60th of Glade, 115th Year of the Age of Steel
Talon stared at Aoren with open shock written on his face. His friend just laughed which had Talon pointing at him.
“You’re a mage!? Of course you are. How did you do that? What is that?” Talon stepped forward and went to examine the sword that Aoren had conjured from thin air. Aoren extended it so that Talon could get a better look. It was incredible to behold. Words in a language that he could not place were scrawled upon the surface of the blade, which was silver in appearance and was polished to a mirror-like shine. Each of the letters of the unknown words almost seemed to whisper to Talon. The hilt was beautiful and gave Talon the impression of desert sands or a much warmer climate. Just looking at the sword had the young Novalys hair standing on end. He could feel the magic in it.
“Is this some sort of Summon?” Aoren tilted his head.
“In a way. I am not a Summoner. This is a form of conjuration though, I suppose.” The Kathar rolled up his left sleeve until his deltoid muscle was exposed. Upon it was carved a rune that to look upon sent a chill down Talon’s spine. It evoked in him feelings of strife, conflict and war but also of honor, courage and tenacity. As soon as Aoren covered it, the feelings faded. Such was the nature of beholding a Rune of Magic. Whatever discipline this was, it was something made for war, that much was abundantly clear in the thoughts that had swirled in his head.
“What is it?” Talon was fascinated. He’d not encountered this particular form of magic in Kalzasi. Among the battlemages of the city, Kinetics was common. As was Elementalism and Negation. This however was different. It felt more powerful somehow, more deadly.
“It is called Reaving, Talon. I am a Reaver. A warmage of a different sort.” The raven winged Avialae flourished his sword. A trail of silvery white light was left in the air by the letters as they glowed with the movements. Talon stepped out of the way of the display. He looked down at the sword on his hip and felt a budding curiosity. He opened his mouth to speak but before the words could even come out, Aoren interrupted him.
“No.” Talon blinked at him.
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.” Talon furrowed his brow at his friend. For his part, Aoren placed a hand on his hip, quirking a brow at Talon with a look of disbelief on his face.
“I will not initiate you into Reaving.” The young Novalys resisted the urge to cry out in protest. Instead he folded his arms over his chest and rocked back and forth on his heels. His wings fluttered slightly, betraying his curiosity and his agitation.
“Then why show me?” Aoren nodded in agreement with his question as though it were expected.
“Because you would have learned of this eventually. Kalzasi isn’t exactly a peaceful city, Talon.” The young Novalys had to hand it to Aoren there. Despite their prosperity, there were many problems within the city both in its social hierarchy and the fact that it existed near a pit of perpetual danger. The city was precariously balanced and managing that balance was the role of his father. It was a great weight to bear on one’s shoulders. Couple that with that fact that tensions with Zaichaer were growing with every passing year. The most recent example of which was a tribute agreement that the High City tried to force upon Kalzasi, which his father and the Council unanimously rejected. It was apparent to all that the city of Zaichaer was beginning to view Kalzasi as more and more of a threat to its supremacy in the Northlands of Karnor.
“No. But we try to make peace where we can find it.” There was no protest to this statement. Aoren simply stared at Talon for a moment before nodding.
“So, if you’re not going to teach me Reaving, why bring us to the Circle of Wandering? It is a place of magic and power.” Talon folded his arms over his chest as he observed his friend curiously. Aoren laughed as he took up his stance.
“I said I wouldn’t initiate you. That doesn’t mean I won’t teach you. Now, draw your weapon.” Talon did as he was instructed. He took in a deep breath then adopted his stance.
“I want you to use your magic in conjunction with your sword fighting. You have it. Learn to master it. If this place is as powerful as they say, it should help you tap into your aether. Now...begin!” With that, Aoren leapt forward. His movements as always were fluid and swift but Talon was ready for him. As the Kathar’s blade came into contact with his own, Talon parried the blow. He spun, sidestepping Aoren. Only for another blade to materialize in Aoren’s hand. He flung the first blade at Talon who merely hopped into the air, drifting upwards with a flap of his wings. To his shock and surprise, the thrown sword stopped in its tracks redirecting to collide with Talon’s sword as he brought it up to defend himself. The impact was jarring and had no less force behind it as if it were being wielded by Aoren himself. It drew back and began assailing Talon in a pattern of blows that Talon found difficult to fend off.
Without warning, Talon felt a painful impact to his side as Aoren flew up behind him and kicked him hard, sending Talon hurtling toward the ground. With a flap of his wings, Talon managed to right himself. He heard Aoren’s laughter.
