members wasted no time. Celaine shot her first arrow, then circled around to Vivienne’s left flank as it flew. At the same time, Bud erupted with essence. His eyes shone with blue fire, and a wave of light pulsed through his skin, so faint, Hump had never noticed it before. The Heart of Frostfire aura radiated a chill that bit into Hump’s skin even at the edge of the field, an icy blue light enshrouding the knight as vapour in the air crystallised around him and the grass became frosted.

Vivienne reacted unhurriedly, raising her want in a quick flick toward the arrow. A gust of wind shot forth, blasting the arrow off to the side. Bud shielded his face with an arm as he pushed forward into the wind, his frostfire billowing from the force. It staggered him, ruining his charge but not stopping his progress completely. It did however give Vivienne time to deal with Celaine.

She whirled on the huntress, throwing out both arms as if to grasp the sky. She brought them together and gripped the handle of her wand, taking aim at the huntress. Essence gathered to her, and Hump saw the strength of an academy wizard take form.

Water congealed in the air around her, beading into eight balls of essence infused liquid. It shone with a brilliant blue light as she filled it with her power. “Seek out my mark,” she commanded.

The water obeyed her. Each of the beads stretched out, the surface tension of the water almost bouncing, then a jet of water burst forth from each, fast as a bird, thin as a finger, each shot through the air toward Celaine.

Before the spell had finished taking form, her attention was back on Bud, readying a spell to meet his closing charge.

But Hump couldn’t look away from the projectiles that chased Celaine. Eight different instances of the same spell taking form all at once, her intent clear enough that they needed no further control to achieve their objective. They had their target, and now they were Celaine’s problem to deal with.

Caught off-guard by the suddenness of the attack, Celaine let her next arrow fall from the string and began to dodge. Hump had seen how fast she had moved before, but Vivienne’s projectiles homed in on her in a similar fashion to Lantheer’s Flaming Arrows, pursuing her as she dashed across the field, twisting and turning to get out of the way.

There was a finesse to her movements that Dylan lacked when using Aspect of the Ape. She wasn’t just agile, she was light, as if the wind itself was carrying her. As she flipped through the air, she spun on her side in a way that didn’t look natural. Most of the water missiles flew past her, splashing across the ground or vanishing harmlessly into the trees that surrounded the field.

Most.

She cried out as one caught her in the shoulder, disrupting her controlled movement and sending her toppling through the air. She landed awkwardly on her feet, tripping, and rolling to the ground. As she scrambled to her feet, water drenched her upper body, staining her leathers with dark streams.

Bud met Vivienne with a heavy swing, lashing out as if to chop her in half. Vivienne swept her wand up to meet his, the motion more akin to a sword swing than anything Hump expected to see from a wizard. The air shimmered between them as she summoned a shield, though this one was smaller and more precise, akin to a buckler rather than a tower shield. It moved through the air toward Bud’s blade, colliding like a hammer on an anvil, but it was not Vivienne that was forced back from the exchange.

The momentary shield shattered from the impact, but it had done all it needed—a mere flash of essence enough to block Bud’s attack. Despite his strength and weight advantage, somehow it was he who staggered back, his sword shivering as it rebounded through the air.

Now Hump understood what she had meant when she’d told him a good block had momentum. Yet it required such timing, aim, essence manipulation, and a chantless cast—all so far beyond Hump that he was amazed this was a variation of the same spell.

There was a silver flash behind her. Celaine fired an arrow at Vivienne’s exposed back. Hump’s heart was in his throat as he watched it fly, but then the air rippled, and the arrow clattered aside. Vivienne glanced back at Celaine, smiling as a second arrow struck the shield. Watching the ripples, Hump realised it was different to his own. Where the impact on his shield caused essence fluctuations, Vivienne’s seemed to bend with the impact, not blocking the arrows with pure force alone but providing them enough give to lessen the impact. Just another way in which she increased her essence efficiency.

