Tournament Approaches

A little less than a week had gone by. Lionel had yet to master anymore spells. Even using the Electric Wall spell took almost all of the boy's focus. He was concerned he wouldn't be able to use the spell in actual combat. On top of that Lionel had yet to approach the next phase of his training. Drindle had made a list of the top four important topics to cover before the Tournament. Elemental Magic, Minor Spells, Imbuing and Advanced spells. Lionel had only mastered the Elemental Magic so far. He could use every element and all of them at the same time. Although using three or four of the elements took much less effort than using all 5 at once. Lionel's problem stemmed from combining the elements to work together and feed off one another. The boy needed to have a laser focused mind in order to perform the Electric Wall. It had grown markedly easier to use the spell over the course of the week, but the spell still required a lot of his attention. The Tournament now was only a week and a few days away.

'Well at least I can walk while using the spell now.' The boy was hunched over with his hands on his knees. He had been able to use the electric wall for more than 15 minutes straight and, was even able to walk around.

"Come on! Drink a potion and cast it again." The old geezer hovered in the air. He had left Lionel with a handful of potions to help with the energy the boy was expending. "Focus on the combination of the Elements, you are still wasting too much energy" Drindle hadn't given up on teaching Lionel another spell, but changed his focus to instead critique Lionel's use of the Electric wall. The old man knew that Lionel only needed more practice and understanding how the Elements combined, then he would be able to cast other spells easier. Drindle still hoped to teach Lionel one or two more spells before the competition began.

The boy quickly pulled the stopper on the glass vial and downed it's contents. Warmth blossomed is his stomach. He closed his eyes and focused on the spell. The environment began to change as the boy let his energy flow.

*

A figure stood in the tower at the center of the practice field. A shadow obscured the person's face. "Hmm.. He is much stronger than he should be at his age." The voice was that of a man's. "I suppose the other officials will just have to wait and find out for themselves." He watched silently as Lionel summoned a huge wall of stone with a membrane of electricity running along its surface. "Still hasn't mastered Elemental Combination." The man muttered to himself. "I would say he is a 4th class apprentice mage.. almost at the 3rd class." His focus was fully on the boy. A second presence appeared.

A light woman's voice spoke from behind the unidentified man. "Do you think we can recruit this boy?"

The man's attention slipped from Lionel's shifting wall and to the old man flying more than 500 yards away. "I'm not sure what we could offer him that the ancient one couldn't provide." The man seemed to shrug before continuing. "Either way, Galorian wants nothing to do with the apprentice of that man's" It was clear he was referring to Drindle.

"Still" the woman spoke. "It's a shame to let such a talent out of our grasp." The woman shifted slightly. "Come, I have received word that our Eastern Empire spies have returned from their mission. Galorian has called for all of us to be present for the debriefing."

Both figure's tore their attention away from the spectacle of Lionel's magic. They both turned and the fabric of space rippled as they faded into emptiness.

*

The geezer glanced towards the tower before speaking to himself. "Finally gone are they." It seemed the visitors presence didn't make it past him. He rose his voice while speaking down to Lionel. "Enough. We'll have lunch, then you will spar with me."

Lionel released his magic. He felt excited to see how he stacked up with Drindle. The past few weeks may not have been all that fruitful with Magic, but his Bowmanship, swordsmanship and all around weapons performance skyrocketed. He smiled to himself remembering his last sparring match with Baltaz.

He fought with a sword and shield and was able to block more than ninety percent of her blows. The fiend seemed to become enraged the more Lionel blocked. She grew so desperate to knock Lionel down that she even began incorporating punches and kicks. The boy blocked the majority of them. Baltaz rained blows down constantly. Her sword was just as fast it had been the first time she faced off with Lionel. His speed had picked up and he was able to see her movements and tell where she would attack next. The attacks that made it through his defences had lost most of their power and barely hurt him, let alone knock him down. He still remembered the feeling of swinging his sword in an overhead cross cut and catching Baltaz on the shoulder. She had flown back more than ten yards before rolling to her feet and immediately charging the boy again. The old man's voice suddenly broke Lionel out of his musings.

"You done fantasizing?" Drindle had landed beside Lionel and wore a stupid grin on his face.

Lionel could feel his face slightly flush red, and spoke while trying to put on a confident smile. "I'm not fantasizing, I was just thinking of how I'm going to beat you old man"

"Ha!!" Drindle's stupid grin broke out into a large smile. "I'll let you off easy, if you can even touch me, you will win" The old man raised one bushy eyebrow while a sly grin touched his lips. "Come on let's eat, then I'll knock some sense into ya."

*

*

*

The Duo stood facing one another. Lionel held his shield in his left hand and in his right he held a sword. Drindle held only his wooden staff in his right hand.

"Ready when you are Ank, just say go" The old man had his left eyebrow arched.

Lionel felt like the geezer was just toying with him. He scanned the old man, trying to identify the best way to attack. He thought for a few minutes before finally mumbling. "Only one way to find out"

"Huh? What was that? are you ready yet?" The geezer had a large smile plastered on his face.

"I'm ready.. Go!" Lionel Yelled.

