Chapter 14: A Friendly Clash

  When Raeleq and Luthor came out to the arena together, both arms raised skyward, the crowd came to life with a roar. Their friendship and training together was famous, and they gave a good performance every year. They were currently tied in their yearly finals, and this would close out their friendly rivalry. At least, until their final year made it count.

  Both wore armor. Raeleq had donned an ornate leather shirt with no sleeves and a mantle made from the pelt of a wildcat. Ambrose personally thought capes and mantles were a liability in a fight, but apparently it was a cultural thing. He couldn’t deny how imposing Raeleq looked, especially with nearly a foot in height over his friend. His short hair was thick and floofy, but his beard neatly groomed for the occasion. The white makeup on his eyes and cheeks made him both otherworldly and oddly earthy.

  Raeleq was a proper warrior, who happened to be attuned to combat cards. Where he suffered in academics, he more than made up for it in strength.

  “He looks good,” Ambrose admitted. “I’m almost more worried about going up against him than you.”

  “It will be a Ransa family beatdown,” she said pleasantly. “All will fall beneath our power.”

  Luthor, on the other hand, looked about as unassuming as always. His chitin scalemail armor glittered like a rainbow, and his expression was the same resolute, eagle-eyed appraisal as always. He knelt and bowed his head in quiet prayer. Not every light wizard followed the Amaric religion, but he did.

  “Next up,” called Professor Dietrich in her amplified, coffin-scraping voice, “Luthor Graves versus Prince Raeleq Ransa.”

  A murmur went through the crowd, like it always did when either of them were announced. Raeva noticeably ducked in her seat.

  “Don’t worry, Princess,” he said, “we won’t let the peasants get to you.”

  The elbow in his side hurt, but the satisfaction more than made up for it.

  The two martially inclined wizards faced each other, about fifteen feet away. Even when the match started, they hardly moved. Then, as one, they bowed respectfully to the other, and summoned their weapons first.

  A green shimmer revealed a dark brown club the size of a sapling in Raeleq’s hands. Meanwhile, Luthor gained an ornate sword and rounded shield. They faced off, then charged each other.

  Luthor was much faster and he dashed in close, slamming his shield into his friend’s armored gut. He might as well have punched a stone wall.

  Raeleq bellowed a war cry and took a step back, swinging his club wildly. It caught on the shield with a deep thunk and shoved his smaller friend back. The wild wizard kept the momentum going and brought the club in an arc up, and then crashing down.

  The audience screamed in shock and then excitement as a white ring appeared on Luthor’s shield, and burst into light upon being struck. The enchantment discharged, and launched both fighters away from the other. Luthor caught himself, but Raeleq rolled along the ground.

  The light wizard might have been boring and generally honorable, but that didn’t mean he didn’t seize opportunities when they presented themselves. Luthor got a running start and leapt.

  But Raeleq, dumb as he was, had sparred with his friend a hundred times. A green summoning circle appeared between him and the fallen warrior. The creature formed right as Luthor entered the space.

  [Mosquito Swarm] wasn’t the type of creature you used to end a fight, but it could distract anyone. As hundreds of summoned bugs buzzed in his face and bit every inch of exposed flesh they could find, Luthor struck blindly, and hit the spot Raeleq had just rolled away from.

  The prince got to his feet first and lashed out with the heel of his boot. He got Luthor in the shoulder and knocked him to the ground. The warrior dropped his sword and shield, and they disappeared entirely. With his hands now free, he slapped his face and neck clear of the bugs. A golden summoning circle appeared between them.

  A large, muscular dog with a square head appeared a mere second or two before the Countdown was due to end, if Ambrose’s sense of time was accurate. The [Spirit Hound] finished forming just in time to snarl at the advancing man.

  A slight hesitation from each was the only sign of the next round starting, until Luthor got to his feet and they both summoned additional creatures at the same time. As expected, the light wizard’s creature came into sight first, after about two seconds of summoning. A skeleton wearing a breastplate and quiver of arrows, as well as a horned helmet. The [Ancestral Archer] nocked an arrow and aimed.

