72 - Lyra's Battle
Arielle plucked some leaves from a few of Lyra’s plants and brewed her a soothing tea for her stomach. Lyra drank with murmured gratitude and asked, “How did you learn how to make that?”
“I saw you brew it once.”
“And you remembered? The steps are very exacting.”
Arielle shrugged, and Lyra shook her head with a sigh. “Of course, you’re good at tea-making, too. I shouldn't have expected anything less.”
“Are you feeling better?” Ari asked.
“A little bit. I’m sure I'll feel much better once the day is over. Whatever happens, at least I’ll finally know my fate.” She solemnly stared into the air, her hands folded around the tea bowl. Arielle struggled to find the right thing to say. She wanted to give Lyra words of encouragement, but that had never been her forte, and she was just as likely to say the wrong things and make Lyra feel even worse. She didn’t want that. She wracked her brain, then remembered what Lyra had told her to say before her fight with Faulkey.
She tried that now. “You can beat him.”
Lyra’s gaze shifted to Ari, who reached out and held her hand for a couple of seconds.
“Can I?”
“Yes.” She let go, wiping her hand on her skirt out of habit.
“What’s the percentage?” Lyra asked.
Arielle thought about it. “Seventy-two percent.”
Lyra grinned. “You don’t even know who I’m facing yet.”
“It doesn’t matter who. I believe you are powerful, and more likely to beat them than otherwise."
Lyra's eyes softened. “You know you can be really sweet sometimes.”
“Yes, you’ve mentioned it before.”
That made Lyra cough out a laugh, and Arielle was relieved she was feeling better.
They decided to skip breakfast and headed straight to the duelling halls, which would only be available for practice a few hours this morning.
Due to the nature of the trials, particularly the duels, class didn’t continue as normal. Instead of subjects, their day was split into trial times, with no particular distinction between first and second-year trials. Third and fourth-year students had their trials elsewhere and would often be transported off campus in groups to be evaluated.
That was how it was for most of the week, except for weekends during which the theoretical aspects of the trials were held for classes like Creatures and Clans, Leyline Studies, and Politics.
The trials typically took two to three weeks in total, and everyone was assigned a day and time to report for theirs.
Arielle didn’t have any trial today, so she wanted to spend it preparing Lyra and Maus for their tests. She worked with Lyra first since her trial was earlier. This morning, they planned on training in the duelling halls...however, they found that it was full of other students who had the same idea.
All the duelling circles were occupied with second-year students trying to get each other out of the circles.
“I suppose we should have come earlier,” Lyra said.
Arielle nodded. Technically, they didn’t need the dueling circles to practice, but Lyra wanted to get into the right mindset and see what she could manage if she was going all out in an actual fight. They had tried to reduce the level of the Vitae-only spore burst to an adept, and Lyra was to use her spells against Arielle, who had the counter for each of them, so they could troubleshoot before she accidentally hurt someone during the actual match.
However, it didn't look like they would be able to do that today, at least not here.
“Arielle. Lyra.”
Hearing their names drew the girls' attention to one of the circles at the edge, where Riorke and Lacey were standing with sweat-slicked skin and damp robes.
Riorke waved them over, and when they got close, he said, “I’m assuming you two want to use this?” He gestured to the circle.
“Oh no.” Lyra put up a hand. “You don’t have to–”
“Yes, we do,” Arielle interrupted. “We do need to use the circle.”
“You can have it for the next hour. We’ve been going at it all morning, and we probably shouldn’t tire ourselves out.”
“Thank you,” Lyra said.
“No problem,” Lacey said, and as they were about to step out of the circle, Arielle added, “Actually, Lacey, can I ask you a favor?”
“Is this about our project?” he said.
“No, actually. I was wondering if you could teach me how to fight without magic. I propose non-magical sparring sessions.”
Lacey raised his eyebrow. “That’s interesting. I didn’t think you wanted to become a knight.”
