AO 4 Ch 32 (Patreon)

Chapter 32

“I can’t believe he’s already acting as if he’s running the Enclave.” My grandfather was fuming when I stepped down to join the rest of my house.

“Keep calm and move forward.” My mother was the very definition of collected, sitting in her chair with her hands folded in her lap. “Let her challengers come forth.”

Carmilla jumped from her father’s throne and wings made of swords of light fanned out from her back and seemed to stretch over the entire sky.

“Show off.” I snorted. “Is anyone challenging her?” I asked my mother.

“She likely has several lined up to at least use to make an example.” She answered. “There’s only one mage in Avente’s history that took a seat unchallenged.”

“Really?! Who?” I glanced at my grandfather who shook his head.

“You’ve met him.” Aurelia said.

“Hmm?” I tilted my head and then my eyes slid over to the group of Virels and Uncle Silver. “Wait, the old librarian? He’s that terrifying?”

“Made a name for himself torching several very powerful mages who attacked House Virel. He also killed the Elder whose seat he took.” My grandfather explained. “He is not to be taken lightly.”

“So, since Carmilla killed Elder Brimsam, is she trying to imitate that situation?” I asked.

My statement made my mother and grandfather frown.

“No.” Gwen said as a challenger jumped down across the field.

I didn’t recognize the house, but the man walked with confidence towards Carmilla. “Chances he dies?” I asked.

“High.” My grandfather said. “He’s not even qualified to take the seat, much less participate.”

“You know him?” I asked.

The man marched across the field with fire forming in his hands and anger on his face.

“He demanded to be in Carmilla’s position of defending, but he’s not even capable of a grand spell.” My grandfather shook his head.

The mage down below made a large wolf of fire that charged out only for a second and third to come sprinting after the first.

Before long, a whole pack of fire wolves were shooting across the field towards Carmilla.

“That doesn’t seem weak.” I commented.

“It’s child’s play.” My mother commented. “She’s going to make an example of him.”

As if answering my mother, a shield of light sprang into being before a yawning Carmilla. The wolves smashed into the shield as if they were flies against a horse’s side.

The shield didn’t so much as budge as the wolves became nothing more than flickering flames.

Carmilla waved her hand and the shield cleared the field, smashing all of the remaining wolves the man had created before it disappeared and a wave of darkness bubbled from the side and came crashing down onto the man.

Fire shot up and tried to block the hit, but the darkness moved in strange ways, tearing through his flames.

Something struck me and I stared at that wave of darkness before glancing at Eva. “That has a bunch of things in it.”

“Hmm?” Eva leaned forward and squinted. “Holy shit.”

“What’s inside of it?” My grandfather asked.

“A bunch of souls? I don’t know what. But right now they are all tearing away at that mage.” I winced as a scream cut through the air. What ever was inside that darkness wasn’t in Carmilla’s control at least not entirely.

The wave of darkness rolled off to the side leaving behind what looked far more like butcher's scraps than a mage.

A few of House Aldis covered their mouths and looked away.

“She’s declaring that she’ll kill any challengers.” My mother stated simply, as if she were not one of the people planning on challenging.

And the next woman who jumped in didn’t seem to be bothered either.

“She’s got a grudge.” Emlyn said.

It was clear across the field that the woman stomped forward with a purpose. Storm clouds gathered above her and lightning jagged down into the field exploding a tree into splinters before another struck her. Yet that bolt did nothing but make her hair rise and static dance between it as she charged massive bolts of electricity in her hands.

“She is qualified.” My grandfather said and shook his head.

The lightning coming off her hands wound through the air and made a massive tree that coursed with lightning still alive and moving through the structure, yet maintaining its form.

I thought about the concentration to make lightning behave like that and had to respect the woman.

With the crackle of thunder filling the air, a limb of the tree swung down at Carmilla.

Carmilla made another shield of light, this one bigger and wings sprang from it. Instead of feathers, each wing was made of a dozen swords, each one bigger than the last as they fanned out.