She held the shield in place as she cast a second spell—dual casting—a skill Hump could just about pull off, though not while maintaining both spells at the same time like this. More water beads formed in the air around Vivienne, larger than before. Each shot off another jet of water, but this time they didn’t disappear after the first. Instead, they floated there, more water gathering to them, continuing to fire at Celaine every few seconds.

Celaine dove to the side, rolled, and regained her footing. She used Spring Step to propel herself forward, staying low to the ground and creating distance.

Bud came at Vivienne again. Where Dylan had tried to force his way through Hump’s shield, Bud was more precise. He thrusted at Vivienne, searching for openings, always pushing to close the distance. With each attack, Vivienne’s defence became stronger. Her shields formed closer to him, restricting the movement of his arms and blade, until he was forced back.

“Water Shot,” she barked, aiming at his leg. Bud swung at it with his sword, cleaving the shot in two and turning each half to ice. She smirked, unleashing another handful of shots from her wand, even as a dozen missiles homed in on Celaine. She was a storm of water. They forced Bud back as he continued to slice through the magic with a precision that came only with years of practice, while Celaine dodged frantically, desperately trying to avoid the ever-increasing barrage.

“Very good,” Vivienne said. “But how do you handle this?” She took aim with her wand and muttered, “Blast.” The air shimmered, so faint it was almost like waves of heat over a sunlit road. Her control over her essence was beyond Master Sethril’s even on a good day. It was invisible in the near-noon sun, with hardly a shred of essence lost to visible light as it bore into Bud’s shin. His legs whipped out from beneath him, and he crashed face first to the ground, grunting as he landed.

“You fight recklessly,” Vivienne said. “Fulfilling the role of frontline is more than simply charging your opponent. Like that, you are only as effective as your defence. Against a stronger opponent, your defence alone will do little to help you.”

“Then what should I do?” Bud said, gasping for breath.

“Your blade alone is not enough to pose a threat. You have your abilities for a reason, start showing some creativity.”

“Very well,” Bud said, and immediately a burst of cold surged from him. His Heart of Frostfire aura grew larger, the ground within two paces freezing and forcing Vivienne back. He rose to his feet and dashed at her, sped on by his empowered strength. She blocked the slash that followed, but it was only half of his attack. Frostfire leapt from the blade, a blazing trail of blue that passed around Vivienne’s shield and exploded over her.

She didn’t retreat, instead stabbing at it with her wand. A blast of wind repulsed the flame, redirecting it back at Bud. “Now, Celaine!” Bud shouted, slashing at Vivienne again, the steel of his sword lost completely beneath blazing frostfire.

Vivienne blocked the attack, but once more the frostfire surged forward, forcing her back again. Behind her, Celaine used Spring Step to launch herself into the air. The projectiles pursued her like a hive of angry beas, but she had all the time she needed to take a shot at Vivienne’s back. Her arrow glinted silver and it flew, just as Vivienne’s missiles bombarded her. Though instead of sending her hurtling to the ground, they dissipated against her harmlessly. Hump didn’t have time to process it as the arrow streaked through the air toward Vivienne’s back, and…

She was too late. Too focused on Bud’s attack. The arrow passed through her left shoulder and out the other side, straight at Bud.

Hump shot to his feet. Bud’s eyes went wide.

The arrow stopped, frozen in the air, mere inches from Bud’s heart. It was suspended in place by a dense ball of essence. A spell Hump recognised as Wizard’s Grasp.

“A good attempt at a plan,” Vivienne said, her voice coming from a space beside her figure. The air shimmered, and she appeared before them, her mirror image fading as she spoke. “It’s best not to shoot your own party members though.

She clenched her fist. “Cinders.”

The arrow burst into flames and sent Bud stumbling. His aura flared up, a wind of cold essence spreading out from him. Vivienne conjured a pool of water at his feet, that froze almost the moment it touched the ground. Bud slipped, his boots ill-suited for ice.

