
"You will need to come up with a back story before next spring." Weston declared as his fork twirled a batch of pasta. The fork floated up for Weston to munch on the food.
"Okay. What do I have to work with?" John, Jane, Jack, and Jill all sat at the mahogany, dining table too small for royalty.
"Your last name is Doe. How you want to describe the relationship is up to you." Weslia answered as her own fork floated up food for her to eat.
"Word of advice: do not be siblings. It is as convenient as it is constricting." Cecily commented before biting down on her own hand-held fork. "Also! Weston, Weslia! Stop being lazy and eat your food properly."
"Yes Yes." Weston and Weslia nodded but continued to eat from their floating forks.
The maids lining the walls giggled at the Wisps mimicking the royals below. John could only sigh with all four bodies as the play repeated the same script. This always happens when it was pasta night. Silverware, plates, glass wine cups, both empty and full floated back and forth from the kitchen to the table. John had to snatch a white-cream sauce pasta dish, while he had Jane and Jill grab a red wine each. Jack was digging out on his red-sauce pasta dish. Each body had its own preferred taste. A dish or drink he liked as John; he detested as Jill or Jack. It was annoying.
"All right then, distant relatives it is. For this Academy, what are the usual routes for gaining entrance?" John was curious for more reasons than one.
"Hmm... Salma what was the census results?" Weston called out to a maid standing behind him, off to the right.
She wore the standard black and white maid dress, with a black rose corset pinned over her right torso. A white frill crowned her auburn, hair trussed up in a bun. Light, fair skin complimented her vibrant green eyes. Her black heels clicked as she held a batch of papers for review.
"According to the Academy Census, forty percent of students have been adventures prior to admission." She walked up to the dining table, a myriad of dishes and silverware weaved around her effortlessly and placed the paperwork down for review.
"I see, I see." Weston lazily took another bite of his dinner. "It says here that sixty percent completed a notable trial."
"Yes, your Majesty. If a potential student gained recognition from one of your Envoys and passes a set of trials given by the academy, then they will be given one final task to complete. The first to complete the task will obtain one of three-thousand seats for the year." Salma's voice was polite.
"Well then John, your Winter Trial will serve as your ticket of entrance. Perform well and I can weasel your papers into the Deans' hands." Weston took a sip of his dark red wine. "Hmm... Quite a fruitful flavor. Salma, whose wine does this belong to?"
"That would be lady Laren's winery, your majesty."
"Lady Laren? Is that not the woman who tried to sell you her chaff Weslia?" Cecily giggled at the mention of the incident.
"Hugh..." Weslia bashfully twirled her pasta continuously, nibbling a piece of garlic buttered bread.
"You are correct, your highness." Salma answered in Weslia's stead. "She had won the tasting competition and has donated her favorite wine."
"A royal commendation, is it?" Weston lazily swirled the wine, its scent waffling into the air. "Very well, place an order for next fall soiree. If her winery can fulfill this order, then she can have a royal commendation. Make sure to tell her what the meals will be. Tell the other maids that they are free to leave."
"Yes, your Majesty." Salma curtsied in response. "If you will excuse me..."
Salma quickly left the dining room, heading out to fulfill the order she was given. The maids lining the walls curtsied then followed Salma out the dining room. John grabbed a plate lavishly filled with golden bread. He had Jane grab a salad. He could a feel Jack's disgust at the sight of the green food. To keep from a new headache sprouting, he had Jack grab a meaty dish.
This is getting insane. John rubbed his temples.
"Ah! I forgot to mention! Only John and Jane will be gaining entrance." Weston pointed his fork at John. "Jack and Jill will be going on a different venture."
"W-What!?" John did a spit-take at the news; his wine drenching the white tablecloth. "Ah... my apologies."
"Unfortunately, I just remembered that I am still in a bit of hot water with the Deans. I can only give out two seats." Weston simply drank more wine, this time of the white variety.
