A Dragon's Retribution [Book 3 in Rising Dragons]

Chapter 18: Seeryath VI

Fáelán and the Elder he had challenged, Daireanne, stood on a raised stone slab, the forest floor around them was cleared of everything and bare. Fáelán had explained early this morning that due to the nature of offensive magic, nothing flammable or dangerous was allowed near the grounds for a fróðeikr einvigi. Whilst Daireanne was wearing armour, Fáelán had nothing but his normal clothes and his staff. Despite both elves stating that they felt Fáelán would win, they both appeared uneasy. I knew that nothing was guaranteed in a fight; I was sure they knew it too.

Apparently, a normal fróðeikr einvigi was about half showing off one's magic capability and the other half was winning. It was all about demonstrating your talent and skill in order to reveal exactly how much your opponent had insulted you by.

I was watching from one of the thick branches of the forest, Azrael beside me, leaving Thirak and Aldrys on another branch. Someone stepped forward onto the platform, between the two magic users, and started speaking. "Welcome to the fróðeikr einvigi between Fáelán and Daireanne-ellri. Normal rules apply. The terms and conditions have been named and confirmed by both parties." They stepped backwards, moving away from the two, "Start!"

The Elder began, chunks of stone lifting themselves into the air at her command, launching themselves at Fáelán. Rather than remaining in position, Fáelán darted out of the way, letting the pieces whistle past him and thus leaving him unharmed. All around the fróðeikr einvigi grounds, elves started muttering to each other, clearly moving wasn't a normal elven tactic. Despite this, neither of the two elves had stopped their fight. Daireanne once again called upon her magic, fire circling her, and with a wave of her hands, streamed towards Fáelán. In response, the elf lifted his staff, clearly saying something I couldn't hear – probably words to call upon his magic. I knew that much was needed, even if I couldn't use it, unlike my beloved rider Sky had once been able to.

Once.

Once she had, and now she was dead in a war that we could not win alone. It was why we were here. It would be why Fáelán would win.

In front of Fáelán, a shield of water formed, and rushed forward to meet the fire, extinguishing it in smoke. However, whilst the Elder had paused to see whether her spell had won out, Fáelán hadn't. After defending himself, he slammed the staff down with a single word, before leaping up into the air. Beneath him, the stone platform changed, spikes jerking up into the air. The Elder, clearly panicking, quickly used her magic to keep the ground around her stable and flat.

Falling back down, Fáelán threw his staff first and then spoke a few more words. The staff extended, becoming a rectangular piece of wood, and turned to stone. It gave Fáelán the higher ground in the fight, and ensured he didn't land on the stone pikes he'd formed. It gave him the advantage of having control of the ground and being able to see everything around him, even if it removed the advantage of being able to move wherever. The Elder said something else, and once again her magic answered, lightning forming in a ball of light in her hand.

Whilst Daireanne continued to chant, Fáelán lifted his hand and with a word, forced a stone spike to break off, rising into his hand. He threw it forward, with another quiet word, and I watched as it turned shiny, metallic. Just in time too, as the Elder threw the lightning forward, but it struck the metal and stayed there, crashing into the ground causing white sparks. Daireanne frowned, and – once again – called on fire, but this time rather than simple rope-like streams of fire, the head of a dragon made from fire formed. It was impressive, I had to admit, but it didn't look like any dragon I really knew. The basics were there, but it lacked... something.

There was no way that Fáelán would be able to stop the fire with just a water shield, and indeed, it didn't seem like he planned to, as he had launched into a chant, barely appearing to draw breath as he did so. Watching, my heart leapt into my throat, as the fire dragon head closed on him, furiously fast, but as it opened its jaws, it winked out creating smoke that covered everything, blocking my vision of the ground.