"Again."
Another hit to the same spot. That one stung a bit. Darkmore approached my body while Daemon silently shuffled away. He reached up and grabbed my hair, giving it a swift tug back to see my face.
"Have you learned your lesson?" Lord Darkmore...
"Begin!" Givior called out, joining the group of people that had formed around us.
I could feel my senses heighten as Ryarin and I began to circle each other with our weapons drawn.
As expected, Ryarin was the first to strike, charging towards me with incredible speed. I decided to take a defensive stance, and moved out of the way last minute to narrowly avoid his attack. His speed might of rivalled my own, yet his ability to direct that speed and change its course, lacked drastically. He stumbled a bit, trying to regain his balance for another charge, but I didn't give him the chance. My body accelerated almost naturally, and pounced on his imbalance. My sword struck his back quickly and effectively.
He stumbled again, and almost fell to the ground, but he quickly gained the momentum to strike back. He jabbed his sword forward, yet only caught air as I dodged the second attack. My next strike collided head on with his sword. I flicked my wrist twice to dislodge the sword from his hands, then I sent it flying out of the match boundaries.
"This match is over. The winner is Arya." Givior called, as he broke the circle by stepping forward. Before he could make it into the fighting area, my opponent lunged forward in attempt to fight me unarmed. As I quickly regrouped to prepare myself for hand to hand combat, Givior stepped in before Ryarin could reach me. In seconds, the man was suspended in the air, gasping for life as his hands clutched his throat. Givior's hand was glowing an intense red. They had no direct contact with each other, but you could see the red flame wrap itself around the man's neck.
"You will not disobey me like that again, Ryarin." Givior hissed as his hold grew stronger. The man collapsed to his knees, struggling to breathe for a few more moments before Givior finally let him go. As his red flames faded, he turned to me with a crooked smile.
"Disobedience is not tolerated within the realms." He explained. His hand extended to me and helped me climb out of the pit. I nodded slowly back at him, still trying to understand what it was that I just saw.
"You fought very well," Givior continued, "I'm not sure what you have done to be exiled to Riodhir, but we welcome you here. Cederic will teach you everything there is to know about the realms, magic, the connection, this forest, and our history. Hopefully when we speak next, you will be prepared to challenge me to a Magik duel."
"I'd very much like that." I replied, smiling as we drew near to Cederic. He had this unreadable expression etched into his face.
"Take good care of this one, she's got potential." Givior complimented me with a grin, before making his way back to his students.
"I intend to." Cederic called back a bit aggressively, as Givior returned to teaching. "Shall we continue?" He turned to me. I nodded, and fell into step besides him. "Can you tell me what you know about Magik?" He asked as we neared the edge of the town.
"I know little. Just the thought of performing any sort of Magik could get you killed." I explained, as we entered a less prominent road.
"Magik flows through every being, it's in both the sorcerers who process the ability to bend Magik, and the race of Men who don't. Magik bending is being capable of extracting this energy from your body and putting it into a physical form. The energy is different among each individual, as is the Magik that's emitted from it."
"That's why Adeoxer's was a vibrant yellow, yet Gwen's was green." I recalled, as he lead me deeper into the forest.
"Exactly."
"And mine is white?" I asked, looking up at him for confirmation.
"Correct." He nodded back to me. "We haven't seen that type of physical Magik in quite some time."
I glanced down at my own hands. I didn't feel any different, or special.
"What have you been told about this forest, Riodhir?"
I bit my lip. I wasn't sure how much I should disclose. The truth was, I knew quite a bit about this forest. More than the average man. "Not much, I never knew just how large this forest was."
There was some honesty to that. As Cederic lead me through the forest, it seemed to get larger and larger. Almost like the deeper we got, the more it grew.
"I want to show you something." Cederic said suddenly, grabbing my hand as we headed up toward an off route path. My body went rigid from the sudden touch. We were climbing a rougher terrain, and he was doing his best to guide me. When we reached the top of the hill and approached a slightly open area, that's when Cederic stopped.
He stepped to the side and looked back at me. "Move closer." He beckoned. I took some hesitant steps forward. "What do you see?" He asked, glancing back from to the open path ahead of us.
"A path." I replied honestly. I glanced back at him like he had lost it.
"Look closer." He instructed. My eyes narrowed in on the path. It was only for a second, but a shimmer of light reflected across something that looked like an invisible barrier. It blurred the image of a pathway, before disappearing. My body shot back as I looked between Cederic, and the path ahead.
"What was that?"
"That is a Magikal border separating this Realm from another." Cederic explained, as he approached the invisible wall.
"I don't understand." I hesitantly inched my body a little closer to his.
"This forest is far from ordinary. Within it are eight Realms that have been shielded and protected by Magik, and the forest itself. Many years ago, the sorcerers enchanted this forest to hold their worlds within it, but when the race of Men threatened their very being, Allister put another enchantment upon the forest to protect these realms. No ordinary man can enter these realms without their body being torn apart by the Magikal entities that flow through this protection spell." Cederic explained, as his hand raised to touch the wall, sending another shimmer of light across.
"So you mean to tell me there are other sorcerers out there?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around the tricks my eyes had to be playing on me.
"I mean to tell you there are other worlds out there." Cederic replied with a small smile tugging at his lips. My eyes grew large.
"Because you haven't yet mastered the art of bending, crossing through realms could have a negative effect on your body. I cannot allow you to pass through just yet, but when you can, I think you'll find the wonders of Riodhir even more spectacular."
••
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