Watty's Shortlist 2023
"I have been waiting a long time to meet you."
________________
When two warring kingdoms hear of a magical object that will end the conflict once and for all, two rival heirs embark on a quest to retrieve it and bring their...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Aila mounted the dragon before her, feeling excitement overtake her as he soared into the open sky above them. She watched in wonder as he descended, twisting around the mountain upon which The Dragon Temple was located. He followed the direction of the steps, stopping and shifting only when they reached the bottom of the mountain.
Aila registered the large field before her, the one she had crossed the morning after the second trial. She turned to Ember with a question on the tip of her tongue.
"We'll train here today," he answered, sensing her confusion.
Aila did a three hundred and sixty degree turn, before raising an eyebrow.
"But you can't push me off anything here."
"Indeed," Ember smiled. "We'll be playing a game instead."
"Oh cool," Aila grinned. "What game?"
"Dodgeball," Ember returned her grin as he created a ball of water and launched it right at her.
Aila couldn't dodge it in time. It collided with her, and she stood spluttering as her clothes stuck to her skin and the chill seeped into her bones. She glared at Ember, but he had prepared another waterball and projected it her way.
She dove out of the way, hitting the ground and watching as the ball landed and watered the grass a few metres away.
"Ah I should clarify," Ember's voice brought her attention back to him. "You're not actually allowed to dodge these. You are going to use your air powers to direct them away from you."
"Huh?"
"Yesterday we trained one aspect of your air powers," he explained. His voice appeared directly in her ears this time. "This will be good to distract and confuse a rival in battle, but ultimately it is of no use." He stopped using his own air powers to project his voice and instead spoke normally. "Today we're going to build your air combat ability."
"Huh?" Aila repeated, to which Ember smiled.
"Place your hands in front of you. Try and channel the air to stop the water from hitting you."
Aila did as he instructed, but the ball collided with her before she could even locate the well of power within her. Again drenched, she threw Ember a glare and then resumed her stance.
The tug responded this time, and she drew on the power, feeling her fingertips tingle for the first time. As she marvelled at the sensation, she didn't register the ball of water that again hit her, soaking her from head to toe.
Aila didn't let the miss deter her and put her hands out again, ready for the next one. This time, her power responded but her air didn't collide with the waterball enough to knock it out of the way. It simply tapped Ember's power before his crashed into her.
"Focus," Ember instructed. "Pull on your power more."
When the same thing happened again, Aila let out a small groan.
