Chapter 029

Clash of Magic

He saw the light of the afterworld; heard the gentle, pristine voice of Ryas.

Then, everything disappeared. Against his will, Philips was pulled from the heavenly Stairs of Ascension and brought back to the land of the living. Weakly, he unsheathed his duo of navy tinted irises. He couldn’t move, all of his limbs having been bound by a cluster of festooning vines. They radiated a bright emerald glow. The open wound on his chest pulsated in unimaginable pain, and his bones creaked and shouted. He felt as if he just got run over by a car. When he tried to move, tempered agony retaliated, ushering out his lips a bloody grunt.

“Stay still, lieutenant. The healing process will take longer the more you struggle.” Crouched at his side with her set of glowing palms held at him was a girl who, like him, donned the black jacket of the combat mage division. She’d shortly cut chestnut hair, bright green eyes, and Esteran skin. Philips recognized her as they both were dispatched from the same mage bracket. She wasn’t a medical mage by any means, however, the plant magic she specialized in made her a fairly decent healer.

“A...Aisha?” Philips uttered. “Wh..What are you doing here..?”

The girl named Aisha dipped her head. “At the moment, trying to save your life. Whoever attacked you just barely missed your heart. A few inches to the left and you’d be a dead man,” she explained rather bluntly. “When news came pouring into our branch about how Major Griffin’s exploits had been expunged, why, I thought I’d never see you again. We all did. The captain was even ready to storm the capital to try and defend your “crimes”.”

Philips gave a nod. “I see...”

“When we received reports of an ice spell ravaging the capital, we knew the matters concerning the Gyrakian terrorists had yet to be resolved. Fortunately, we were in a nearby town when the captain dispatched us to Savannis to provide aid.” She beamed a weedy grin. “I’d count my blessings if I were you. Had we not arrived in time and I didn’t already recognize your essence signature, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, now would we?”

“Thanks. I owe you one,” the felled mage sputtered. “Who else came with you? Will? Clay?”

Aisha responded with a nervous grin. “Well...”

“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty,” announced a familiar and annoying voice. Cocking his head off the ground, Philips frowned at the manifestation of his constant irritation. Near the entrance of the warehouse, kicking a lifeless corpse with the tip of his boot, the mage known as Shane Weaver muttered underneath his breath, “You’ve certainly seen better days. Guess the mage you came across was too much for you to handle, huh?”

Philips liberated a groan. “Shane...”

The mage boltered a slim physique, a head of shaded brown hair, sky blue eyes glaring out the pair of glasses sitting on the edge of his nose, and an eternal expression of absolute, unadulterated boredom. “Is this your entire squad? What happened here?”

“We were attacked...by Colonel Andrew.”

“What?!” Aisha gasped. “Was he tricked, or maybe hypnotized?”

“I don’t think so, he seemed to be completely aware of what he was doing. At least, that was the impression I got from him.”

“And the fact that he’d not a problem killing these soldiers and leaving you for dead means he’s no longer one of us,” Shane added. “Pity, powerful mages like him were what kept most of the criminals hunting in our turf secluded in the shadows. Now that he’s outed himself a traitor, it means we’ll inevitably have more work on our hands. What a pain...”

“This can’t be true. Colonel Andrew...”

“I know it’s hard to accept, Aisha, but it’s the truth,” Philips told the conflicted healer. “What’s important is...we stop the ice pillars. They’re what's causing the city to freeze. If we get rid of them...the Day of Zero will be no more.”

“My thoughts exactly.” Without bothering to elaborate, the combat mage strutted for the door, hands in pockets.

“Wait, Shane! Just where are you going?! Now isn’t the time to be splitting up!” Aisha called after him.

“You can handle our broken lieutenant, can’t you? I’m no use to anyone standing around looking pretty.” This didn’t come as a surprise to Philips. His fellow combat mage had a long history of going against orders. Nobody could control him, especially when he had already set his mind on something. Quite the annoyance, indeed. Sliding his glasses further up his nose, he peered back at them over his shoulder and sneered, “The sooner we deal with this crisis, the sooner I can head home and get some shut eye.”