This time her shield shuddered as it took the impact of the massive tree.

“Her spell was much faster than the tree.” I said.

“The shield was almost instant; the wings took a second.” Eva agreed. “Is that her grand spell?”

“She has two, one for each side of the Raven Sphere.” My grandfather said. That boiling darkness must be her second, though I think its power was largely due to the amalgamation of souls stuffed into it.

“That’s alright. Gwen had a dozen.” I was quick to try and encourage her.

“I have one, but one is all I need.” She didn’t turn from the fight.

The woman’s giant tree of lightning smashed into Carmilla’s shield again and again. The shield’s wings flared and glowed brightly as it pushed away from the princess and towards the other woman.

The tree grew roots that stabbed into the ground to try and hold itself from pushing back.

It was a contest of who had greater control of their magic and who could force the other off.

Or at least, that’s what I had thought.

The wings of the shield moved fast, flashing forward, the blades stretching apart and wrapping around the tree to pierce at the mage.

Another figure flashed onto the field.

A man with a stone shield stood in front of the mage, the swords of light piercing right through his shield and into him.

He had pushed the woman back onto her butt, successfully saving her.

Though, he now had two swords piercing through him.

“Mage Tannenbaum! Your anchor has stepped on the field. Please remove yourself!” Elder Virel’s voice boomed across the Enclave.

Carmilla sneered and the two swords that pierced the anchor flashed a blinding brilliance before he screamed and was turned to ash by the intense light.

The mage was stunned for a moment and her spell faltered.

Carmilla’s shield and bladed wings moved in a flash to overtake the mage who had just likely lost a man she loved.

Two whirlpools of fire appeared, one on each wing, stopping Carmilla’s spell cold.

“She has lost and not made another aggressive action. Striking her down here would be poor sportsmanship.” Uncle Silver was in the middle of the field, his voice carrying calmly over the Enclave. He bent down and said something to the mage as she thrashed.

A piece of earth came up and knocked her out before carrying her up into the air.

“I’ll be removing her.” He stated and walked calmly through the air with little pieces of fire under his feet as he went to deliver her to her house.

“She’ll be an ally against the Royal Family in the future.” My grandfather said and nodded at Uncle Silver’s actions.

“He’s strong.” Eva glanced at me.

I had spoken about the old man threatening me, but I couldn’t let it get to me and shrugged. “I could do that if I really wanted.”

“Don’t think about going down there.” My mother snapped and her chair rolled forward. “I’ve seen enough.”

***

Gwen rolled off the edge of the roof as ice blocks built into the gaps in her chair held her aloft. Mages had a penchant for theatrics and hiding how they flew.

She was no exception.

The crowds on top of the Enclave roof all gazed at her.

She could feel the heat from the Virels, the concern from her father and the martial pride from the Trevis house at her back.

There were other houses in the faction that strove to keep The Enclave separate, but they were the three major houses leading the charge.

Elder Brimsam’s house stared at her with a fervor that could only be quenched with blood. Everyone knew that something was wrong with the elder’s death, but with the elder of their small house dead, there was nothing they could do but put their hopes on her.

“To send a cripple!” The king boomed from above. “Is this a joke?!”

Gwen sighed. Her own expertise in life magic had failed to restore her legs. It wasn’t that she couldn’t stand, but it was excruciatingly painful.

Rod Thorne had spent some time helping her the other night. It was unfortunate that Claire spoiled the Thorne family slightly for Ard. Otherwise Gwen would be more open with him about her plans.

For now, she and Rod would sneak around and he’d help her in multiple ways.

“Watch this cripple defeat your daughter.” Gwen said calmly, knowing that within the center of the enclave that her voice would carry well to those on the roof.

“Father, do not interfere if she wishes to throw her life away.” Carmilla stood in front of the clock tower, water pouring down behind her and into the river.

The two of them had old grudges.

Despite the magic being thrown around,  the clock tower and the stone of the Enclave was completely untouched.