"Wouldn't this be pertinent information to share EARLIER!" John stressed his point. "You know, BEFORE the training."
"Yeah." John's left eye twitched. Jane froze, Jack face planted into his dish and his connection to Jill was suddenly cut.
"Huh, maybe a few more weeks of training would help." Cecily smiled at John's suffering.
"I... hugh..." John bit his tongue to keep from smack talking. Pick and choose your battles. Pick and choose your battles.
"I cannot give you too much of advantage over the other students now." Weston munched down on a meatball, wiping any leftover sauce off his mouth. "Besides you will need Jack and Jill constantly active for what I have planned for in the coming years."
"I think I'm going to be sick." John did not want to think of the possible plans that could come from the mind of his slothful master.
"After dinner, come up with a workable back story." Weston ordered his protege. " Also, make sure to continue your studies. Tomorrow, your trial will begin."
"Yes sir..." John begrudgingly replied.
♠ ♦ ♣ ♥
Magic is broken down into three super categories of Arts. They are: The Anima Arts, The Elder Arts, and The Aether Arts.
The Anima Arts consist of the basic manipulation of nature's eleven elements. The basic fire ball and lightning bolts fall under this category.
The Elder Arts are spells that are worked and improved upon through generational progress. Enchantments, Hexes, Curses, and spells passed down through linage fall under this category. It is also the largest of the three categories.
The Aether Arts are the spells of gods. They cannot be improved upon by mortals and are the most restrictive of the categories. In exchange, they are also the most powerful spells a mortal can wield. Aether spells require devotion to the progenitor god in order to use their spells.
All inspiring wizards, witches, warlocks, and sorcerers start with the basics of Anima. Once an adequate foundation is formed, the expanse that is the Elder Arts are ready to be studied.
All inspiring wizards, witches, warlocks, and sorcerers start with the basics of Anima. Once an adequate foundation is formed, the expanse that is the Elder Arts are ready to be studied.
John read the Introduction to the Mystical Arts as he waited to be called upon by Weston. Today was the holiday known as the Winter Hearth. The day of birth for the god known as Urtav. The religious occasion was proceeded by a week of preparation and followed by a two weeklong festival for the coming new year. It also forbids any military action during this celebration. In the history book, located in Weston's study, it was written that during the sixth era, 6E for short, Urtav had condemned the Kingdom of Vresn to fire and brimstone when it marched to war against Orre during this celebration. To this day, no other nation on the continent waged war during this time according to the history book. It is also recorded that the charred earth, where the Vresn Kingdom was located, is now know called the Vresn desert for the black-ash colored ground.
His matches also stopped. After four-hundred matches, he finally pulled off a win against Weston. It wasn't much of a victory as only John remained standing, but he had managed to last three minutes. Apparently, that was the secret requirement that had to be meet before winter. Now he had to continue his studies. In term of spells, John had made some progress in understanding them. His Writ of Barriers can now be made into different more complex shapes. Jane's Malice of Azure had a faster formation and cost less to cast. With a basic understanding in Anima Fire magic, Jack's Viridis Ignis has a greater degree of manipulation as well as being able to incinerate spells of an equal grade. Jill's Vow of Vigor no longer had a thirty second chant duration. It now had a ten second set up and could last up to a full minute. Another thing that was a headache and a half was that Vow of Vigor only affected allies within a a thirty-meter radius from the caster.
Jill also gained a new spell. Called Vow of Flight, anyone that is viewed by the caster as an ally will gain large, feathered wings. It had a full minute duration on average, depending on the time spent charging the spell. It was the key spell that brought him victory, though he still needed a bit more training to fly with greater control.