“I don’t. But I was thinking that I want to be able to defend myself even if I can't access any essences."
“Hmm. That’s actually a good idea, in case you ever lose your EPUQ. I think we might have similar defensive courses starting from the second year, but sure, I can teach you a few things.”
“Why did you ask him and not me?” Riorke wondered.
“Because I think your fighting style would not be a good fit for me. You’re a lot faster and stronger than I am, and I don't think I would be able to catch up anytime soon. It would be too overwhelming to try. I think Lacey’s style is much more manageable.”
Arielle thought she’d given a very reasonable explanation, but it made Riorke snort, and Lacey put his hand on his chest with a wounded expression. “Ouch, Arielle. That hurt me deeply.”
“Why?” Arielle glanced at Lyra in alarm. “Did I say something offensive?”
“She called you a weak, skinny twig, Lacey,” Riorke chortled. "And the best part is she's right. Arielle, just for that, you can have the duelling circles for the rest of the morning period.”
“Thank you," Arielle said, then told Lacey, “I meant no insult.”
“Yeah, I know." He winked. “I may not have known you for long, but I’ve known you long enough to understand how unintentionally funny you are. And yes, I can help you, although I’m not sure either of us would have much time for it. Things are about to get much busier after severance, I'm told."
That was true. And Arielle was already extremely busy, though some of her time would be freed up once Lyra passed her severance. “We can work out our schedules later.”
“Alright,” he said, and the two boys sauntered off, with Riorke still chuckling and Lacey intermittently shoving him.
“Okay,” Arielle told Lyra. “Let's begin with the lowest-tier spells." These were the adept spells that Arielle had crafted.
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As they began, Arielle quickly noticed that Lyra's spell-casting abilities were still inconsistent. She got some spells right and some wrong, seemingly at random. [Spore Burst] didn’t work at all, even with the runes. This time, it wasn't because Vitae was getting in the way. It was Lyra's own unbelief that plagued her, her lack of confidence causing her to stumble and make errors in calling the orbs.
She told Lyra as much and said, “You are skilled enough; however, if you doubt yourself, you will fail.”
“I won't doubt myself." Lyra inhaled. "I won’t." She sounded like she was talking to herself more than she was talking to Arielle.
The morning sessions came to an end a few hours later, and it was time for the duelling trials to begin.
They met up with Maus and the twins for lunch, but Lyra was quiet for the most part, eating with tiny, methodical bites. While the twins nervously discussed their duel, Arielle tuned them out, wondering when she would hear from Elric. The Dean had said he would be coming to see her once he was done with his mission, but she didn't know if that would be today or later. She hoped it was not on one of her busy days. She wanted to have a lengthy conversation with him.
"You don't look nervous at all, Maus," Landon said, catching her attention.
"He's been doing well with his spells," Arielle commented. Even though his progress had not been exponential like Lyra's, it was steady, and his cores were getting more balanced as time went on, giving him a wider base of spells he could utilize. "Depending on who you face, you should win with ease, Maus. And you already won two out of your last four duels, so you're in a good spot to advance."
Maus blushed. "Thanks. But even if I lose the duel and fail severance, it's not the end of the world. At least, I spent time here and made wonderful friends."
"Ugh, what a disgusting optimist," Louis said, which made Lyra smile.
The call time for first-year matches was a few hours after lunch. All five teens headed there with the twins showering Lyra with words of encouragement.
“You’ll crush it, Lyra. Trust us.”
"Yeah, we’ve seen what you can do. You have a master-tier spell in your Grimoire. You might not be able to use it in this duel, but–”
“But the important thing is that you have the ability to end anyone you face. I bet you'll do it in one go too.”
“Right, Arielle?"
“Right,” Ari said, and Lyra offered them weak smiles.
“Thank you, everyone. I appreciate everything.” Her eyes fell on Arielle. “Especially you.”
Ari nodded.
