《Arcana Legends》Chapter 19: Foregone Conclusion
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“Timing is an important aspect of naturalist combat. A battle can shift dramatically even from small things, like being the first to draw arcana. Always set yourself up for success because expending your arcana too early can leave you completely defenseless. On the other hand, holding onto your arcana for too long can allow your opponent the opportunity they need to beat you.”
~ Bones
Daimyon
Chase tenses up and Pip’s face is full of dread. Getting Pip to safety comes first. Then we can deal with whoever this is. Daigo and I converse telepathically.
“Daimyon, you’re gonna have to control this situation as best you can. Chase can tell this guy is far above both of your levels.”
“How can you tell that?” I ask.
“Because for some reason, I can sense it too.” Taking the initiative, I begin to verbally poke the guy.
“It’s rude to walk in on other people's conversations.” The man chuckles while massaging Pip’s shoulders.
“Oh then excuse my interruption. I just happened to be nearby looking for a particular scientist capable of making certain types of trinkets.” He taps the tiara on Pip’s head and Chase’s jaw tightens. I turn to him and put my hand on his arm. It’s not in his nature to rush in, but when it comes to our sister I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the exception. With that bit of reassurance, he pulls the wrap from his head and lets his hair fall back over his eyes.
“Yeah, sure we know who that is. We’ll take you to him if you let go of the uncomfortable child you’re holding onto.” Chase says. The man puts his hand to his chin as if he were thinking about Chase’s proposition.
“Hmm… that’s a tempting offer but I feel the need to decline. See, you don’t often find academy naturalists off in the woods fighting. If I had to guess, and I’m not really guessing, I’d say you all know each other very well.”
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A sickle made of ice smoothly forms in his hand as he brings it down from his chin back to Pip’s shoulder. A flame ignites in my chest and unconsciously my arcana starts to flare up until he brings the sickle close to Pip’s throat.
“Aht, aht, aht, now is not the time for battle. That comes later.” My arcana calms in response to the explicit threat. The fire in my chest, however, grows hotter. In my peripheral vision, I see Chase is somehow relaxed, which means he must be planning something. Okay, we’re going to have to keep this conversation going until we get our chance.
“So, then what do you want?” He smiles as if this is a perfectly natural situation for him.
“It’s been a while since anyone’s asked me that. Hmmm…. I want a giant bag of gold phoenixes and a whore house with whores from all over the world and of course, I want to finish this job so I can go back to the north where the food tastes good and it isn’t so hot. That's enough playing for today so I’ll make this simple; if your name is Daimyon, stay seated and if your name isn’t Daimyon, stand up.”
Daimyon? He’s looking for me...why? Chase and I exchange looks and then stand up. We don’t need to say anything to understand that giving this guy what he wants is probably an overall bad idea. The look on the man's face turns devious, his smile a sinister grin.
“I’m not a big fan of liars.” He moves Pip to the side and a cold front springs forth. Small twisters of biting white wind form snow, then sleet, then sharp pieces of ice. He motions his hand and before any of us can do anything, she’s encased in ice. That triggers Chase.
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“NOOO!” Chase tries to take a step towards them, only to be met by the man's fist going into his chest. The force of the punch echoes through the whistles of the swirling arctic wind. Chase would have been blown away entirely, but at some point that my eyes couldn’t track, the man grabbed Chase to hold him in place. Chase slumps over his fist, knocked unconscious by a single punch.
If I don’t act now this is gonna be it for all of us. I stop holding myself back and fully draw, cutting through the cold front with a twister of wind from my own arcana. He lets go of Chase’s limp body, allowing him to be blown away by my power. The trees and rocks nearby start to levitate off the ground but his sadistic grin only grows. He puts his hands together clapping at my display.
“Impressive, for an amateur. Unfortunately for you, it’s nowhere near enough.” He draws again and his power cuts through mine entirely. My twister subsides, the objects near us crash into the ground and the air itself becomes tense as if it's being held in place by our powers tugging at it in opposite directions.
He directs his hand at me, shooting a spike of ice in my direction. Instinctively, my hand reaches out and sends a pulse of arcana deflecting it and in the moment it took me to do that, he somehow closes the gap between us. His hand barely grazes me, sending me flying into several trees. Dramatically, he flaps his coat behind him and then runs his hand over his hair.
“Since I don’t want to be rude, let me introduce myself. I am Sable, an advanced naturalist from North Gaia. Sid hired me to find and hurt you along with a few other important duties. You see, he doesn’t want you to get too complacent in your training and he figured the easiest way to light a proverbial fire under you would be for me to break you and whoever’s close to you just early enough for you to recover.”
My body is still slumped into a tree as my eyes make their way over to Sable. All of this to motivate me to be better? All of this so I won’t slack off? His original reason is irrelevant to me now. Now it’s about how he hurt people I care about and how he pissed me off. I boost myself out of the tree while still making eye contact with him.