He dashed forward. Drindle didn't move he stood still waiting on the fast approaching target. Lionel swung his sword. It was on course for Drindle's shoulder. 'It will Hit!' Lionel thought as his sword flew quickly towards the man.

Instead of smashing into the old man, the sword seemed to pass right through his body. Lionel felt no resistance. it seemed as if the old man was non-existent. All of the force and momentum Lionel had placed into the blade carried him forward and made him stumble. He quickly tried to regain his posture before a weighty force hit him from behind. Lionel sprawled in the dirt and wound up laying on his back looking up in the air. Drindle hung about ten meters in the air with a huge smile.

Lionel did a double take. There were two Drindle's. One in the air that was smiling and the other on the ground that he just attached. He looked back and forth between the two men. He examined the Drindle standing on the ground, there was a subtle difference that made that copy of the old man appear to be fake. the Geezer in the air began to speak.

"It's a spell for creating an immaterial clone.. Heh heh ha!" the old man was getting a kick out of Lionel's incredulous expression.

"Hey you cheated!" Lionel stood quickly and pointed his sword at the floating man.

"No one ever said NOT to use spells with your weapons training" Drindle had a cold twinkle in his eyes. "You need to understand that both Magic and weapons serve a purpose. If you are dead neither will do you any good." The false Drindle faded into nothing as the talking original landed on the ground. "You have to use elemental magic, weapons, and spells in conjunction with each other or there is no point." The old man walked towards Lionel while continuing to speak. "This is basic stuff. The tournament is coming up quickly. Going forwards you will train with me on magic and combat at the same time." The old man had a serious expression on his face as he spoke again. "You will start studying new spell scrolls at night while we are at the inn. During the day you and I will spar and I expect you to use magic." The old man got into a ready stance while he motioned for Lionel to do the same.

*

*

*

More than a week flew by in what felt like an instant. Lionel barely kept up. He was constantly pulled in different directions. His mind never seemed to have a break and his body ached all over. The few fleeting moments of peace were when Lionel laid his head on his pillow at night. He was so exhausted that his mind wouldn't wander, instead he would fall right to sleep. If it hadn't been for the constant potions the old man fed him, Lionel wouldn't have been able to keep up.

A cold splash of water woke the sleeping boy. "UGGHHH!!" Lionel sat upright swinging wildly. This wasn't the first time Drindle had woken the boy with some cruel measure. To Lionel it seemed that the old man enjoyed the cruelty. "Why do you always have to wake me up in some mean manner?" Lionel asked exhaustedly while wiping dripping water from his face.

"I've told you" came the reply of a smiling old codger. "A. it's funny and B. you should never get so comfortable that your enemies catch you unaware." The old man's smiling face changed to a more serious one. "Just be thankful my teacher is no longer around, he would throw knives at me to wake me up. Ole bastard really got a kick out of it."

This was the first time that Drindle had mentioned his teacher and Lionel found it rather odd. "Why would he throws knives at you? He could have killed you!"

"Nope, he aimed for any extremity. He knew his way around the human body" Drindle had a thoughtful, pensive expression. "Plus he would always heal me up after."

"Who was your master?" Lionel asked timidly, this was one of the first times the geezer had ever openly spoke about himself.

Drindle raised an eyebrow at Lionel before shooting down his question. "Maybe another time, besides the Tournament is tomorrow and there is alot to cover."

Lionel became anxious again. A pit seemed to form in his stomach. He couldn't sort out all of his emotions. He was excited, nervous, and looking forward to testing himself. He wanted to know how he stacked up to others. Drindle seemed to be stronger than all the mages Lionel had seen so far. In comparison to Drindle the boy felt like nothing more than an ant. Throughout the last week or so Lionel hadn't once been able to touch the old man. That was one of the main causes of his nervousness. "Drindle?" The boy spoke while looking out the window between their two beds. They had continued to stay in the same inn.

"What is it, Ank?" the old man had a weird expression on his face. "And don't go confessing your love or anything. I don't swing that way"

"What.." The boy jerked his head to look at Drindle. "No.." Lionel could see a grin break out on the old man's face as Lionel reacted to the unexpected comment. It always seemed anytime Lionel would get serious the old man would suddenly say something to throw him off balance. 'I wonder why he does that' The boy thought to himself before speaking again. "How strong am I against people my age?"

"Well people your age usually aren't able to use magic to the degree that you can. I think what you are looking for is 'How will you do in the tournament?' Am I right?" Drindle's face appeared to be calm and understanding.

"Yes, Exactly" Lionel didn't quite know how to word his question but the old man hit the nail right on the head.

"Well, Tomorrow you will find out." The old man still had a calm demeanor as he spoke again. "I have a feeling Galorian won't want you to win. So just be on the lookout for anything suspicious." Drindle nodded his head before standing up. "Now let's get to it. Did you finish those scrolls last night?" Lionel nodded a response of yes before Drindle continued. "Good, so you should have a good foundation of understanding for many spells now." The old man turned to walk out of the room before looking over his shoulder at the boy. "Also don't forget the interference technique. We will go over that again today." A broad smile spread on Drindle's face as he continued to list off things to go over.

'It's going to be a long day' Lionel thought to himself as he followed Drindle out the door.