The Arbor Mage wouldn’t give them a second to breathe; assaulting them with an endless cabelicade of attacks.

Rune most certainly recognized his former master’s obsession with being in control of every fight he was in. The man was relentless, weakening his opponents’ endurance and energy by sending spell after spell their way. This duel was no different. Standing back to back, Rune burned and Ebony sliced. His flames ate away at the roots and branches, hungrily scorching a cluster of shifting wood. All the while, Ebony summoned her shadows to reduce whatever approached into neatly cut, square-shaped chunks.

Jacob had told him he controlled everything inside Yggdrasil, apparently this fact wasn’t as much as a bluff as Rune originally considered. Yggdrassil was a fortification-type spell, however, in spite of its impressive defensive capabilities, it could also be molded and manipulated. It could be the ultimate shield as well as a devastating weapon. As such, the pair of mages were forced to stay on their feet, their eyes scanning every direction.

Ahead, a barrage of sharpened wooden daggers ejected. Holding his palm at them, Rune shouted, “Anguis Mordeo!” as a blast of fire sent them off to meet Ryas. Soon after, ambushing him from above was a pouring shower of emerald leaves. Before he could destroy them, Ebony raised her hands into the air, effectively creating a dome-shaped barrier of shadows. The leaves struck the murky construction one by one, small waves rippling across its surface wherever a leaf collided. The barrier wouldn’t disappear until the emerald shower had finished.

When Ebony deactivated the spell, Rune brandished a burnished gaze. An enormous root arched back the upper portion of its enormous body before whipping at the two of them with great speed. Rune prepared to cremate the spell only for his left foot to sink into the ground. Shit! Yggdrasil was like any other tree: Alive. If its caster willed it, any part of the enchanted wooden tower could move just as it could fight. Not even the flooring was to be trusted. The shifting roads of creaking wood swallowed his leg whole, sucking down his foot, calf, and knee in gradual succession.

Before it had the chance to reach his waist, Rune placed his palm onto the ground. Draken’s pages flipped, and Rune shouted, “Solis!” as the famished timber mattress was promptly scorched, crumbling to black particles.

As for the root that had tried to kill him earlier, Ebony had once again come to his rescue. “Umbra Ubfula!” she cried. Launching out of her own shadow tendrils of black hacked and slashed the root without mercy. Mere seconds passed, and the colossal tuber had perished. Although it wasn’t long before another replaced it.

This time, Rune took charge. Clasping his hands together, the mage summoned a flickering ensemble. “Lesione Pyrobolum!” One by one sparks of bright fire were birthed into existence. For a few seconds, the countless swarms of miniature explosions hovered above and around their conceiver. But when Rune thrusted a palm at his target, they each shot at the root with great haste.

Yggdrasil was bombarded by the sounds of fiery detonations. Scorched pieces of blackened wood flung skyward. Rune’s cluster spell hadn’t only destroyed the first root but all the subsequent branches and tubers in the immediate vicinity Before him, he watched as orange spheres of fire laid waste to the wooden serpents.

He swallowed into his mouth gallons of oxygen. This isn’t good, he thought, ridding sweat from his damp forehead. We’re not getting anywhere like this. If I don’t think of something, and fast, we’ll run out of essence. And once that happens...

“Argh!” Rune glanced at Ebony. She grimaced with pain, and her solidified shadows lost their form. “My...essence...” she moaned, with droopy eyelids and a deflated disposition. Upon an initial inspection, she looked to be fine. Then, as his gaze migrated to her waist and then her legs, he noticed it. Penetrating her left calf was a thin, needle shaped root. Sparks of blue energy transferred from its head that had cut into Ebony’s flesh, down its neck, and into Yggdrasil itself.

“Ignis Globus!” Rune manifested an orb of fire in his palm and hurdled it at the root. The narrow appendage disintegrated.