The next experiment was to cast each other's spells with different bodies. The results were mixed. Jane and Jack's spells could be used with anybody, while John and Jane's were limited to the original bodies. Any further tomes that could assist in the experiments was held in the forbidden section of Weston's study. John had watched a fly buzz over to it. Once it crossed the thresh-hold, the bug turned to dust. Any ideas that required entering the forbidden section were quickly scraped. John groaned as he rubbed his temples. Jane, Jack, and Jill were also in his lounge area reading other tomes: ranging from history to language arts. Thanks to the training back during summer, his ability to process information from his four perspectives simultaneously had improved significantly. Knuckles rapped the wooden door.
"Enter." John looked up to see Jarrod once more enter his room.
“Oof, ten minutes behind. Today is not going to be great.” Jarrod habitually checked his pocket watch. “Sires and Ladies, His Majesty request your presence. Please step through the portal.”
He pulled out his wand, flicked his wrist and a blue portal swirled into existence to his right. John stood up and began equipping all of his gear. Weapons, armor, and the supplies his entourage of bodies would need. Stepping through the portal, from his room he entered a winter wonderland. His right foot sunk into the snow all the way to his knee. The evergreen trees were coated in a light snow frosting. Sparse and far apart from each other, some showed marks of scrapped off barks of varying sizes. However, one tree had an entire half stripped of bark: with massive gashes gutting it. This winter land hid everything else from his purview.
He looked around and found Weston standing just a bit off to the left looking at something on the horizon. He wore the same Armored Prayer Shawl set he wore back in spring. The Fell Blades casually floated around like the wisps back at the castle. The newest addition to this was a regal scythe as tall as its wielder. Along the taper of the blade, engraved runes and sigils lightened with power. As Jane, Jack, and Jill walked out of the portal, John made his way to Weston.
“Weston.” John stood beside his teacher. “What's with the scythe?”
“It is a relic weapon from the First Lord of Reliquary. I will need to be bring my C-game to make sure everything goes well.” Weston groomed his growing beard.
“Is the trial going to be that difficult?”
“For you? Without a doubt. For me? I might as well go back to bed.” A yawn escaped from him.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” John gave Weston a dead-panned look. “So, what is the trial?”
“You'll be hunting the Herald of Urtav.” Weston waved his hand and the snow flurried into the air.
A giant stag of white stood ten meters tall. Massive, eleven-point, brown antlers scrapped the sky, threads of gold entwined between them. Stripes dotted the massive figure, changing colors as it radiated power. Its black eyes stared off at something in the distance, till it turned its head to return John's stare. In its eyes, visions of an unknown time appeared in his mind.
Him and Jane along with a group of strangers fighting a horde of metallic humans. Jack and Jill followed an orc equipped with regal armor, riding giant lizards, as they cut down tides of giant insects. The next showed the four of them together flying a ship through the clouds; fish-humans riding sky-fish raiding the sky fairing vessel. Many images bombarded his mind, till he fell to his knees, clutching his head in agony.
“Don't look into its eyes.” The warning came a little too late. “This is a god-beast aligned with Urtav. If you make eye contact, then it well bombard your mind with the future consequences.”
“Are they... true?”
“That is not for me to decide.” Solemness coated his teacher's voice. “The objective is to obtain the crown jewel: The Emerald of Fate.” The snow changed itself from the god-beast to a radiant jewel of viridian.
It looked no larger than a human palm, yet a subliminal, yearning chant crept into his mind. The longer he looked, the louder the chanting became. The visage of the emerald began to tug at his mind to the point that his other bodies began to walk towards it as John stood up. He reached out his hand, answering its call. Before his fingers graced the jewel, a hand gripped his wrist and the jewel returned to snow. John blinked and shook his head, trying to shake the echoes out of his mind.
“What was that?!” John refocused his gaze back on Weston.
“That was The Emerald of Fate: one of twelve holy jewels.” Weston released his grip, leisurely falling back into his lazy posture. “Upon seeing it, the jewel will call out to the mortal.” He crossed his arms, a hint of worry entering his eyes. “If the gem does not find you worthy, then you will become stone.”
“How will I know that I'm worthy?”
