rav's final test

"This will be my final test!" 

I look to Rav. He's standing proudly next to an obviously damaged training dummy - Decoy practiced with it well. "All you have to do is destroy this dummy, and you shall become an official 'Magician-in-Residence' to the great and mighty Sage of the Clouds!"

"Is that another made-up title like Sage-in-Training?"

"Hey!" Decoy shouts. "That's not a made-up title! I really am a Sage-in-Training!"

Rav looks at me with a devilish smirk. "We're going to the northern country, aren't we? If you can't even blast a training dummy, I might opt to leave you here and take Decoy instead."

"Oooh, I want to go!" Decoy hops up and down. "Please, please?"

I clench my fist and let a ball of orange light begin to form in my hand. "I don't see how this is a test. I've done this a hundred times, Rav."

I point my hand at the training dummy and release my magic. A burst of flaming light surrounds the training dummy and...wait...

The training dummy is completely unscathed, surrounded by a fast-dissipating stream of clouds. I look over to Rav, confused - though it sets in quickly.

"I see," looking from the dummy to Rav. "I need to destroy it while you're protecting it. Is that right?"

"And also while Decoy is attacking you. Might want to duck!"

Decoy's boomerang goes whizzing over my head, crackling with magic. I dart backward so I can get both of them in my sights, just as the boomerang returns to Decoy's hand. Rav spreads both of his arms as a plume of billowing fog rises from the earth. 

First, I've got to distract Rav. I can deal with the boomerang. I raise my arms into the sky and push a torrent of my magic into the air. The empty space around me erupts with noise as my magic crackles and pops like fireworks around us. As I do this, I extend my body and focus magic into the ground. A triangular glyph appears beneath me, each point of the triangle glowing with unstable light. From the three points I raise a burning missile, and I shoot each one at the training dummy. Every missile is a homing device, tracing a different path through the air toward the dummy. It's not my strongest attack, but for hitting precise targets, this is the best I can do.

Rav instantly deflects one of the missiles with his fans - not that I'm surprised. It's Rav, after all. He throws the fan through the air, striking a second missile and suppressing its magic. And for the third missile, he cups his free hand and blows slightly in its direction, blowing it way off course. It blasts into a nearby boulder, sending shards of rock flying into the air.

And in comes the boomerang. I swing my sword, knocking the boomerang out of the air and letting it skid harmlessly off to my side. As I do, I force all my magical energy into my blade and swing. A variant of the Ignition Blade, this technique lets me shoot a beam of explosive light from my sword. Not something I can use in battle often, due to the amount of energy it takes - but for a situation like this, where a quick and definitive outcome is desired, it's perfect.

Rav throws a kick into the air, a sonic blast ripping through me and my magical technique. I watch the beam from my sword be completely swallowed by the fluffy clouds, and they blanket the entire ground. My entire vision. Before I know it, all I can see are the clouds themselves.

"This is the power you'll be up against if you face another Magician, August."

I turn my head. I can hear Rav's voice, but I can't tell from where. I can't see my feet, or the sky. Just swirling clouds as far as the eye can see - in every direction. Is this some kind of illusion that Rav created?

"This is what it means to have mastery."

From behind me, I feel a presence. I turn around and see Rav, holding his fan aggressively. He sweeps his leg, and the wave of cloud overcomes me, knocking me off balance, blasting my senses.

He appears again, to my left. I see him earlier this time, so I'm able to defend, bracing myself against the push. But he doesn't let up. He gets closer, swinging a kick at my head. I duck and turn my blade flat, swatting it at him.

"Oh, now you're insulting me," Rav laughs, vanishing back into the clouds. "You can use your magic on me. You think you could hurt the great Sage of the Clouds with a little fireworks?"

No, he's wrong. Even for someone like Rav, the intensity of my magic isn't something any normal living being can handle. Mine is the power of Explosion Magic. It's, you know...explosive.