  Raeleq raised his club just in time to block the shot. His summoning circle was huge, and only now did talons form, attached to powerful, bipedal reptilian legs. The [Spirit Hound] snarled and barked, then charged. It leapt, but the prince caught him with his club and sent it flying into the skeleton. The dog disappeared, but the archer didn’t.

  By now, seven seconds into the cast, the creature finally formed. It stood at eight feet tall, with massive crushing jaws and powerful, if short, arms tucked against its chest. A long, scaly tail stood straight out to balance its weight. He opened his mouth and let out a bone-rattling roar. [Reggie] had arrived.

  The tyrannosaurus ignored the [Ancestral Archer] and went right for Luthor, who started up his next summon as well. It arrived much faster, and was the first time Ambrose had seen his Signature Creature in action. It looked similar to Luthor himself, save for being translucent wherever the armor didn’t cover. It wielded a long steel sword in both hands. A [Spirit Warrior]. Both it and the archer went for Raeleq, just as Raeleq’s signature creature went for him.

  Luthor ran headlong into [Reggie], throwing himself to the ground and barely avoiding both a chomp and a stomp. The dinosaur kept going, too big and powerful to turn well, until he crashed into the magical barrier. Luthor was already on his feet and moving when his pursuer managed to get up again.

  Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

  “Get him, Reggie!” Raeva jumped to her feet and screamed. “Bite his ass!”

  In that time, Raeleq had regained a good grip on his [Ironwood Club] and brought it crashing down on the archer, which broke apart into a dozen pieces before they vanished in a puff of smoke. The [Spirit Warrior] swung its sword against his weapon, slicing it in two. Like the other defeated summons, it faded from view.

  With [Reggie] hot on his heels, Luthor booked it to the other side, where his summon put pressure on his friend with powerful swings. Raeleq caught the spirit’s blade in two hands. An earthy light washed over him from below. He grinned, and then snapped the sword in half.

  The [Spirit Warrior] paused, although Ambrose was reasonably sure it couldn’t feel actual surprise. A second later Raeleq’s fist went through the wisp of a head and dispersed it. The extra strength faded right as Luthor took the place of his summon and decked his best friend in the face.

  It drove him back a couple steps as he blocked his face with his massive arms, but that just gave Luthor a chance to leap and catch Raeleq in a headlock.

  “Ooh, he’s desperate,” Jessica said, leg still jiggling like mad. “He’s going for a quick subdue, but it’s not going to work. Not with -- “

  Raeleq swung around, and [Reggie]’s mouth closed over Luthor’s back. The dinosaur ripped him off and threw him in the air, only to catch him in those same hungry jaws.

  “I yield, I yield,” Luthor called out, finally sounding shaken.

  [Reggie] set him back down on the ground. Raeleq came up behind his Signature Creature and patted his flank fondly.

  The crowd went nuts, and Raeva screamed and whistled sharp enough to drive a spike into Ambrose’s brain. “Yeah, yeah, he did well. I wonder how much harder it is to pound on your best friend. Or is that how they show affection?”

  Jessica shrugged and applauded with the rest of them. “I imagine they’re as used to it as we are.”

  “Ah, so they love it.”

  As entertaining as the match had been, it gave Ambrose a mountain of information to work with. He was well familiar with both of them, but they had changed a couple of their cards in the lead-up to the tournament. Raeleq was hardy and had powerful creatures; getting caught by him would be a terrible idea.

  On the other hand, Luthor was relentless, fast, and had few direct weaknesses. His creatures weren’t powerful, but they worked well together, and he could both ward and heal himself. Sidney had been spot on when he told Ambrose to get more creatures. It would be the best way of dealing with both of them, when the time came.

  “The only one beating my brother this year is me,” Raeva said proudly, stirring him from his thoughts. “We’ll be the top two spots, guaranteed.”

  For a change, Ambrose bit back a sharp reply and instead made a show of bowing to her, again and again. “All hail the Rentan Royalty, the Princess of Pain.”

  She swatted his shoulder, but then patted the spot a second later.