Ebony sighed in relief. “...Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. At least now we know how they’ve been draining combat mages of their essence.” He glanced upward at his former master who had remained posted atop an overhanging branch since their duel had commenced. His silent, observant stare gazed down at them, almost mockingly.

“Watch out!” Ebony shouted. Stepping in front of him, she beckoned more of her shadow tendrils. Shadow and wood collided. Splinters and darkness scattered. “Rune, at this rate, we won’t be able to...”

“I know!” he cut her off. “This will all be pointless unless we take out the colonel.”

“What should we do then?”

“I’ve got a plan. Remember that maneuver you and I used to do during combat training? In our senior year at the Military Academy?”

He clearly identified the look of insipid confusion dawning on her until it was replaced by a wave of recognition. “Yes, I do."

“Good, because we’re about to do it again.”

“Affirmative!”

The pages of her tome flipped. Ribbons of shadows trapped her in a ring. Her left eye of crimson radiated. Her hair of midnight floated above her head. “Umbra Desperis.” Inside of her cupped hands of which she kept close to her chest, a black orb of energy bubbled to life. The aimed at the monsoon of roots and branches Jacob had summoned. As they rushed towards the pair of intruders, Ebony stomped a boot forward and lunged the melting, shadow-infused orb at the rampaging lumber.

The orb hovered just a few paces from the shadow mage, mute and unresponsive to its surroundings. Then, deep within its core, a sparking red light radiated, followed promptly by a concentrated beam of shadow energy. The screeching blast of murk jetted out of its spherical hearth and bombarded the approaching amalgamation of wood. Ebony shouted, her arms still pointing at her orb of destruction. The potent magic it sprayed vaporized anything it touched. Jacob’s branches and roots stood no chance. Rune couldn’t betray the semblance of joy he received when he saw the disbelief dawning on his foe.

Mumbling something to himself, Jacob raised his right arm. More and more of his branches and roots unfolded from Yggdrasil’s base and quickly pursued the shadow mage. In response, Ebony increased her spell’s intensity. Her roaring spell erased the lumber in a draught of blackness. A byproduct of this fierce collision came in the form of an unending and thick layer of putrid, gray smoke washing throughout Yggdrasil’s canopy. An unforeseen probability but one Rune would use to his advantage.

Preoccupied with his struggle against Ebony, Rune darted at the mage, his presence concealed behind a curtain of smog. “Regaleo!” he screamed as flames ignited underneath the fire mage’s boots. Jetting off the ground, Rune and his tome breached the smoke layer and flew directly towards the branch where Jacob resided. He followed the flight-type spell with an “Ardens Pugnis”. Both of his bawled fists burst into aggressive, howling fire. Adopting a grimace and armed with the element Ryas birthed him with, Rune bolted towards their enemy, leaving a stream of orange in the air.

Ebony must have spotted him as he noticed she canceled her spell and retreated inside of a puddle of shadows. Jacob, on the other hand, reacted with an astonished glance. Instead of attacking, he favored a more defensive strategy. Twisting, turning, and solidifying, a wall of binding tree branches protected the mageborn of wood from the mageborn of fire. But Rune didn’t allow such a hastily put together defense halt his advance. Swinging back his right fist, he soared straight for the barrier.

With only a punch, Rune desomated the tree-bound shield, busting through its center in a flash of fire. And using his second fist, Rune rocketed his arm at Jacob who had been consumed by both confusion and astonishment. Wind as well as blood jetting out his gaping mouth as Rune’s knuckle slammed deep within the confines of Jacob’s stomach. The concussive strength powering Rune’s unhinged attack launched Jacob off the branch and sent him flying through not one, but two layers of Yggdrasil. Branches and vines snapped and tore as the mage, completely against his will, hurtled across the canopy of his own design.

