The Sparkbringer

Chapter Four

   Just as Elva had said the evening before, a knight was sent to collect me from my room at sunrise. I followed him into the dining hall, where the kingdom’s nobles shared a large breakfast. After the meal, I gathered my things and met Elva down at the stables.
    “There you are,” she gestured to Snowfire from atop her own horse. “Get on, we have quite a long journey ahead.”
    “I thought you said Vera was close by,” I replied confused, mounting my horse. “Has that changed?”
    “It would seem she is trying to play games,” Elva sighed, urging Ruby forward. “She’s been spotted in several places across Annora, including Dragon’s Peak, which seems odd.”
    “Why is her being there odd?” I asked, pushing Snowfire onwards.
    “The ancient dragon residing in the mountain is a neutral being,” Elva informed me. “It is as old as Annora itself, a wise, powerful creature. The residents of Dragon’s Peak are distant relatives of the elves that once resided in Whitemount, and they worship the dragon. It could very swiftly rid our world of Vera, however because of its neutrality, it would never enter any sort of fight.”
    “I guess it would be strange for her to be there then,” I shrugged as we exited the kingdom. “So, where are we headed?”
    “It would be wise of us to visit each kingdom capital,” Elva steered us east down the path. “Many towns in each kingdom have been utterly destroyed, leaving the few survivors without homes. First is the southern kingdom of Blackport, home of Annora’s largest fishing industry.”
    “Lead the way.”

   
   The first place on our journey that we camped for the night was alongside the Lotus River, the clear water barely visible from the abundance of lotus flowers. It was a colourful sight, the sunset casting a warm glow on our camp.
   “Would you mind?” Elva gestured to the small pile of dry grass and sticks. “You do use lightning magic, do you not?”
    “Oh, sure,” I nodded, casting a very controlled lightning bolt to start a fire.
    “So, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”
    I was surprised by her question. “Um, what?”
    “Well we know nothing about each other, I thought it would be nice to change that,” she smiled gently.
    “Ok, sure,” I shrugged. “Well, I’m twenty-three, I grew up as an orphan, and uh… Well, I suppose that’s it really. What about you, Elva? You seem interesting.”
    “More interesting than you clearly,” she insulted jokingly. “I am also twenty-three, born and raised in Faircrest. As I suppose you can tell, I act quite different from most royalty. My father always believed a true ruler should join their armies in battle, he said ‘if a king does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?’, and I live by that.”
    “Huh,” I leaned forward, intrigued. “How long have you been the Queen?”
    “About two years now,” Elva paused, taking a deep breath. “My parents were assassinated, I wasn’t supposed to live either, but karma’s a bitch. He got what was coming to him.”
    “Wow,” I couldn’t stop myself from chuckling at her sudden outburst of emotion. “Who sent him?”
    “I never found out,” Elva shrugged. “I’m likely better off not knowing anyway.”
    “You’re probably right,” I replied, before furrowing my brow in confusion. “Hey, wait a second, how did you know I used lightning magic earlier? Y’know, when you asked me to start the fire.”
    “I caught a glimpse of your Hero mark when I was showing you how to hold reins,” she gestured to my hand. “It’s shaped like a lightning bolt, it wasn't hard to figure out. Also, you’re carrying around a lightning spellbook.”
    “So what’s your magic then?”
    Elva smirked, standing and walking a few paces away from the fire. I tilted my head, confused.
    “Come spar with me, Hero, and I’ll show you what my magic is.”
    I jumped up, eager for an opportunity to use my magic in a fight, even if it was just a spar. I readied my hands for her attack, the adrenaline beginning to pump through my veins. A light blue glow emanated from her hands before a beam of the same colour shot out and at my feet. I countered with a simple lightning bolt, hitting the blue beam as if it were a solid object. It exploded, a bright white light encompassing the area before a few snowflakes fell around us.
    “Frostblade…” I paused to think. “That’s ice magic, isn’t it?”
    “Good eye,” Elva complimented, drawing her sword. “Now, a skilled warrior can use both their sword and their magic at the same time, so, show me what you’ve got.”
    I drew my sword as she took a defensive stance, encouraging me to strike first. I gripped my sword and ran at her, striking low and aiming for her shins. She parried and pushed me backwards. I recovered swiftly and this time went to strike at her head. She shot a beam of magic that froze a block in my underarm, preventing me from finishing my attack. She swung at my torso, her sword clanging against my armour. I broke the block of ice with my own magic and took a few steps back, breathing heavily.
    “Not bad, for now,” Elva said smugly.
    “You’re not so bad yourself,” I panted.
    At the slight distraction, I took my chance to strike. I cast a lightning bolt at her, hitting her squarely in the chest and sending her flying backwards. I ran up to her and wasted no time, swinging at her head while she was on the ground. She caught my blade with her hands, a thin sheet of ice protecting her from getting cut.
   She kicked me away and stood, then cast a spell to freeze my feet together. I parried her sword attack but she pushed her blade onward. I channelled electricity through my fingers and into my sword, traveling along the blade and into hers. When the electricity reached her hand, she backed up.
    “That was dirty!” she scolded.
    “I never said I fought fair,” I laughed.
    We sparred for the better part of the evening, Elva serving as a strong means for me to practice my combat skills and improve my magic strength. After the sun had dipped below the horizon, we settled into our bedrolls to rest for the night.