Hobgoblins are the most dangerous of goblinoids. Not because of their own strength but because they are smart. Their minds are as sharp as ours but craftier. They often lead the other goblinoid to war, and fear an army led by them you should. - Common Monsters

Adrian

I turn, the Sunchasers have surrounded my friends and Talia, the older man decided to not follow the rules of the trial by combat. The other Althaen are yelling but not doing anything. I need to act quickly.

I am done playing nice. K is growling at the Sunchasers near the other but I know it’s a bluff. She doesn’t have much left in her. A blade of black fire condenses into my hand as I rush at Sunchaser.

He moves a blade to parry but my weapon is not corporeal, his sword cuts into my left shoulder as mine moves through his chest. I hold it there letting it burn the life within him. There is a commotion behind me, but I can’t act until Sunchaser is dead.

Talphith is drawing something in the air, he finishes just as Sunchaser collapses dead or close enough to it. I duck as a bolt of black lightning arcs out from Talphith, I feel a little weaker though I was only hit with a glancing blow.

Talphith’s right arm and some of his torso is encased in ice. I have to deal with him before I can help with what is going on behind me. In front of Talphith is a large series of runes, they are glowing brighter his spell is about to become active.

The runes flash in a rainbow of color, and the world shatters.

I’m falling through a grey void. Talphith’s spell must be some sort of transport spell. I stop moving, the grey void starts to fade as if it were a fog rolling away in the morning.

I am in a colosseum; everyone, who was in my sight when Talphith’s spell activated, is here. Save the magister himself. No, he is here in the stands of the stone structure. The world spins in my vision for a moment and the Sunchasers are now all in armor, except the corpse of the man I call Sunchaser. It is just lying there, unmoving.

Something is wrong, Talphith no longer appears old and the damage I did to his body is gone. The Sunchasers are confused for a moment, as are the other Althaen. Armor appears on them as the world becomes wavy once more.

This place is some form of illusion, I think. There is no way that Talphith can do so much so quickly through mana. The cost is too high, a voice I recognize begins to laugh in my mind. Me-but-not-me is here. No, not here but can touch here.

This is a realm of thought then, a mental domain, a realm where you are limited by your will and imagination not skill and power. Talphith’s mind, he pulled us here it must be his or a piece sectioned off in the Astral.

[Want any help?]

And now me-but-not-me is talking. How can I respond? Does she just hear everything I think?

[I am you. I see, hear and experience everything you do or think.]

Ok that is creepy. Just keep my friends safe. The moment after I think it I can feel that me-but-not-me did something and a piece of the colosseum returned to being grey mist. I look at the dozens of Althaen, they have turned to me.

Their eyes are wrong, they are no longer in control. Talphith raises a goblet in his little stand, he was a fool to continue the fight here. I already shattered a mental world, I’ll just break this one too.

Some of the Sunchasers rush at me, lets see if he tried to restrict magic. I raise my hand in front of me, “Chain Lightning”, and think of the image of the spell’s effects. And it works, a bolt of lightning leaves my hand to arc around the fools before me.

This is a realm of thought, reality is loose and I am not restricted here at all. The lightning didn’t kill any of the people but that can be corrected. One of people charging reach me and swing their blade, only to pass through as if I was air. This isn’t my body so you can’t hit me with that.

Talphith is now frowning, I guess he can tell this isn’t the first weird dream crap I’ve dealt with. How should I deal with the minions? I don’t want distractions when he gets involved. Lets see if any have the will to continue after this.

“Mass Blood Razor”, everyone’s blood begins to turn into razors within their veins. All but the judges begin to fall to the ground their skin discoloring before they fade from this fake world. I wonder if they will die in reality or just be vegetables?

I doubt they will be alive, Talphith brought everyone here to fight after all. The dozen or so older Althaen are casting spells at me. I can’t counter or ignore all of them at once but I can do this.

“Antimagic Shell”

And their spells all just smash against a golden eggshell around me. The best defense against magical attacks. Too bad I won’t be able to strike them with spells while it stays up. I just walk towards them, paying no mind to the fireballs and lightning bolts they are throwing.

Their astral bodies are also repairing themselves. They know what this place is, too bad for them I am used to twisting reality around my will. I let the antimagic shell around me shatter and take a step.

I am now in the middle of the lot, “Sunfire.”

An explosion of fiery death spreads out around me. They scream but once the flames clear some begin to regenerate, others fade away. Talphith begins to act and duplicates my teleporting step, he is now behind me.