Finally, the man landed on his rear on the outermost portion of the ginormous tree. Rune found him struggling to stand on a branch teetering over the rooftops of buildings below. He landed on Yggdrasil’s meaty arm. From where he stood he could see it all, a picture of calamity terrorizing the capital city. Streams of smoke puffed into the sky. People ran for their lives as soldiers ushered them in the right direction. Houses were being eaten by a silver blanket. At the center of the needless destruction and death was the mage before him.

Jacob was crouched on the floor vomiting buckets of blood. The cinnamon hair that was normally fixed into a ponytail was strewn untidily over his shoulders. Managing a wounded stare, he grinned, “Learn that little trick from the academy, did you?”

“You’re finished, Colonel Andrew,” Rune responded, not dignifying his jittering comment with a response. “Surrender already, please...”

“I neglected to acknowledge...just how brainwashed you could be, Young Ransford.” He rose to his feet and stretched out his arms. “Are your eyes not working? Have you not noticed the apocalypse before you?! Well, I can tell you one thing, if you think this is bad, it’ll be nothing in comparison to what the sovereign has in store. He and the military, they can’t be trusted! They must be dealt with now, before they can condemn this world to a fate of war and crimson!”

“By destroying a city?! By killing people?!” Rune spat. “Look, I genuinely have no clue what you’re talking about. The sovereign and military, they’re evil? You honestly expect me to buy that load, even after all the crimes you’ve committed?! Do you really think of me a fool?!”

“It’s the truth, Rune. You must accept it.”

“Fine, let’s say I did approve of this nonsensical story of yours. I would still never go as far as sacrificing the lives of the innocent! I’m not a murderer, and I don’t plan on ever becoming one!”

“In order to slay monsters, such violent actions are necessary, and they cannot be avoided.”

“No, you’re wrong!” Rune denied again. “The road to peace...doesn’t have to be paved with blood. There’s a better way of doing things that doesn’t involve killing people, as long as we are willing to try.”

Jacob smirked. “Oh, great. That fool Griffin has gotten to you, hasn't he?”

“Yeah, he has...” Rune smiled. “Don’t get it twisted though. That guy is arrogant, foul-mouthed, inconsiderate, and at times, a total imbecile. Still, he has a good head on his shoulders, and genuinely wants to protect Esteras. That’s a hell of a lot more than I can say for the likes of you.”

“Griffin is an idealist, and a product of the past. Men of his stature aren’t what this country needs. He won’t ever have the resolve to make the decisions, the necessary decisions that will keep Esteras safe! To be forced to cooperate with him, to pretend to share the same interests, it was utterly intolerable.” His tome flickered with light. Arcs of emerald lighting sparked across his tattered uniform, and his eyes burned with magical energy. “Because of my efforts...because of what I’ve done...I can stop another war before it starts. I’ll exorcize the demons whose hands are soaked in the blood of our ravished history. At long last, they’ll pay for everything they’ve done. That’s what I call justice!”

“Bear him no mind, Rune.” Ebony appeared out of a geyser of shadows next to him. “We shouldn’t consider the words of a traitor and a criminal who has shown no remorse for his actions. He’s merely trying to justify what he’s done by making himself out to be a hero. Well, if he really did have Esteras’ best interests at heart, he would have surrendered by now.”

“Interrupting us again, are you, shadow mage?”

She wetted her gaze. “Your magic is fluctuating. I reckon it won’t be long now. If you value your life, I suggest...”

“Enough of this nonsense!” Jacob slammed both hands onto the bark of his tree. Yggdrasil creaked and moaned. Its branches vibrated. The leaves that rooved them rustled with excitement. Scowling at his enemies, Jacob growled like an animal, trails of blood seeping out the sides of his curved lips. “Fifteen people are in the area. In five minutes, only us three shall remain.”

Rune paled. “Ebony, the tree branches! You have to cut as many of them off as you can. You have to do it right now!”

“Wh..What?!”

“He’s going to use the branches...to kill the civilians nearby...”

Ebony grimaced. “You coward!”

“I’m willing to sacrifice anything for my cause! Anything at all!”