Rav appears behind me again, too fast for me to do anything. A kick to the back, and a punch to the shoulder. I turn away from the blow, leaning in with my right side. It's exactly what he wants. I'm moving in a way that's disadvantageous for me. My sword arm is completely exposed, and he smacks my hand with the full force of his hand, forcing me to drop my sword. It tumbles into the clouds, and I have no idea where it went.

Rav twirls into the clouds and in an instant appears on the other side of me. "I am now going to blast you with some of my strongest spells." Rav raises his fan into the air, and the clouds begin to grow heavy and darken. Before I know it, I'm standing in the center of a rainstorm. 

"You had better defend yourself, or you'll never learn how to fight another Magician."

A bolt of lightning strikes the ground in front of me, so bright and so loud that I am completely disoriented. As I stumble back, a cloud forms underneath me and launches me into the air. It's soft, but not like his usual clouds. This one moves quickly - filled with menace and malice, and after it knocks me twenty feet into the air it dissipates and I come plummeting down.

I point at the ground and launch a wave of explosive magic into the earth. The power of the blast slows my fall but doesn't fully break the landing. I land on my knee and get back to my feet quickly, but Rav already had his next attack planned out. I take a hit from the front, and one from the back - although it's not Rav hitting me this time. His clouds alone have surrounded me, taking turns ramming into me. I lose my footing - the ground is slippery and wet from the torrentially pouring clouds above. Right as I slip, Rav reappears and clotheslines me, knocking me flat on the floor.

"Come on," Rav growls, kneeling over me and looking into my burning yellow eyes. "I want to feel it at least once. I'm not going to stop until you do."

A cloud lifts me from underneath, pulling me off the ground just high enough for Rav to attack. He leaps into the air before diving back down, landing a downward kick into my abdomen. It knocks everything out of me. 

I wasn't prepared for this. I was just supposed to blow up a dummy, but now Rav's beating the crap out of me in an illusion world. 

I struggle to my feet, shaky on my legs. I could topple over at any moment, but I have to fight. I can put up a better showing than this, I know I can.

"Fine. You want to see what I can do?" I roar, both my hands flashing bright with mana. 

I hear him. He's manifested again behind me. I cross my arms in front of me and yell at the top of my lungs. It's no specific attack I channel - but I supercharge the air - all of it - in a fifteen-foot radius of myself. And then I overfill it - as my magic pushes the nearby air to its limit, it causes everything around me to crack and displace. And then, an explosion so hot I'm surprised my hair doesn't burn off.

As the power of my flare dissipates, I find myself fade back into reality. Rav is perched on a cloud, fanning himself. Decoy's recovered her boomerang. And next to them both is the training dummy, a smoldering pile of ash.

"Good work, as always," Rav winks. "You pass.

"What was that just now?" I ask. I'm not willing to let that go so easily. 

"My inner world. It's an advanced technique. Nothing for you to worry about now. Maybe I'll teach you to find yours someday," he quips. 

"If you fight an enemy Magician with such trepidation, August, you will surely die. I know you believe your magic to be powerful, but you have no idea what another Magician may be capable of. You must put everything into your attacks. There is no restraint. Not at this level."

Rav chuckles to himself. "And give me more credit. You could blast me a hundred times, August, I doubt you'd leave a scratch."

"Rav's right!" Decoy exclaims. "He's like, indestructible! I saw a Manticore pick him up and EAT him once! And you know what he did!?"

"He turned the Manticore into spaghetti," I say. It's her favorite Rav story, and yet I still don't know what she means by 'turning the Manticore into spaghetti'.

"That's right!"

I can tell Rav appreciates the fan-girling from Decoy. As my little Ferin friend goes off on another story involving Rav, a familiar shadow shoots by overhead. Rav notices it too, a lone blue feather falling gracefully from the heavens and landing right in front of him. 

"Bree's back," he says. "Guess that means its time. Come with me, August."