Chapter 38
A common supply used by healers and adventurers are hemo-pills: a concoction of chemicals, supplements, and Life Myst designed to match a blood type, increase blood production, and quickly clot wounds. They are not to be used lightly. One pill for a severe wound, two for critical damage, three as a last resort. Using more than needed can have disastrous consequences, like bursting arteries and excessive bleeding from orifices.
Day 381, Quenchenday
Before I knew it, year’s end had found me, the day of the final exams. That day, normally for rest, was do-or-die. I had spent the night in a fidgeting state of anxiety. When the alarm went off, I was ensnared in my sheets. I freed myself and dressed in a rush. I passed the DFAC, my stomach churning, and doubled my pace as I entered Aegis Hall.
I wasn’t the only one. You could smell the stress. A last-minute snatch for Vector points. The brittle peace was realized with the crack of lightning and a wail of pain. Outside the doors, a female High Elf stood over a fallen female Human, a charred hole through her center. We all held our breath. Would this start a cascade?
I decided not to find out. I turned and power-walked down the hall. My therra read 7:27. Three minutes to get to Thallos before things got ugly.
I left the mass of bodies and thought I was in the clear. Then I saw them: four looming figures. Brecken, Kesher, Gellar, and Mallrimor.
My frantic pace stalled. I let my bag slide from my shoulder, took a long breath, and made eye contact with each of them. Their weapons all had lethal edges. I pinched my lips, masking my climbing panic. It was then I realized I hadn’t taken my medication. I was thankful for Thallos’s training. I couldn’t let them know they had me worried.
“I’m guessing you guys aren’t going to let this be easy?” I asked. In confirmation, Mallrimor summoned a ball of flame in each hand. “Blackened blade and broken bone, you all seriously want a repeat?”
Kesher stepped up, his morningstar bouncing on his palm. “Last time, we toyed with you. This time,” he rolled his neck, “we mean to take your head.”
I activated the recording on my therra before holding up a finger, leaning over to unzip my bag. It was a taunt. It worked. Mallrimor hurled a bolt of flame. I pulled myself back as Brecken stormed forward, his greatsword primed for a swing. I took a smooth step back, just out of range. I yanked open my bag and plunged my hand in, searching for my tactical gauntlet. I felt it just in time to see another bolt of fire.
I tossed my bag into its path. The flame melted through, blew a hole in my water bottle, and sent a cloud of steam bursting out. The lessened bolt zipped past my face.
I popped the first strap on my catlar. As I moved to the next, I saw the steam swirl. Gellar lanced through with a thrust at my chest. I deflected it with a backhand, my unattached gauntlet flailing. I threw a kick at his knee, forcing him back. As the steam dissipated, I popped the second latch. Brecken charged with a downward chop. I rolled between them, coming to a stop on one heel.
I threw open the last latch and seated my arm just as a looming shadow rose over me. I rolled right as I felt the shattering of tile where my head had been. My back hit the floor. I closed the first strap. I hurled myself into a crouch as I heard a shuffle. I spun on one foot, bringing my arm up just in time to meet Gellar’s hack. I slammed the second strap locked just before he thrust his free blade at my chest. I used my armored elbow to knock it up. I brought the back of my fist up at his chin. He leaped back, and I released my shock bites into his chest, giving him a dose of current. He locked up, dropping his blades as I came to my feet.
The next thing I knew, a greatsword cleaved through my cables. Gellar collapsed. I lost my shock bites. A flare of light and pain exploded on my right side. My body locked in spasms. The current cut off, and my muscles went limp. My brain felt fried. I was brought back to reality when a multi-bladed surface met my ribs. I felt them crack. I was hurtled at top speed, collided with a wall, and my vision filled with white static.
I felt the cold floor, my head spinning. I heard a distant chuckle. My eyelids fell. I felt a boot stomp on my jaw, felt it crack. As I started falling unconscious, an image flashed: my father’s bleeding body, the red-skull-masked man. A familiar hate flared. I forced my eyes open to see a large blade aimed at my neck.
