Draconic Testament (15 page)

“I believe so.” Varnis said, smiling “But I'm puzzled as to why you’re so powerful. If a human was to be stronger in magic to everyone else, why are YOU stronger than most of the magi here?”
”I… Don’t believe I am…” Bastion said, scratching his head. “I don’t even know how to use magic properly, I’ve tried after fighting the… muggers.”
”Veronica said they were rapists.” Varnis said, raising an eyebrow suspiciously.
”It’s called a euphemism.” Veronica said “He shares the same blood as the humans, of course he’ll veil their true intentions.” If Veronica wasn’t making up the story, Bastion would most certainly object to the statement. Varnis ponders the situation he’s in. “How much do you know about us, and our origins?” Varnis asked.
“Veronica told me a lot, about the Cazrians and such.” Bastion said “You were taken to be used in a Civil War, then when you won you were dumped back in earth with no explanation”
”And you know about the Blue Magi?” Varnis asked
”Yes.” Bastion said
”Well… I think you could be very useful in our struggle. There has been minor skirmishes as of late, including that in the cities around where you are. Forgive me for my caution, but for all I knew, you could have been involved in that whole affair. The killings and whatnot.” Varnis said, stretching. “Well, I suppose we’ll get started then, though… one last test.”
”Sure. What is it?” Bastion said, a little excited to get starting on training magic.
”A one on one fight.” Varnis said, pointing toward the door where Bastion had sensed the Magi practicing spells.
”Uhm…” Bastion began.
”You fight off of instinct, so you should be fine… although that’s something we’ll break later on. But I must know if you have any dangerous bloodlines within you. I’ve never seen a Domini or a Cazrian, but they’re the only two other races that can use magic… at least, since 2000 years ago.” Varnis said “It’s the behaviour we’ll be looking at. If you’re a Cazrian, we’ll assume you’ve been sent by Sanctum, and kick you out. However, if you’re a Domini…” Varnis pauses “We’ll have to cage you here.”
”You’ll hold me prisoner?” Bastion asked, bothered by his statement
”Please understand, it’s within a Domini’s mindset to come running whenever violence has erupted… we simply can’t let you run around and hurt people…” Varnis says, and with a simple gesture, the Altar rises back up to the Chapel, blocking off any possible escape route for Bastion.
”Wait… If he was like that, I highly doubt he would have come to my rescue…” Veronica said, to which Varnis shrugged “Could be a Cazrian. And he did kill your attackers, so…”
”’Tis not fair.” Veronica said.
”‘Tis my call.” Varnis said, with authority, though Veronica didn’t seem to want to back down.
”It’s alright.” Bastion said, hand on Veronicas shoulder. Veronica moved from Bastion grasp, nodding her head. In truth, Bastion was a little disturbed by the situation. He didn’t know much about the Domini, but could they have been his parents? Or at least, does he share their bloodline? If he did, he didn’t see how he could possible get out of this. He began to regret his decision to come here.
Varnis opened a large door, where Magi were practicing spells. They were levitating rocks, shooting fireballs at other Magi’s shields, healing those who got injured during training… Though, in the middle, there was a stone platform. It was a sort of arena, though it wasn’t meant for spectators. Varnis stepped up on the platform, drawing a few looks from the wounded and those practicing by themselves, though the ones throwing and protecting with shields seemed to not dare let curiosity distract them from their work. “Alright, here’s the rules.” Varnis said “You can use magic and melee, you can’t use any foul blows or serious ailment effects, such as poisons… To win, you must knock me out of the ring, or make me submit. I only want to see what you can do, and see if your behaviour matches what we were talking about before.”
”Alright.” Bastion said, stretching his arms. He could feel his magic start to become active, as it knew that fireballs would soon be erupting around his facial region. “Set up the defences.” Varnis said. Magi that were formerly training halted their performances, and five of them surrounded the arena, setting up shields. “When you link shields together, they become stronger.” Varnis said. “This is used in Magi fighting tactics all the time. This should protect everybody on the outside from any stray attacks.”