Whatever it was made from hadn’t been scratched in all the years these trials had been held.

“Enough.” Gwen held her hand out and a pristine rose of ice formed instantly. She had her grand spell, but rather than focus on doing it instantly, she wanted to make sure it was perfect. “Prepare yourself. This is for Harry.” She narrowed her eyes at Carmilla as the flower was stripped of its petals and they danced off into the wind as the core of the flower became dust.

It spread all over the ground, the Enclave walls and even into the river.

Everywhere the ice dust touched, more flowers sprang forth, growing into massive bushes of frozen roses, their thorns hidden beneath crystal leaves and beautiful twisting blooms.

Before two beats passed, the whole of the central space of the Enclave was covered like a jungle of frozen roses.

Carmilla blasted light in every direction from herself, melting those still forming near her and creating space in front of the tower.

Yet, Gwen could see the seriousness in which she took her spell.

It was massive, yet each and every detail was precise.

Since waking, Gwen had more control of her magic than ever before. Perhaps she had the goddess pretending to be her anchor to thank for it, yet Gwen hated attributing anything to that woman.

Something about the goddess drove her crazy, yet not nearly as much as seeing Harry’s murderer in front of her. No one had ever confirmed it, and Carmilla had a rock solid alibi, but a woman just knew who killed her lover.

Carmilla’s eyes glowed as several shields of light rotated around her, radiating a heat that kept the plants of ice from encroaching further. “Is that it?!” She shrieked and made an absolutely massive sword of light.

It wasn’t a grand spell, just one of considerable power as it shot down at Gwen.

She sat calmly in her chair. This wasn’t just a competition, but a performance that would cement her house once again as a power to be feared.

Rose bushes jumped up, forming a fist of tangled vines and caught the blade of light.

“My spell is far more flexible than that.” Gwen ignored the blade and focused on Carmilla as the hand made of icy tangles shattered the blade of light above her making the whole scene glitter. “I hope you are ready, because I haven’t begun yet.”

The giant hand made a fist before it came hurling towards Carmilla.

Gwen could almost imagine it crushing the woman and ending the fight. She didn’t hold back one bit.

The hand stopped as Carmilla’s grand spell appeared. The massive floating shield with wings of swords stopped Gwen’s spell.

Carmilla wasn’t standing calmly anymore; she had her hands thrust forward to block the spell.

Gwen was poised in her chair, yet every fiber of her being was focused on the hand and all of the many details and facets. Keeping all of those in her mind at once made the hand as hard as a gemstone.

She kept it solid as the bladed wings came out and slashed at the arm.

They chipped off blooms and vines that dangled away from the main body but the central structure of the arm held.

Gwen increased the pressure on the shield of light, its form caving inward slightly from the pressure.

Carmilla was struggling, but she flashed a smile at Gwen through the chaos.

Darkness swallowed the base of the arm and ate away at Gwen’s spell from two sides.

The shield’s wings continued to slash at the forearm where the darkness moved and bubbled into the gaps of the base, chipping away at its connection to the massive garden that Gwen controlled.

“You’ve lost yet again.” Carmilla laughed.

“I don’t believe there was a loss on the record.” Gwen flashed a chilling smile. “Unless there’s something you have yet to tell me.”

“I didn’t kill Harry.” Carmilla tried to bring up something to rattle her. “We fought, I burned him badly, but he escaped.”

Gwen’s eyes narrowed. That matched Ard’s description, but it was also possible Carmilla was matching Ard’s description. He hadn’t been subtle in retelling his life story.

Gwen’s spell creaked as ice cracked and she realized that she’d let her focus slip.

With an effort of will, she regained control of her spell, but it was looking ragged from the two attacks and her lapse.

Carmilla had just been using her words as another weapon during this exchange.

It didn’t matter, Gwen would win.

With a snap of her fingers, the whole arm shattered into millions and millions of icy petals as the giant garden covering the enclave all released their own petals.