Breathing was agony, but pain was nothing new. I slapped my palm in the growing pool of blood beneath me. I drew my tattered thoughts together. I needed to survive.
I drew six Vells of Distortion, one of Voltreonic, and three of Morphic to alter my mind, speeding up my cognition. Time slowed. The rising shadow of the blade came to a stop. I put two Vells of Water to work, shifting the blood. I drew three of Umbra, two of Distortion, four of Evulsion Kinetic, and one of Morphic. I watched the blade descend. The gray, purple, vermillion, and black energy rippled across the blood, spreading from my hand. None of them realized they stood in it. The blood took on a black, gray, and orange-red hue and wound around their ankles.
It crawled up their legs, draining their reflexes. Then the whole pool erupted in a blast of raw kinetic force, distorted to be stronger. I directed most of it at them but was still knocked into the ceiling. My side burst in pain. I saw the other four blasted against the wall. I collided with the floor, seeing stars for the third time.
My vision cleared. I hauled myself to my feet and hobbled over to the limp forms. Mallrimor was face-down. I knelt and plucked a feather from his wing, then spat a glob of bloody mucus on his cheek. I limped to the elevator.
The doors opened, and I stepped into the training room. “Well, look who finally showed up,” Thallos said, his back to me. But Tessa and Rose turned. Rose’s eyes bulged; Tess gasped. My uncle turned. “Well, shit,” he said before Tessa hurried over. She was just in time; the room was spinning. I staggered and fell.
She laid her hands on me, staunching the bleeding. After a few seconds of intense itching, she helped me to my feet and to a bench.
“What happened?!” Rose demanded.
“I’m guessing they caught you by surprise,” Thallos stated.
“No,” I sneered, spitting out more blood. I stopped my recording and activated a full-body scan. I flicked the results to Tessa and the video to Rose and Thallos.
Tessa listed my injuries, her tone rising with panic. “Fractured jaw, two dislocated ribs, two cracked, three snapped, severe lacerations, and third-degree burns! By the blackened crown, Iver! What happened?!”
I pointed to my jaw. She got the message, placing her hands on either side. After the itching stopped, I tested it. “Mallrimor and his brutes jumped me.”
I explained in intervals as Tessa healed me. I could tell Rose and Thallos were watching the video. Thallos finished first. “Not as good as I had hoped, but a passable display.”
“Wait!” I started. “You knew this was going to happen?!”
“Of course, boy. I told them where to find you and gave them weapons.”
“WHAT?!” Rose and I snarled in tandem.
“I thought it necessary. This was part of your final exam. I’ve taken your most impressive actions per Vector and judged them. This was a test to see how you could handle an ambush from multiple enemies.”
“So that was my final?”
“Whoa!” came Rose. “If that was his final, I’m guessing I’m getting expelled.”
“Both of you relax. Iver, no, that was only half. Rose, also no. You just have different circumstances. Since you’re recovering, you won’t have a magic final.”
“And what?” I demanded. “That calamity was my magic final?”
He laughed. “No. If it was, I’d fail you. It was sloppy. You got caught in the blast.”
I was irked. “Alright, then what is my magic final?”
“Simple. Both of you will try to incapacitate me. A teamwork test, with catches.”
“Catches?”
“First,” he held up a finger, “boy, you need to use at least one spell of no less than three elements. The formula must be crisp and clear. Second, you have five minutes to take me down. If you haven’t held me in submission for a ten-count by then, it’s a three-way duel. If one of you subdues the other, it’s a point. If you take me down, it’s three. Oh, and one last twist. I will be using my magic.”
I had wondered if he could. I’d never seen a focus on him.
“Healer, give Mr. Thorntail some hemo-pills,” Thallos said.
Tessa fetched a small metal box. I popped a pill and chased it with water. The effect was almost instantaneous: a spreading warmth, then a tingling, then a sensation of pressure from within.
Thallos stopped ten paces away, his posture a lax slouch. “Boy, I assume you drained your Mystwell. How goes the refill?”
I checked my therra. “About six of thirteen.”
“I’ll give you ten minutes to recoup and ensure the pill has worn off.”