“A leap of faith.” Weston shook his head. “They are fickle things; I have done as much as I could to set you up with success. Pass this trial and we can relax for the rest of winter.”
“Right...” John nodded. He was going on his own from here on; well at least he had his 'bodies'.
He took the lead with Jane and Jill on his right and left respectively. He placed Jack in the rear. The forest was quiet, no birds, no animals, no beasts sang or prowled the area. Even if they did, he wouldn't be able to see them with the blinding snow covering the forest floor. He stopped and rummaged through his leather pouch strapped to his left leg. Pulling out a vial of black ink, he dabbed his finger and traced a thick line under his eyes. He made the others to do the same and all four perceptions darkened as the black lines absorbed the reflected light.
With his sight somewhat restored, he made his way forward once more. Weston taught him to always be prepared so he channeled his red mana into his sword. He had Jane pull her bow taut with a blue mana arrow ready to fly. Jack had been cloaked in Viridian Flames. A yellow sphere of mana floated in Jill's palm, ready to unleash the Vow of Vigor at the drop of a hat.
The crunching snow as he walked was all that occupied the soundscape of the woods. He looked up to see that the sun had yet to reach high noon. At this rate it was going to be a long day. Trudging forward, a white mass with glowing stripes entered the periphery of Jill's vision. Turning her head to the left, he saw the god-beast gliding along the packed snow. He quickly dashed to nearby trees as cover. He could hear his heartbeat as the beast made its way forward.
The giant stag stopped and slammed its front right hoof into ice. John pensively eyed the beast as it lowered its head to drink the cold water. When he flexed Jill's fingers in preparation to cast Vow of Vigor, the stag's ear flicked and it looked up in Jill's direction. John froze Jill, stopping just before the casting. The stag lowered its head to continue drinking. John chewed his right thumbnail thinking of the best way to engage.
He pulled Jane and Jill back ten meters from the group, placing him and Jack in between and roughly twenty meters away from the target. He flexed Jill's fingers; he eyed no response from the target. With a smile gracing his face, Jill cast Vow of Vigor and Jane knelt, preparing to launch an empowered Malice of Azure. He controlled the range of Jill's enchantment to only fifteen meters, trying to keep the coming ambush from being foiled. As the leylines glowed through the snow, melting it from the power alone. Jack's flames licked the air in anticipation as John moved him to wrap around the god-beast. John focused on quelling the emotions of the others, keeping a calm and sharp mind will be key.
John channeled more mana into his sword, radiating a bright, warm red. He held his breath and focused in. Silence dominated as the storm began to brew. Jane's bow had reached its maximum draw. Leveling her aim right on the antlers, Jack launched a spew of green flames. The Herald of Urtav jumped away, then charged through the flames at Jack. At the moment it turned its back, the arrow was let loose. In a panic it turned around and shuffled left to dodge; however, it bashed into a Sangria barrier. Before the arrow could make contact, the stag reared up onto its hind legs. Kicking its front legs, a spire of ice sprang up to block the shot.
John cast a barrier around him and Jack to keep from being pelted to death by razor-sharp shards flying through the air. The Herald bleats out a bawl as the snow gathered in the middle of its antlers. The ball of snow now three meters in diameter, it reared its head back then swung it forward: launching the ball at the Sangria barrier. John dove into the snow as the attack crashed into and shattered the barrier, continuing on its course through the forest. He made Jane and Jill wrap to his right to keep the beast pinned between the frozen lake and them.
Emerald flames reached out to incinerate the stag. The horrid bleat of pain that escaped its muzzle startled John. The moment of hesitation was all it needed to break out past John and leap away from the scuffle.
“Fuck!” John slammed his fist into the snow.
Get your head in the game! He stewed in his thoughts.
Gathering the crew, he tracked the footprints left behind. He had each body draped in Jack's Viridis Ignis. The flames were as hungry for action as their caster. Jill slowly channeled her mana into a sphere floating in her palm. Jane had her bow taut once more. Red mana rippled and swirled around John's blade. Irritation built up when time had begun to wane and there was no end to the tracks in sight.