I chuckle as his hand glows in dark red light, he is casting a death effect. Too bad he is within ten feet of me, “Antimagic field.”

His spell and the attacks flying at me vanish. They should have figured out by now this won’t work. Not that I’m complaining though. I feel something strike against the field, I guess they are trying to counter it, deny that it is there. That is how you are supposed to counter the actions of your opponent in a mental duel.

I let it fall and Talphith vanishes, but another Althaen is in reach. I touch his chest, “Destruction.” The man glows in red-black light and fades to nothing, divine spells were always better in the older editions.

I teleport step away as a few fireballs land. There are only ten Althaen and Talphith still alive. Me-but-not-me is laughing within my head. They really did pick the worst place to fight me, no my own mind would have been worse.

Talphith

Dammit why did I have to pull everyone into a mental fight against this man. He is only a teen. How can he be so great at mental combat? He is using high level spells of multiple schools all over the place.

It’s as if he knows that mana costs don’t matter here. He should have been surprised and confused when he arrived, yet he is laying waste to everyone else. Not even counting how he sent his own allies away. They were confused but not him, maybe this young man really was what he claimed to be.

I shiver at the thought. I need to act the boy just did something to the blood of everyone else. I don’t have any idea what the words are that he is saying but they must be names of spells. How can he know so many?

I’ve seen him use high level Transmutation, Evocation, Necromancy, Abjuration, and Conjuration. The boy is too dangerous, I should never have taken the payment from Raenar Sunchaser to kill him in this trial. He clearly knows far more magic than he has mana for. I’m not sure I could have beat him even if he didn’t silence me in the physical world.

I’ve signed my own death by bring the boy to a realm of thought. Now the boy is teleporting and using some sort of bigger fireball. I have to act, there is no way I can defeat him alone. I teleport myself next to the boy, drawing up the concept of finger of death but the boy just spoke and all our spells vanished.

What the hell is this? Is he some god of knowledge? I feel the whatever it was that he pushed onto this plane and try to tear it apart. I can’t defeat the boy in knowledge of arcane spells but I can use this world against him.

The thing holds for a second and then just lets me break it. The boy is planning something, I teleport away.

I look back and the boy is touching one of the elders to the Vithrã. He speaks and the man is unmade in a flash of dark red light. That is something the high priests of old could do. How can the boy know how to do something like that? I’m screwed, there is no way I can defeat him.

I’m not going to let myself die here alone, there is only one way for me to take us both out. Forgive me my gods but I will not let some boy slay me without even breaking a sweat.

“I know you’re there demon.”

[Have you reconsidered?]

“Just kill the boy, you can have me.”

[Deal]

My vision goes dark as my spirit’s body is torn asunder, at least I will die with my enemies.

Adrian

These older nobles have been getting better, to bad there are now but three of them. Did only duplicating tier five and higher spells tip them off? Oh well, should I just start playing with them?

I hear an ungodly scream from where Talphith teleported to, something is happening to him. I need to finish these three then.

“Wail of Banshee” a high-pitched screech follows, blood trickles out of the ears of the last three. They fall to the ground and begin to fade from this realm. I turn to Talphith, his body tearing apart and stretching into something else.

Well I have no idea what is going on, I kind of want to see what Talphith is turning into. That would be a bad idea though. I create a pistol in my right hand, and begin to shoot at whatever Talphith is becoming.

Is it a shapeshift or something else? The bullets fail to do anything as Talphith continues to transform. This is bad, whatever it is that he is becoming is the size of a small house. This world is getting darker, the ground shakes as the stone structures begin to collapse.

Wings unfurl, and Talphith is not there. Where he was is now some black winged reptile, a dark gas wafting off. It looks lithe and sleek. I think it is a Shadow Dragon, it roars and I can feel madness from the thing.

Talphith is no more, whatever that is consumed him. The sun overhead goes dark, can I beat a dragon? Its claw rends me in two during my hesitation, I feel pain for an instant before reappearing whole but feeling weaker.

Shit, “Aegis, Negative Plane Protection, Stoneskin, Spellshield” I push one effect after another onto myself. That hurt, I need to hurt this thing. Its breath washes over me, but the glowing barriers hold it back.

That thing is much stronger than Talphith was. A claw strikes me and I feel some of stoneskin has been expended as I fly towards some rubble. I need to stop doubting myself, this place isn’t about power. So, what if I am weaker, I just have to have more will that the other.