“Did you forget I was here, Silverwing?” Talon spun around to face his friend and sparring partner just in time to see the floating blade come flying at him again. Talon reached into himself and took hold of the currents of aether that flowed in and around him. With a grunt he sent a ripple of kinetic force in the direction of the sword in order to push it away from him. The pulse went out and knocked the flying sword away just as Aoren engaged him personally. His second sword grasped expertly in his hands. Talon just barely had time to bring up his sword to protect himself as the blade came swinging toward him.
He managed to block the blow, meeting Aoren head on. Talon felt himself get pushed an inch or so back. Aoren’s raw strength was something he always found impressive and as they sparred he could see the spark of excitement in his friend’s eyes. Talon shoved forward and grunted as he entered a series of blows attempting to break through Aoren’s defenses. His every swing was met and expertly deflected. Meanwhile, Talon saw the floating sword come swinging at him once more. This time he was forced to jump back, flying into the air again. His friend did not let up and immediately went airborne to meet him in aerial combat. Talon had only moments to think as both the floating sword and Aoren came flying at him from two different directions. He grabbed a hold of his kinetic magic once more and instead of trying to deflect the sword he reached out and grabbed a hold of it, pulling it toward him. At the last second, Talon dove toward the ground. He heard Aoren exclaim in surprise and smiled as the satisfying sound of steel meeting steel confirmed that his plan at least worked for the moment.
“Haha, well done! But you’ll have to do better than that!” Aoren dove down toward him, spinning in mid-air. Just when Talon thought he was going to meet him in another series of blows, another blade appeared in Aoren’s hand. Talon was caught momentarily off guard as he both had to adjust his flight path and account for blows coming from three weapons, not just one. Talon swung his sword in a wide arc and with it he sent out a pulse of force. Aoren rolled to the side, dodging the blow of force but it did manage to catch his floating sword, knocking it back once more.
Talon grunted as both of Aoren’s swords came into contact with his own blade. He held up his guard even as the Kathar ground down on the impact, driving Talon back toward the ground. Aoren drew back, making wide swings with both of his blades forcing Talon to drop. The young warrior gasped as Aoren threw one of the blades in his hands at Talon once more. He expected it to begin floating like the other blade that was coming toward him once more. He rolled to the side, dodging the thrown sword. It clattered to the ground and then vanished in a puff of aethereal dust. Before he could get to his feet, the floating sword was once again engaging Talon. He tried to deflect it but found himself wearing down due to the extensive maneuvering he’d done already. Just as he thought he might have an upper hand, Aoren joined the fray, the floating sword slipping into his hand. Talon had no time to recover and with a flourish, Aoren disarmed him, sending Talon’s sword skittering across the stone of the great circle. The tip of one of Aoren’s conjured blades remained steady as it rested with the tip lightly pressed to Talon’s throat.
Talon was panting heavily as he stared into Aoren’s eyes. His friend was smiling but there was sweat upon his brow, proof that he’d been fighting just as hard. After a moment of silence between them, Aoren lowered his swords. One of them evaporated in a cloud of dust. The other remained in his hand. Aoren extended a hand to him and Talon took it, being hoisted to his feet.
“Get your sword.” When Talon went to go grab it, Aoren grasped his arm with a shake of his head.
“No. Get your sword from here, Talon. You have the power. Use it.” Talon nodded. He looked over to where his blade lay on the ground. Reaching into himself he worked on getting a feel for the Aether Flux in the area around the blade. He exhaled slowly as he opened up a pathway within the Aether Flux from himself to the hilt of the sword. Talon furrowed his brow as he felt the weight of the flux trying to right itself press against his kinetic exertions. But he remained focused. Through the channel he created, Talon began tugging on the flux around the hilt of the sword and drawing it toward himself. He watched as the sword wobbled for a moment. It lifted barely an inch or so off the ground before dipping back down. Talon sighed and concentrated harder. He tugged along the flux a bit more persistently. After a bit more wobbling, the blade lifted and began levitating toward Talon albeit shakily. When it was close enough, Talon grabbed it out of the air.
He let out a breath and placed a hand on his thigh as he bent over slightly. Aoren pat him on the shoulder lightly.
“Rest for a bit. You did well. Your defense is solid but you need to focus more on your offensive patterns. You’ll never defeat an opponent being purely defensive, Talon.” Talon nodded. He was used to this form of critique. It was not in Aoren’s nature to give empty praise and he’d learned some time ago that while Aoren could come across as critical at times, he meant it only to see Talon get better and stronger.
“So, what’s next?” He said a bit breathless. Aoren chuckled as he sank down into a squat at the center of the great circle.
“As soon as you catch your breath we go at it again.”
Talon groaned. It was going to be a long afternoon.