A massive storm of ice swirled and came up from the central plaza with Gwen in the center. It wasn’t a grand spell, more of an Ard like thrust of magic without too much finesse, but sometimes that was exactly what you needed.

It was time to end the fight.

The whole time she’d been dumping all of the ice magic she’d stored in her soul over the last few days into that garden of ice. Hecate prevented her from being corrupted, giving her an advantage.

She could prime herself with as much magic as she could hold.

Now several hours worth of ice magic swirled around her and then convened on Carmilla.

Carmilla could block an arm; it was something physical.

Yet this was simply freezing the very environment to the point that even a fire anchor would find their heart stopped and frozen cold.

Carmilla’s darkness spell faded into the ground while her shield landed before Gwen and the wings wrapped around Carmilla to protect herself. The whole thing glowed brightly enough for the people outside to see the giant beacon of light.

Carmilla was trying to outlast Gwen.

Normally this would only be sustainable for a short period, but Gwen had plenty of magic saved up in her soul and more magic constantly trying to refill it.

Gwen smiled across the field, knowing that Carmilla could see her.

Outside, the viewers could see nothing but a blinding light amidst a thick snow storm.

Between them the air was clear as Carmilla tried to melt the ice surrounding her.

Gwen could feel the temperature continue to drop and had to tap her life magic to prevent her from freezing herself by staying in the eye of the storm with Carmilla. Her chair had icicles quickly forming and she had to expend some focus on keeping the cold away from herself.

Carmilla smiled like a vicious animal from inside her own spell. But one of the swords froze and broke, her spell wavering before she managed to stabilize it. “Truly, I didn’t kill Harry. Only wounded him before he used shadows to teleport. Trust me, when you were looking for him, I joined in earnest because I wanted to find him to finish the job!”

Any mask of civility was gone as the two of them were along amid the massive frost spell.

“Teleportation.” Gwen sighed. “That’s why Ard was in the south when we all expected Harry in the North.”

“He must have tried to go to Zenovia. Yet, they clearly never received him or they would have come and taken the boy. After all, he’s the big prize that everyone wanted.” Carmilla’s smile continued to grow wider. “A four sphere mage is a prize that anyone would want. An untrained one? Too good to pass up. When you’re gone I’m going to take him under my wing and I’m going to break his mind. He’ll become a puppet for me, breeding a host of four spheres. When there’s one I want, I’ll have Ard trained in enough soul magic to move my soul into the new body. Then I’ll become an immortal four sphere.” Carmilla cackled with glee.

“What’s The Enclave for you then?” Gwen could feel the strain of maintaining the spell, but two more of Carmilla’s swords broke. Gwen knew that if she could keep the freezing temperatures, she’d win.

“Control. With the power of The Enclave the throne might as well be an eventuality or even something I don’t have to take because I already have control over whoever sits. Those that show any skill can be brought to me and turned into vessels for power. Soul magic is incredible and powerful.” Carmilla laughed and threw her hands to the side trying to press back the cold as another blade shattered. “That anchor that sits next to Ard? She was one of my first test subjects.”

“Clearly flawed.” Gwen snorted, having seen Maribelle’s devotion to Ard.

“It’ll just take another trip back to her ‘parents’.” Carmilla’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “I thought I embedded those commands better. No matter, with your death this kingdom will be in the palm of my hand.” Carmilla stared across the space between them with a new intensity.

Gwen felt an itch in her mind before that itch became sharper and sharper. Soon it was like someone was slowly stabbing a needle into her mind.

She had her defenses and split her focus between the massive spell and holding the idea of her soul protections in her mind.

“You’ve received some training.” Carmilla’s face flashed with surprise. “No matter, I will pierce your mind in short order. It’s only a pitiful defense. Harry had been so close to finding those hidden books in the palace. If only he hadn’t been so obvious, I wouldn’t have gotten to them before him!”

The pain intensified with Carmilla’s words and Gwen’s vision swam as her spell faltered.

AN - Such a good cliffie for the chappie.