  Raeleq and Luthor bowed to each other, and then to the audience, before walking off together. In another fifteen minutes, the fourth years would duel, and then the cycle would continue one more time. At the end of it, would be Ambrose versus the young woman beside him. It was as thrilling as it was worrying.

  Jessica joined him for a short walk and a cold drink, paid for by her, thankfully. They stood underneath one of the pop up tents beside the stadium, enjoying the shade and the festive environment.

  “That [Reggie]’s going to be a problem,” she said.

  “Only if you’re not good at killing creatures,” Ambrose said loftily. “I’m not worried about it. Now, getting brained by that club? I have a few plans in mind. What about you? I’m pretty sure the big lizard can chomp your new serpent. How are you going to deal with Raeleq’s Signature Creature?”

  Jessica froze, a look of pure anxiety screaming silently. “Uh. The bigger they are, the harder they fall? My new [Lift] card might do it. I’ve been practicing and if I don’t cast it fast, I can keep the subject levitated for a bit.”

  “Huh. You might be onto something. My advice, when it’s your turn, is to hit below the belt if you can. He doesn’t like hurting women, and he doesn’t armor his soft bits.”

  She laughed into her drink. “He’ll never see it coming. You nervous about your match with Raeva?”

  “Not even a little,” he lied. “We’re going to go on a date, and I’m going to make her pay for everything. We never said it had to be a good date.”

  “Classy, but I know you’re full of it. And I want to thank you.” She sipped through her straw, swaying a bit in place. Jessica was always in motion.

  “Thank me? For what?” Ambrose made a face.

  “Behaving, more or less. You’re honestly pretty funny when you aren’t attacking everyone around you.”

  For once, he didn’t strike back. Instead he shrugged, finished his drink, and went over his deck in his head. With his round of trading, he’d given up most of his alternative options, but he supposed there wasn’t anything he would change when facing Raeva.

  “I’ll be back in time for the match,” he said, throwing his drink in the nearby bin. “Tell me if any of the youngins embarrass themselves.”

  “Where are you going?” she asked, but Ambrose walked away with a brief wave of his hand.

  In truth, he just wanted some peace and quiet for an hour or so while he contemplated the duel that would set the tone for all his matches.

  He didn’t have any magical armor to put on, although his normal duel clothes were crafted with certain protections. His deck contained two decent creatures on top of his signature [Hateful Imp]. Although, he didn’t expect the creature to do much against Raeva’s own [Fiery Hatchling]. Maybe it could distract them for a few critical seconds.

  The rest of his deck was about answering problems, or removing others’ answers. He wasn’t a flashy combatant, nor did he have the power to overwhelm anyone. But he was patient, cunning, and built to survive and outlast.

  Some called him overconfident. While Ambrose didn’t blame them, he had to be. No one else had faith in him, so it had to be him. If others didn’t love him, they would respect and fear him. No matter how miserable it was, power was the only thing in the world that could guarantee his safety and his agency.

  Raeva stood in the way of that, so he’d go through her. Simple as that.

  With only ten minutes to go, he left his apartment once more and jogged across the campus. It helped warm up his body and get the blood flowing. When he arrived, he went straight to the underbelly, and found his opponent waiting for him, wearing similar armor as her brother. Leather painted a deep red, with a predator’s wicked paws for shoulderpads.

  “Ahh, good. For a second I thought you were too afraid to face me,” said Raeva.

  “Not even a little,” said Ambrose. “I went home and took a nap before the fight. I figured it would be the best way to prepare. Say, you mind wearing that armor on our date? It’s really doing it for me.”

  She laughed and punched his shoulder.

  “Cheats! Attacking me pre-duel, this should be a disqualification,” he mock-shouted. “C’mon, Princess, let’s dance.”

  They walked out arm in arm, parting only at the last second to take their place opposite each other in the arena.

  Ambrose breathed in the environment, the cheers and even boos from the student population and spectators. He waved his arms, urging them to scream louder. Across the way, Raeva rolled her head along her shoulders and loosened up. Their gazes met, and they shared a fierce grin.

  “Alright, the final year 3 duel of the day, Ambrose Adams versus Raeva Ransa. Ready?

  “Fight!”