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20. Ice and frost ✨

Feelings were lost on him. They had long been frozen together with his heart. There was only endless darkness surrounding him, endless nothingness.
Only the occasional glimpses into his, and only his, world gave him pleasure. There had been no one else as committed to his creation as he. Until that day...
He should have known, should have seen, but hadn't, had blinded himself to the greed around him.
Now there was only endless nothingness again, emptiness.
Maybe he shouldn't have done what he did. Maybe he had been wrong, but what did it matter now.
There was no one to hear his tale, to remember it.
He just hoped that the light would not burn out too soon, would guide them back. He just hoped it wouldn't be too late.

Rish'ka

The next day was free of any classes.
A few clubs had organized a magic contest that was, by tradition, held once a year.
Afrit did not want to miss the fun and insisted on going. That was how Fharan ended up on the crowded training field watching as his classmates tried their best to defeat each other.
He was neither surprised nor disappointed with the fact that most of them were rather bleak in their technics. He spotted one or two very talented ones, it was the countries best academy after all, but he suddenly got distracted by something else entirely.

His gaze had been wandering, not only over the contestants, but the audience as well. A red dot on the other side of the field had captured his attention.
"Is that Korus.", he asked Afrit whose naturally enhanced cat eyes were much sharper than his.
It seems that way, he replied. He isn't supposed to start yet is he?
"No. In three years when I remember correctly."
It looks like he is watching one of the contestants.
Fharan took a closer look at the current fighter and finally noticed a faintly familiar face.
A tall and muscular boy just stepped into the field and drew his sword. He had seen him with his brother the other day.
A strange feeling overcame him and he shook his head in an attempt to dispel it. He seemed to slowly get paranoid.

The fight was over quickly, even though the escort boy did not even use his blessing. He seemed to be quite gifted with the sword.
His uneasiness grew as the boy ignored his next competitor, looked briefly in Korus direction and turned to the judges.
"It is my tenth victory. I would like to request my right to choose.", he announced.
The judges discussed it for a bit and the excitement in the audience grew.
"You may."
The boy bowed shortly and then waited until his original competitor left the field.
"I request Fharan Estariel Racthan to be my opponent."
Fharans whole body went slightly stiff for a moment and he sharpened his eyes to take a closer look at the older boy, then at the silhouette of his brother.
Why else should he choose him of all people.
He was sure that his parents had told the twins about him.

Shouts became loud as he did not appear right away and he slowly stood up, making his way towards the field.
He could feel their gazes on him as he arrived at the entrance and one of the students gave him an old training sword, not even bothering to hide his amusement.
Fharan ignored him and the whispering from the audience and sat Afrit down before stepping out onto the field.
He felt the protective barrier around him closing as he steadily moved towards his challenger and tested the blade in his hand.

As he was only a few feet away from the other boy he stopped.
"I accept your challenge.", he simply stated and held his sword loosely in his left hand.
The other gave him an assessing look.
"I suppose it is only fair to know the name of one's opponent. My name is Milan Karthena of the Karthena family.
I am here to uphold the honour of Ratcar and his royal highness the crown prince.", he said with a sneer.
So he was a son of marquis Karthena.
Fharan ignored the insult and slightly lifted his sword instead.
The referees stepped back and the match began.

Milan didn't seem to think much of him and had apparently planned to finish him in one move.
Fharan saw how his magic flared up and enveloped his body as well as his weapon.
So he had the blessing of earth, as expected from one of his blood.
He received Milans first blow and it felt as if a wall had hit him. He was pushed back a few feet, but kept his balance.
Milan was a bit startled by the resistance and tried to land a few more hits.
Fharan lacked in strength compared to his opponent, but was at least twice as fast as him. He avoided the next hit effortlessly instead of trying to block it as well as the one after.
Milan made a face, annoyed, and, with an evil glint in his eyes, changed his tactics. Stony spikes shot out of the ground.

Fharan was able to avoid most of them by following the flow of magic, but one of the smaller ones managed to drill into his right shoulder.
He heard Milans low chuckle and simply pulled the spike out without much thought, splattering blood all around.
Milans grin died, staring at him for a second before he began to slowly circle him. He was much more careful this time.
They exchanged a few more blows, but since Fharan did not go into offense and his shoulder slowed him down it seemed as if Milan was gaining the upper hand.
Time passed and nothing changed. Milan slowly lost his temper until he distanced himself from Fharan.
It appeared as if he was finally running out of patience.
Surprised shouts came from the audience as people realized what he planned.
He had started to chant a stabilizing spell for higher magic.

Instead of trying to stop Milan Fharan rammed his blade into the ground and closed his eyes for a second.
Even though he didn't move the air around him changed drastically. The temperature in the surrounding area rapidly dropped from one second to another as the former prince opened his eyes, which had started to glow with a faint blue light.
It was too late for Milan to stop his spell and he could only stand by in confusion as his magic was drained away from him and the world around him disappeared into a haze of white and blue.

As the mist dissipated it revealed a landscape of ice, snowflakes dancing through the air.
Fharan stood in the middle of the field seemingly unaffected and unharmed, still, one hand on his sword. Milan on the other hand had disappeared under a mountain of ice.

Pretty, Afrit commented.
Fharan let go of his sword and took a step back. He lifted his head and, for a second, met his brother's shocked gaze.
The silence prevailed as he turned his back towards the frozen stature of Milan and started to leave.
Just before he disappeared out of sight, he lifted his right hand and softly snipped his fingers.
A ripple went through the air and a sound like shattering glass resounded through the whole field as all at once the ice disintegrated.
Fharan was long gone before Milan's unconscious body even hit the ground.

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Chapter 20 already. That means more than 20.000 words in total!
Crazy how fast these things develop without anyone noticing.
Thanks for the reads, comments and votes.
Have fun!!