“I'm a fucking idiot...” John facepalmed himself as he remembered what options were available to him.
He waited till Jill could barely contain the glowering mana sphere. Once it reached that state, she cast Vow of Flight on Jane and Jack. Taking flight and following the tracks, Jane and Jack flew like the wind. It was much easier to control two fliers than four. John and Jill sat down, casting a couple of barriers around them. Through the sight of his two flying bodies, John watched the earth below flash by.
How far did this bastard go? John sweat dropped at the amount time he would have wasted traveling.
The wind whipped past his ears, when he noticed a small tornado of ice and snow swirling in the distance. He had the two split up, Jane heading left and Jack heading right. As they circled closer, Jane prepped another Malice of Azure and Jack cast Viridis Ignis until an army of green balls of fire flew behind him. When the storm came upon closer inspection, John spotted the mark resting in the middle. He had Jack rain down a hailstorm of fire. When the fire, ice and snow collided, the stag burst up and commanded the storm to move to Jack. When the storm shield moved away, Jane unleashed her arrow. John cast a barrier just behind the target, blocking the stag's escape route.
The arrow pierced the stag's leg, severing the limb from the body. Bleating out in pain, an ice sculpture mimicking the lost limb burst into reality. The tornado twist away from Jack and spun towards Jane. John cast a barrier in the knot of the twister, cutting it in half and dissipated it into the either. The stag snorted out the frosted air. John could feel the radiating fury the beast unleashed. With a battle-cry, the stag ran into the air on a bridge of ice. A new blizzard brewed behind the beast.
“What!?” In surprise, John had Jane and Jack dive out of the away.
The stag circled back for another charge, busting through every barrier John cast. Leap frogging over each other, Jane and Jack took turns slinging their signature spells and keeping the pressure on the target. Weaving through the arrows and fires, bashing through any barrier, the madden beast wanted blood for blood. John was leading it back to him and Jill, where a super charged Vow of Vigor was waiting to enter the fray. Ice shards, fire bolts, and mana arrows danced in the sky as the fighting entered his periphery. Shattering his own barrier, golden leylines bloomed out like silk strings fluttering in the freezing air. Jill snap cast a Vow of Flight onto John.
Squatting down, John built up power in his legs for the golden opportunity. When Jane and Jack flew above him and Jill followed by the Herald, John burst upward into the air with a thrust. A sangria barrier covered his executioner blade, shaped into a lance, he charged into the ice bridge and gored into the stag's side. The feathers making up his wings dissipated back into mana, John began his free fall back to earth alongside the stag. Before he could give the command, Jane automatically swooped to catch him.
The Herald of Urtav crashed into the ground five meters away from Jill. Shakily standing up, it bleated out another cry: encasing itself in a dome of ice. Jack breathed in, his Virids Ignis flowed into a spheroid spanning ten meters in diameter above his out-stretched hand, reaching for the heavens. With a roar, three twisters burst forth onto the ice dome. The three twisters, empowered by the souped-up Vow of Vigor, combined into a fire tornado on par with the ice tornado unleashed before.
“How beautiful...” John was lost at the sight of the mighty spell.
Jane slowly fluttered down as the roaring vibrant green fire brought life to the winter wonder land. The Vow of Vigor rapidly replenished the stamina and mana of the exhausted party. Jack tumbled down a bit as the Vow of Vigor could not keep up with the cost controlling the tornado demanded. John cast a barrier mimicking a tower under Jack for him to land. John, Jane, and Jill also cast Viridis Ignis and funneled their own twisters into the raging tornado. The heat radiating from the spell began melting the snow, charring the soil, combusting the trees, and the turning the leaves into ash.