“Forget him, I’ll deal with him while you stop the branches!”

“But you...”

“Go now! Or people will die!” Rune screamed. “I’ll be fine, I promise! You can save them much faster than I ever could! Use your magic to protect others! That’s what being a combat mage is all about, isn’t it?!”

She spared a worrying glance at him, and then glanced at an idle Jacob in the distance. “...Good luck,” the girl whispered prior to dropping inside of her patch of shadows, erasing her presence from the duel.

“She won't make it in time. My magic is...”

“You underestimate her. Combat Mage Ashborn, is a lot stronger than you give her credit for.” Rune cracked his knuckles. He unbrandish his look of mistrust. “So, you’re doing all of this for the sake of your cause, are you? Because, according to you, it won’t just save Esteras’ future, it will also help to achieve justice. But you know, before my old man disappeared on me, he said everything he was striving to accomplish was for the sake of true justice. A few days later, I would come to find out he had destroyed Military High Command...and was a traitor. Thatch’s men spoke of justice as well, and they’re responsible for murdering a handful of combat mages...”

Jacob frowned. “What are you implying?”

“Nothing...it's just, now I’m beginning to see the world for what it actually is. People tend to interpret justice very differently.” Rune bawled his hands, he clenched his teeth. “Saving the country? What a joke. Protecting Esteras’ people? Give me a break. Stop lying to me already! You’re not interested in justice, this is all about your personal vendetta against the sovereign, isn’t it?! You just want revenge!”

Jacob lowered his chin. “I see you inherited Kazimir’s wits...”

“So I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Yes...I want revenge. I crave it more than anything. And can I ask you what’s so wrong with that? During the war, Raize Grisham, as well as our previous sovereign, Levioth Grisham, turned me and other combat mages like me into tools. Weapons. We killed without mercy. Slaughtered lives that didn’t deserve it. Because of them, we lost our humanity and became...monsters.” Recalling the past must have rattled his core. With every word he spoke, Rune detected the pain buried underneath. “I thought things would change after the war ended, and I had disposed of that bastard Levioth. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get rid of Raize too. My failure has cost us much ever since.”

“Wh...What?”

“That man, he hasn’t changed. He’s just like his father. I can see it in his eyes. How he leads his men, how he operates in the darkness. Watching him being heralded as a hero and a great sovereign, why, it boils every blood cell in my body! I want him gone! He needs to pay for the grief he’s caused my brothers and sisters in arms!” he shouted. “And if the world is a better off place without him, then has really anything of value been lost?”

“Yes, indeed there has. Your code of honor, your ideals as a combat mage, the man you used to be. You turned your back on all of them, have you not?” Rune inquired. “Revenge isn’t the answer, it only leads to more suffering. It took me a while to understand this myself. And it came at the price of losing...a dear friend. If I allowed my lust for revenge to blind me for much longer, I very well might have turned into someone like you, or Thatch. But I don’t believe all hope is lost. Andrew, put an end to this, please. You can still do the right thing!”

“No, there’s no turning back now. As far as I’m concerned, this is the right thing.” The bolts of emerald electricity surged his body. Lifting his hands, the branches that composed their flooring reared their heads. “You can’t change who I am, Ransford! But I can change this country for the better!” The branches lunged at him, whistling through the air and cascading their massive shadows over Yggdrasil’s hide.

Despite his imminent demise, Rune couldn’t stop a specific memory from echoing of his mind. It involved that of his many lessons with his master. The many duels he’d lost. The many nights he went to bed with more bruises than he could count. The hell?! Why am I thinking about this now!?! During each of his teachings and defeats, he had learned something new. He had grown stronger, and his understanding of magic evolved with each passing day. However, there was one lesson, in particular, that stuck with him even after all this time.

Peace. Flow. Intent.

