Eight Intertwined

120 - Sorcerer

To say that the battle against Dreisang was going poorly was, to put it nicely, an understatement.

Ophilia had thrown up a haphazard barrier of earth magic to try and block out the onslaught of elements being sent her way, but there was only so much that could do for her under the sheer force Dreisang was casting in her direction. She flinched each time magic rattled against the barricade that only barely managed to stop her from being thrown across the room. Alfyn had taken up residence beside her, and he was using vines to root both of them to the spot. Being thrown around at massively high speeds thanks to Dreisang's wind magic felt like the best way to end up with a broken bone or three, and Ophilia wasn't fond of the idea of shattering her ribs. 

Granted, staying behind the barrier of earth wasn't doing much for her in terms of helping to win the fight, but that was something she was willing to live with, at least for the time being. She needed to find a way out of this sooner or later though. Dreisang's onslaught showed no signs of letting up, and that meant she would need to figure out the solution on her own. Dreisang wouldn't have been throwing this much at the travelers if he didn't think they could handle it. That had to mean that they had the solution at their disposal. All they had to do was figure out what that solution was.

Unfortunately, that was much easier said than done, especially when Ophilia had to put all of her energy into not being thrown around like a rag doll in a tornado. Even when Dreisang wasn't using wind magic--though that seemed to be his favorite element out of those at his disposal--he was finding other ways to make Ophilia miserable. The other travelers seemed to agree. Cyrus had taken a place behind another wall of earth, though he was straining to maintain it. The barrier was much larger than Ophilia's own shield since he was also trying to keep Tressa, Therion, and Primrose out of the line of fire. Olberic, meanwhile, was pouring all of his effort into keeping him and H'aanit safe. The huntress had attempted to fire a few arrows, but it was difficult to aim when the battlefield was consumed by so much chaos. How could she even attempt to release a shot made of thunder magic when there was too much going on for her to focus?

"What's the plan, Phili?" Alfyn questioned with a weak hiss. Sweat was starting to bead across his forehead, though he was doing his best to hide it. Upon closer examination, Ophilia realized that his plants spread out farther than just the space around her feet. Alfyn was trying to keep all of the travelers in place along with Linde, and that put a lot more pressure on him than it had any right to thanks to how strong Dreisang was. He wasn't going to be able to keep it up for much longer, and every single one of them knew it.

Ophilia did her best to concentrate at the sound of Alfyn's voice. This was a test. It had to be. Dreisang was trying to see just how strong they were and how far they had come since their first battle against Aelfric. He knew they had the tools needed to defeat him at their disposal. It was just a matter of figuring out where each piece fit into the greater puzzle. Figuring that out was easier said than done, but most importantly, it was still possible, and that was what mattered most.

Ophilia's mind sprinted rapidly through every gift the gods had granted them up to this point. She had heard of their blessings through scripture as well, and she was confident something in there had to be able to help them. Aelfric's blessing was that of a second chance, but it was difficult to use something like that when there wasn't even a first chance to take advantage of in the first place. Alephan's unmatched wisdom couldn't be the solution either.  Brand had overwhelming strength, Draefendi had endless focus, and Aeber paralleled them both with unmatched speed, but what good would either of those do when they could barely keep themselves alive to begin with? There had to be some other answer.

That left Sealticge, Dohter, and Bifelgan. Considering the fact that the travelers were going to need more than just good fortune and money, Ophilia was happy to cross Bifelgan off her list of suspects. That left only the charity of Dohter and the overreaching blessings of Sealticge. Alephan had the ability to concentrate all of his power into a single strong blow, but Sealticge could extend the reach of her abilities to all. Perhaps that was where they were supposed to start.