John had to cut off the casting as the heat was becoming unbearable. The fire, cut off from its power source, immediately died down revealing a charred corpse of the god-beast. Snow from outside the radius of the charred earth flowed to the corpse. Decorating and coating, until it piled over the beast. Once it became a mound, the Herald burst forth reborn: whole and unscathed. It pranced joyfully to the south.
“But... How-I...” John stared at the retreating figure.
Okay then, new plan: scorch earth. This trial was getting irritating.
While the Vow of Vigor was still active, he had Jill cast Vow of Flight on herself and fly after the Herald. Jane and Jack were still recovering from their lengthy engagement, so John had to take a break. In order not to lose the Herald's tracks when melting the snow, he had Jill cast green fire on every other tree to light up the way.
“All right then, let's get started.” John made his way to follow Jill, palms a light with emerald flames.
Jane and Jack were positioned on his flanks palms a light with emerald flames as well. Together, they spewed flames onto the snow: removing anything that could assist the Herald from resurrecting once more. It took half an hour for him to spot the target through Jill. The deer had smashed open another frozen lake to drink water. With the quarry in sight, he had Jill maintain a twenty-meter radius storing up power for the coming round three.
Purging the snow in a straight line won't accomplish much, John decided to start circling the area around the target.
He had to act now as Jill's reserve of mana was depleting rather fast. Plowing forward, John sped up the timetable, missing botches of snow here and there. He was making great progress, when Jill spotted the quarry advancing towards John's location. At the rate it was moving, it would be attacking from the group's rear within ten minutes. John made his group melt all the snow with a ten-meter radius around them, while Jill charged up another souped-up Vow of Vigor.
John had made his own glade of charred dirt, yet the beast was charging into a full sprint. At this rate, he would be too exhausted to put up much of a fight. John had Jill take off, leaving the herald in the dust, and sprint to the group's location. With the souped-up spell, he will at least recover in time for a quick engagement. While he could still see the target, he cast a few bubble sheet style barriers a top of the snow. He saw the stag go berserk and smash the barriers without breaking stride.
Interesting... Let's see if this is a good idea. Through Jill's bird's eye view, John proceeded to drain the rest of his mana, and cast multiple copies of the bubble sheet barrier in a bread crumb trail to his location.
His body crumpled but just like before: Jane automatically caught him. Jill's silhouette was just visible above the tree line. She had long since passed the Herald, so John could no longer get visual confirmation. The only feedback he got that the plan was working was the rapid destruction of his barrier bread crumb trail. The feathers on Jill's wings were visibly crumbling into as she made a rough landing. Thankfully he had placed Jack in such a way that it looked like Jill ran into his arms.
No time to waste. John had Jill cast her enchantment.
Reaching out into the sky and the trees that lined the glade, golden leylines in the form of petals stretched out in full bloom. The strength surged back in like a high tide, washing over every one of John's exhausted bodies. He cast multiple red domes around the glade, each the height of the god-beast. Though Jill had made it in time, the quarry would arrive too soon. As he cast another barrier around his bodies, a deep navy-blue whirlwind entered the glade. Despite the frigid environment and under the protection of his barrier, the heated glare from the Herald caused John to drip in sweat.
Alright then... Round 3 you bastard. John had opened up the barrier in the back so he could reposition Jane, Jack, and Jill around the glade.
He placed Jack on the right half of the glade, while Jane and Jill were placed on the left half. The raging beast carved a path straight to the golden flower, its swirling ice storm encasing the red barriers left unbroken as thick ice sculptures. With the invigorating warmth of the souped-up Vow of Vigor, he had Jack unleash a scorching stream of emerald flames. The tip of the streamed formed into a three-meter-wide human hand. It pierced the ice dome and hurled forward into the blizzard undeterred. The stag jumped back, the tips of its white fur covering its front left leg just barely singed.
Jill snap cast a Vow of Flight on Jane, the later already leaping into the air: bow string taut for the shot. The beast twisted its head so that its antlers deflected the arrow. It unleashed a battle cry, the blizzard expanded until it encompassed the entire glade. The furious blizzard embodied its caster's passion, covering the charred ground with layer upon layer of snow.