Before he could recover, Vivienne reached out with her free left hand, grasping at the air. She closed her fist and let loose a cry of effort as she pulled back. An ethereal hand grasped the cross guard of Bud’s blade and pulled, staggering the knight. He cried out, stumbling to keep his foot, barely maintaining his grip on his sword.

“Your frostfire aura is unfocused,” Vivienne told him. “You must have a target, otherwise you’re as harmful to your party as to anyone else. Your intent must be clear.”

He scrambled trying to rise, but Vivienne summoned a Shield over his head. It chimed as it Bud’s head collided with it, the blow sending him back to the ground. This time his sword fell from his hand, and he lay there groaning.

“I’ve seen enough,” Vivienne said coldly. “You’re finished.”

Bud grunted his agreement from where he lay on the ground, massaging his head with a hand as Celaine looked on.

“An illusion,” Celaine said. She was searching her body for where the water jets had struck her, realisation in her eyes. They’d caused no damage. “All of it. I thought I’d shot you.”

“Not all of it,” Vivienne said. “That really is water soaking you. I’m a little disappointed honestly; I thought your Hunter’s Instinct allowed you to perceive essence.”

Celaine frowned. “It does.”

“Something for us to work on then,” Vivienne said. “You should be able to see through an illusion of this level. Now I suggest you make a move before I do.”

Celaine gulped, clutching for an arrow and stringing it quickly. The moment she did, Vivienne pointed her wand at Celaine and pulled it toward her, Wizard’s Grasp gripping her weapon.

She didn’t let go, instead, using Spring Step to work with the force and leap high into the air. She launched an arrow at Vivienne, but another Essence Blast sent it flying aside and sent Celaine tumbling through the air. As if to add insult to injury, Vivienne summoned a fog beneath Celaine, hiding the ground from her.

She screamed as she fell, flailing her hands as she disappeared from Hump’s view into the mist. The mist suddenly shrunk in on itself, forming a large ball of water that caught Celaine before she hit the ground, cutting off her momentum before releasing her. She landed in a tumble, soaked to the skin, her bow dragged aside by the fading water.

From start to finish, it had only taken her a couple of minutes to completely control two Chosen. She’d hardly had to try. Each spell was perfect. Her illusions had them all convinced of something else entirely, and even if she hadn’t used them, nothing made it past her shields.

“You look impressed,” Dylan said.

“Yeah. I’ve never seen a wizard of her strength in a duel.” Hump continued to stare at the field. Much of the grass was now crusted with ice, arrows spotted the ground. Bud was still lying on the icy pool that Vivienne had created for him, while Celaine had risen to her feet. She was soaked to the bone, her clothes and hair clinging to her body, and a face that reminded Hump of a cat out of a river.

“Didn’t you travel together for a while?” Dylan asked.

“Yes. Though I was too young to be involved in any of the fighting. My own master showed me some of this, but he focused on spells more effective against groups of opponents. He never used small shields like Parry Shield.”

“Seth was never much good at it,” Vivienne said. “He left the academy long before he should have. Like you, he lacked control.”

“My master was a powerful wizard,” Hump said defensively.

Vivienne smiled softly. “I mean no insult by it. He certainly had skills that I lack. His master thought he had the potential to be Arch Wizard one day, though he had no interest in that. His interest was in adventure rather than study. He was little better than you when he stopped attending academy lessons.”

“You don’t sound happy about it,” Hump said.

“I’m not. He had so much wasted potential, and by the time he’d taken you on he was too old and stubborn to listen to anyone that tried to tell him. Maybe he’d still be here if he had.”

“No,” Hump said. “He had the spellbook. There are things in there your academy couldn’t teach.”

Vivienne pressed her lips together and shruggred. “If that spellbook had the answers, you wouldn’t need me. Some things require proper instruction, time, and a whole lot of effort. You’ll understand by the end of our time together.”