”When you’re ready, cometh at me.” Varnis said, taking an arrogant, casual stance. Bastion recalls his boxing training, and decides he’ll try and impress everybody by knocking Varnis out. Besides, Varnis didn’t have a deadly Arcana like the Pureblood did, so he won’t go worrying about having his head sliced clean off. Then images of the Pureblood’s death at Veronica’s hands rushed into his head. That was the first time he watched somebody die, though it happened instantly. Plus, Veronica using his Arcana against him, while he had no problem with it, is supposed to be a great offence… and she knows it, otherwise, why would she lie? Bastion didn’t think Veronica was a bad person, but he did think there was a lot to her that nobody knows… the fact that she’s acts like she’s an outcast, while she is obviously liked by the elder of the settlement? Such behaviour leads Bastion to believe that she likely has had a bad past. Suddenly, a explosion of air erupts to the left side of his head, bringing him back into reality. Varnis had his arm outstretches, and was pointing toward Bastion. “Focus, Sebastian. Don’t paddle away from reality, now.” Varnis said, smiling slightly. He was right, this was a fight, there was no time to think about irrelevant subjects. He raises his fists. The magic was ready now, and he felt as if it was fighting to overtake his body into action. He punches the air in front of him, in the direction of Varnis, and it was almost as if the air in front of him began to explode, piece by piece, speeding towards Varnis. There was probably maddening amounts of science going on in the air, but Bastion began to lose interest in science upon his discovery of his abilities. It didn’t look all that dangerous, but from Varnis’ expression and the fact that he dodged, he realized it was. Varnis lifted a boulder from behind him, and threw it at Bastion, though it wasn’t going very fast. However, it alarmed Bastion, therefore alarming his magic, and when it got close he reinforced his hand and punched the rock with all his might. However, the boulder didn’t erupt like he figured it would. He dented it, and the boulder, flew away from him, off to his right. The impact that wounded his hand, though it was minor. “Careful.” Varnis said. “You must look at attacks in a different perspective. You can see with your eyes, but you can also feel with your soul at the same time.” Bastion realised what he meant. If it was a normal boulder, he would have smashed it with magic, he knew that. Varnis had subtlety reinforced the boulder with magic. He’d need to be careful of that in the future. Bastion brought up a shield as Varnis conjured fire within his palm, and threw it. The fireball hit the shield, then another, then another. When they stopped, there was smoke in front of the shield, and Bastion put it down. Then, he saw a light through the smoke and realized what it was. Another fireball.
Bastion leaped into prone, dodging the fireball, then scrambled to his feet. Varnis was closer now, and Bastion races towards him, reinforced his hand and unleashing a thunderous blow to his jaw, trying to knock him out like he had done to a boy at school. Varnis had hardened his blood and skin behind his jaw, and the blow knocked him aback little, but he smiled mockingly as no damage had been done. Varnis then punched Bastion with a blow of his own, winding him, but his magic had made sure to harden the skin on his stomach, reducing the overall damage. The blow knocked him backwards, and he landed on his back. He peeked through his closed eyes and saw Varnis getting ready for another fireball, and in retaliation, Bastion shot an airball at Varnis, who blocked with his other hand. Bastion shot two airballs, with both hands, one at Varnis’ face, and one at his hand with the fireball it. Airballs did nothing but knock back an opponent, but it’s useful for when you’re vulnerable and being approached by an attacker.  Varnis blocked the first airball, and moved his hand out of the way of the second, though the fire was blown out by the wind. Bastion rolls backwards, onto his feet, and Varnis runs at Bastion and kicks him, covering his foot with fire. Bastion dodges the kick, the streak of furious flame from the fire licking his face, then evaporating as it is lost after the failed connections. Bastion’s melee fighting skills are put into good use, as he blocks and connects with blows of his own. After two hits, Varnis’ face was void of sweat, but the damage was being nullified by hardened skin. Bastion had to increase the power in his fists if he was to win. The fight had brought the attention of Magi around the training arena, and was also being spectating by Veronica, who was slightly worried. As she watches the fight, she often wondered if she had Bastion wrong. Was he actually the son of a Cazrian, or a Domini? Why did she not consider that first? If she has this wrong, then Bastion is in trouble because of her. Then she almost gasps at what happened in the ring. Through the consecutive blows to Varnis’ face, Varnis realizes that if it keeps up, Bastion will knock him out. He almost chuckles that Bastion had actually surpassed even a single fighting technique past an elder. Varnis backed off, engulfed his foot with flame again, and then this time levitated water from a barrel and threw it at Bastion. Bastion simply shielded his eyes from the water, and planned to leap at Varnis right after the connection and knock him out, but the water was hot as hell. It burned him, and Bastion yelled in pain, and as he did that, Varnis firekicked him in his chest, small sparks of flame flying up onto Bastion’s face and down his shirt, sizzling on his skin and making him clench his teeth with irritation and pain. His confidence had blinded him as much as the water had, failing to catch the subtle enhancements of the projectiles. There was simply too much depth to magic that had been unexplored for Bastion to beat Varnis in this duel. The blow knocked Bastion all the way back, close to the edge of the platform.