“At this point, all Sid did was send you to your death as far as I’m concerned.” Daigo must be sensing what’s going on in my head because he starts to warn me.
“Daimyon, I know what you’re thinking, but Bones specifically forbade you from using that technique.” I’m not going to bother with responding. I’ve already made up my mind. It’s a foregone conclusion at this point. I’m going to take him out with the Skywave Cannon.
~ End
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RADIANT
Unicorns are born to create miracles. This is their fate. They make no miracle the same—unicorns never agree on anything, let alone on what is worthy. Some bless forests, mountains or heavy storms. Others, the wombs of creatures. All these miracles can become dragons. Kiera warned River many times. It's easy to think yourself invincible, when you're blessed with a unicorn's magic. When River finally makes a fatal mistake, it's not him, but Kiera, who suffers the consequences. Now he must try his hardest to make things right. He either gets his unicorn back, or he dies trying. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Humanoid dragon MC, will have m/m romance. Will only be about 10 chapters long. Wrote this for a short story contest and figured I might as well share it! Leave a comment if you enjoyed! (cover art is mine too)
8 103Beyond The Game (Abandoned)
Kaine sighed as his foe advanced once more, never letting up, barely giving him time to breathe. He pressed forward as well, excited and ready, welcoming the bloodshed that was to come. His short blade, meeting the bestial warrior's bone-made longsword. Their weapons clattering sound into each of their ears when they clashed. Kaine pushed, as did his foe, beginning the contest of strength. A dance which Kaine controlled the steps of. As their eyes met, both of them weary, but Kaine's expression was resolved...maddened almost. Whilst his foe's was fear-struck, the creature was terrified down to its core. As were its comrades which surrounded them, watching, waiting for an opening to have at Kaine themselves. Seeing many...but they faltered, as the dead had seen the same openings before. Their battered, broken and still freshly bleeding bodies laying sprawled about their surroundings. It is just one... One of them thought in shaken disbelief. Just...Just one man but he kills so many...smiling even! Glancing from the dead, and back at Kaine as he slew another. No...this is no man... Was its panicked conclusion. This one's a monster! As Kaine turned to face it, weapon ready and grinning widely throughout his approach.
8 168Descent: Resonant Core (Book 1 of the Chaos sworn series)
A young computer engineer/ mechanic is caught in a war between magic users known as "magi" and human agents of an alien hegemony known as the "Veldar." Kidnapped, tortured, kidnapped again and sent to another reality, William must find a way to protect his fellow human slaves, plan their escape and figure out how magic works in this new world. But first he has to get rid of the killer implant stuck in his head.
8 110Goblin Conqueror
The goblin god summoned a champion that will save his people from the abuse of the world. Will he be able to unite all the goblins to fight as one And conquer the world of Gaia!? Or will he fail just like any goblin, helpless in such harsh world..... Gaia..... a wondrous world with many magical creatures, such as Dreadful dragons that rule the sky, fearsome beast that roam the world, different races that battle for supremacy! Lastly the Titans! a race whose power rivals the Gods! How can he survive in such a vast and brutal world? Guess you have to read to find out. This is a fan fiction somehow related to re:monster although I don't have any plan in making him OP. But he will be OP in a different way.
8 114Birth of the Dragons
Dragons are majestic creatures, free from any conflict and intelligence outweigh even the elves. You must be either a powerful mage or a talented fighter to kill them.Dragons have countless riches and secrets, and stick together often form a family. These families form then larger groups and so has just created one of the most powerful clans.Come and read about story with dragons(story will have 5 more races so don't worry :) ) , magic, hate,love and family bonds.The War will coming to Arcania and only the strongest will survive. Dear readers I wanted to share with you the epilogue of the book I myself write slowly. I've always dreamed to write something and see if I have any talent. Please write your opinion, thoughts or comments, will be very helpful to me :). I will work on my story now and try create something wonderful!!
8 89Ode to Fallen Angels
Jericho, the land of humanity, squirms in pain. Magic has been forbidden for so long in this so called "Age of Silence", that all Arcane knowledge has been presumed lost and irrecoverable, and the echoes of God's Will grow fainter with every passing year. The sight of Demihuman caravans is less frequent every day, as the likes of orcs and elves have learned to no longer beg for help from those who despise them. Clearly, they can expect more from the voracious wild lands than from humankind. Many have succumbed to despair, some driven mad by their fruitless efforts to bring back a Golden Age that they only ever read about in books. And in the middle of it all, in an old chapel lost in the Eastern lands, young Gabrielle lives in complete ignorance. She is another orphan living under the mercy of the Church of the Saints; one bearing the mark of evil in her red hair, the telltale sign of a Witch. In an Age of the Silent, the Prejudiced, and the Hateful, she clings to a single hope: that one day, be it in life or maybe after it all ends, she may find herself forgiven of her sin. The sin of being born.
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