“Like hell I'm letting you get away with that!” John cast a barrier around the beast and expanded it, pushing the blizzard out.
The blizzard caught off from its master simply dissipated into tranquil snow fall. The red barrier shattered as well; its purpose having been completed. The Stag was momentarily stunned by the rapid counter play. It was the golden opportunity to exploit, he had Jack cast another stream of emerald flames on the left flank and Jill mimicked the spell on the right flank. The two streams collided together like smashing tides with the Herald in the center. Jane was charging her Malice of Azure as she fell from her flying position.
John's attention was stolen away as his body automatically cast a barrier platform just under Jane. With sure footing, the ballista bolt sang upon release. The shrieking continued until it hit its mark. It's power somewhat degraded by the twin Viridis Ignis being streamed at the same quarry. John began casting a walkway of sorts out of his barrier, copying the ice bridge ploy the Herald had cast in the last fight. The barrier bridge traced the edges of the glade and allowed Jane to run along it, all the while raining down a tempest of arrows upon the burning target.
John had found a tempo as he commanded each of his bodies like a symphony. The twin streams of emerald flames no longer collided with each other, put into a rotation so as to let Jane's arrows a moment to actually hit the target. From Jane's view, John saw the Herald had protected itself with an ice dome. The dome itself was fracturing from the heat and the arrows' penetrating power. When it finally shattered, the Herald had leaped out of the fray having already learned the tempo of John's attacks.
It opened its mouth and from it a frozen beam of lighting zapped at Jack. John quick snapped a barrier as Jack dived out of the way. The weak barrier instantly frozen, shattering as the beam continued along freezing any tree in its path. The tree's rapidly frozen exploded, breaking the barrier bridge above them. John automatically created a barrier under Jane's feet as well as a series of stairs back down to the ground. The Herald shot another beam, this time at Jill.
John repeated what he did before, quick snapping a weak barrier and having Jill dive out of the way. The beam once more froze and shattered all in its path. He had Jack charge up another twister of green flame under Jane's cover fire. Her blue mana arrows whistled as they sought their mark. Those that actually made contact of the elusive foe were merely deflected by the new cloak of a brewing twister. At the same time, the two twisters sprung forth, parallel to the earth below. One of green fire and the other of blue ice and snow, both collided in the center jockeying for dominance. The blue twister eventually won and began to push its opponent back, Jack slowly sliding back as the result.
John quickly had Jack give up and dive out of the way. The blue twister ripped apart the forest behind Jack, a testament of what could have happened had he continued the fight. Even with the Vow of Vigor souped up as it was, John could not overpower his quarry. He cast a thick cylinder barrier around the stag, casting another and another repeatedly until it was fifteen layers thick. He rendezvouses his bodies to Jill, having Jill rapidly charge up a Vow of Flight for each one. He was uncomfortable in the air as his control with all four bodies flying was not that inspiring, but it was do or die. One way or another he must emerge victorious.
With each body having glorious, feathered wings, he took to the sky. Spreading out, each body was placed at the edge of the glade like a compass. John in the South facing the beast; Jane to the North ready to pounce; Jack and Jill at the East and West respectively, each charging up a giant spheroid of emerald flames. John could feel each barrier breaking, layer by layer: each one falling faster than the last. Alarmed, John had his bodies cancel their cast and retreat as fast as possible.
His instincts were right as not a moment later a category five tornado ruptured into reality, free from its imprisonment. Though he had acted fast, his bodies were still caught up in the tornado. Unable to get away, he cast the thickest barrier he could around each body. Even with each barrier being ten meters thick, he could feel the wind tear through them. He continued to cast the barriers, replacing a meter for everyone torn through, but it was a losing battle and soon each vision went black.
thank you so much for the chapter keep it up Don't give up on your dreamsAlright author rest Be strong you will go far