These were the three values, the three primary components that served as the foundation of a proper combat mage. According to Jacob’s own words, should a mage lose sight of these values, especially during the heat of battle, their defeat was all but guaranteed. In his blind rage, Rune was certain Jacob was hardly thinking clearly. He lashed out, attacked out of anger rather than logic. In this moment, he had brandished his Flow and Intent, but his peace had been broken. If Rune were to believe what Jacob had taught him to be true, then this duel would be his to win.

Rune stood his ground. He waited. Even as the monstrous boughs flung at him, he waited. Even as the ice pillar froze more and more of Savannis, he waited. Even as he felt his body growing weaker with each second, he waited. His game of patience would proceed until the sharpened tip of a tree branch, mere centimeters away, hastily gravitated towards his scalp. In that last instance between life and death, he shouted, “Regaleo!” before swiftly launching several feet into the air. The branches bolted underneath him, uncontrollably slamming into the spot he had already abandoned. Airborn, he locked his gaze onto the surprised colonel. An opening was made, and Rune fired at it without skipping a beat. His tome flipped its pages and the mage became shrouded in raging fire. His right eye gleamed. His blonde hair flickered like embers. From the bottom of his stomach, Rune bellowed out his mouth the name of the ferocious spell.

“OTRUS DRACO!”

Is this it? Jacob thought to himself. Is this the end?

He was utterly transfixed at the burning image. His former apprentice had summoned a flaming monstrosity. From in the air, Rune launched a stream of fire. This orange current sprouted wings, a pair of arms, a neck, and a draconic head with a mouthful of teeth. The beast released an overpowering roar. It soared from its master and shot directly for him. Jacob felt the heat as it approached. He reckoned, if he acted quickly, he could dodge the spell. But having been drained of his essence and over exhausted his magical capabilities, he only had enough strength to remain where he stood. He closed his eyes as the dragon opened its massive maw. This was the end of his story, but was it a fulfilling one, he wondered.

The dragon’s roar grew louder and louder, until, in his ears, Jacob heard the unsettling grumble fade away into the distance. Surprised, he lifted his eyelids. He was still alive, and the dragon had chosen to ignore him, almost as if it wasn’t aware of his presence. Passing over his head, the winged serpent exited the canopy of Yggdrasil, blitzed through the air, and, echoing a final roar, crashed into the ice pillar. What resulted was an explosion of ice and fire. Jacob scuttled around to see the fireworks. The Day of Zero, the allegedly indestructible spell, had one of its pillars wiped from existence. The ground rumbled. Nearby buildings shattered and collapsed. Plumes of sparkling dust expanded across the city. What remained of the ice pillar and the dragon was a crater the size of a house.

“...He wasn’t...aiming for me?” Jacob uttered. Rune fell out of the sky and landed in a crouch. He was surprised the boy was even still conscious. Discounting his ultimate spell, Otrus Draco was the strongest spell in Rune's arsenal. Before, had he attempted to use it, he would instantly pass out. Had he really become so powerful since last they met?

“And that...takes care of that...” Rune sputtered.

“I don’t understand...you had a clear shot, why didn’t you finish me off when you had the chance?”

“Weren’t you listening, idiot? I don’t want to be a murderer. You might be tough, but a direct hit from Otrus Draco would have killed you for sure. It isn’t a spell that should be aimed at humans,” he answered, wiping the blood draining out his nostrils. “Besides, you were never my biggest priority.”

“...Come again?”

“To help those who can’t help themselves; to use our gifts to improve the lives of others. That’s the oath of us combat mages, isn’t it? It’s not rocket science. Simply put, my desire to save Savannis outweighed my desire to kick your ass.”

“No, I still don’t understand. Since when were you one to concern yourself with being a proper combat mage?”

“Since my friend helped me to open my eyes, and made me realize what I am.”

Jacob frowned in confusion. “...And just what exactly are you then, Rune Ransford?”

“Now there’s a stupid question,” the boy smirked at him, as if the answer was plain to see. “I’m the Everburn Mage.”

Jacob stayed quiet for a few moments, only for the Arbor Mage to match his former apprentice’s grin with one of his own. “Yes, I suppose you are...”