His magic numbed the damage he had taken, from the hot water and fire, as well as the kick to the chest, though he still felt exhausted from it. The Magi clapped, which was not what humans would have done, to Bastion’s notice. Humans would have cheered, but the Magi applauded. Culture difference, perhaps? Did they see magic as a serious subject? Whatever the case, Bastion sat up, realizing that he was on the edge of the platform. He could simply roll off, and this fight would be over, as he knew he couldn’t win it… though winning wasn’t the point of this fight. The pain he felt from the damage he had sustained begged him to just end this fight, but he knew that it was actually his Magic trying to protect itself. He sums up the damage done to him, and the damage done to Varnis, and he sees a huge gap. The fight should be over, but Varnis isn’t calling for the bell to be rung. He was still active. “Your movements are predictable.” He hears Varnis say. Then, he paused. It didn’t sound like Varnis. The Accent was nothing like Varnis’, or any of the Magi that he’d met. He looks around the ring for the person who said it, but most of the viewers are talking with one another. The room was simply too noisy for one of them to have said it… and the voice was close by, very close by, and Varnis wasn’t that close. The voice also had a slight echo, and he could hear a familiar sound of waves. “You attack using tactics that many have seen before, through wars and meaningless contests throughout the universe.” The voice continued to say, as Bastion looks around for the man “The gap between your experience and skill is vast, like that of a tremor against an earthquake. One must not fight fair with odds like this, no matter how honourable one feels. It is a weakness, and it will be the death of you.”
”You mean, I have to cheat?” Bastion asks, hoping the voice could hear him. No answer, but he could still hear the slight sound of waves “But… That’s a dick move… I'm practically still a guest here, how would I look in front of everyone?”
”Why would one possibly care? The views between you and the Magi are completely different. Where one human sees a deer, another sees food. Put aside petty delusions of honour, and rise to your feet.” The voice commands him. Even though he had never heard this voice in his life, he felt as if he should trust him. The accent and the sounds of waves were just far too familiar for him to just ignore it. “Look at you foe, Sebastian.” The voice says. Bastion looked at Varnis. Varnis was puzzled, and he was silent. He wasn’t ending the fight. “He is wary of you. You’re special. You’re something he has never seen before in his lengthy lifetime. You should be afraid. You may never leave here... unless you heed my words.”
”What do I do?” Bastion asked, getting to his feet, scanning the crowd for Veronica, who stands there looking on. He couldn’t tell what she felt while watching, since she looked on with an expressionless face. “One must think for oneself…” The voice said, as his voice began to fade into a whisper, as the waves dwindled away with it. “Scan your surroundings.” The voice said. Bastion looked around.
“You can still fight, boy!” Varnis said, chuckling. It was obvious he was forcing it. “Come, it’s not over yet.”
“Damnit, I don’t know what to do! Help me!” Bastion hissed at the voice, trying not to look crazy.
“Pathetic.” The voice said. “Look up…”
Bastion looked up at the ceiling, where he saw immediately what the voice was talking about. Near the glowing lights, he saw a weak point in the ceiling right above the arena. Most of the rocks above him were perfect, fused together, and wouldn’t ever give out. But there was a flaw among the rocks. If he closed his eyes, he could see that there were a batch of rocks that had a weak fusion between them, and damage to those rocks would cause some of them to give way and fall onto the arena. Around him, a magic barrier was placed, blocking all magic that hit it, but there was no ceiling to this Barrier. Spells must have been shot upwards, and damaged the rocks over the years. It’s likely Varnis would block the damage, and nobody would get hurt, but among the confusion he could win the battle while making it look like an accident. Such tactics made him sick actually thinking about it, though he took part of what the voice said into check. He had to stop being predictable, do something that is unpredictable and that Varnis would not see coming. The answer was among what he was looking at on the ceiling. “You want me to attack the rocks, huh?” Bastion asked the voice. The voice said nothing, but the waves were still there, so it obviously heard. “Alright.” Bastion said, stretching.