They opened the doors of the duelling hall, and Lyra froze. It was still filled with the second years, and a few first years that had arrived standing at the sides of the central circle. There was already a duel currently happening, and several people, including Professor Llywyd, watched it.
She stood near Professor Graham and spotted them immediately as they walked in. She waved.
They waved back as a group and found a good spot to observe the match between two second-years.
The circle had been widened for them, and it seemed like they were allowed to be more aggressive with their attacks. One of them held what appeared to be a blunted dagger with runes, and he yelled, "[Star Cross]" as he swiped it to send magical arcs at his opponent.
His opponent dodged and used “[Kinetic Push]” to sweep him off his feet, before somersaulting like an acrobat, grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him out of the circle.
After he landed on his feet, the loser dropped to his knees and slammed his fists on the ground. "No!"
“Let's calm down,” Professor Graham said mildly, noting something down on his scroll. "That was a good effort, Rich, but you've had the same issue since your first year. Overcommitting on your offense and letting your guard down. You'refast and skilled, but your strengths didn't matter here; only your weaknesses did. Good job, Hunter."
The winner bowed as he stepped out of the ring, with Rich still burying his face in his hands. It was a while before he got up.
“That’s the last of the second years for today. First years…any volunteers to start?"
A hand went up in the air. It was Faulkey.
“I don’t mind starting,” Faulkey said. “I’d honestly rather get it over with. We all know the outcome anyway, since I won my last three matches.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of the outcome, but I’m glad that you’re eager to go.” He gestured him forward, and Faulkey walked onto the mat, running his hand through his hair as he began stretching.
“He’s trying so hard to look cool,” Landon murmured. “It’s disgusting.”
“Yes,” Maus agreed, and Professor Graham started searching through a scroll.
"Okay, you, I think I’ll pair you up against–”
“Actually,” Faulkey interrupted. “We can make requests, right?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Around. If you're taking requests, I would like to request Lyra as my opponent."
Lyra stiffened. All the color bled out of her face. Snickering could be heard on the other side of the circle.
Graham glanced at her and told Faulkey, “You’re allowed to make a request, but it’s up to your opponent and me to grant it.”
“Yeah. I know. I know what she’s going to say, too.” Faulkey gave a long-suffering sigh. "It's so hard to share a class with cowards."
"Ass," Landon muttered. “He knew either Graham or Lyra would shoot down the offer. He just said it to humiliate her.”
“I see,” Arielle said, and she disliked Faulkey even more intensely than she had before.
Graham opened his mouth to say something, but Lyra quickly called out, “I don’t mind.”
Louis, Maus, and Landon's heads snapped to her. So did Graham’s. Only Arielle was still staring at Faulkey, whose smug expression faltered for a second.
“Are you sure?” Graham said.
Lyya’s hands tightened into fists, but she nodded. “Yes. I’m sure.” She moved toward the circle before Graham could even give his approval. Arielle almost told Lyra to come back, that this was a bad idea.
Faulkey had won three out of four of his duels in the past weeks. Lyra had only won one. Even if she won this one, it would have to be a decisive victory to overcome Faulkey's advantage. She wasn't entirely sure of Graham's marking criteria, and if he took into account other things besides who won, but there were easier battles for Lyra to fight.
However, for whatever reason, she'd chosen this one.
Lyra stood opposite Faulkey, who stared at her and grinned. “Well, it looks like someone didn’t learn their lesson the first time.”
Lyra didn't respond. She dropped into doing quick stretches. She only addressed Graham when she was done. “Can we begin?”
“She's pretty ballsy," one of the Class A first years standing near them said.
“Yes," her companion concurred. "I hope she wins.”
I hope she wins, too.
Arielle was nervous. She knew Lyra had the capability of winning, but it was her self-belief that was the problem. All her spells were complex. She needed to cast them perfectly for them to work.
Arielle was willing to help, but she truly hoped she didn’t have to. She wanted Lyra to truly, confidently win this on her own.
“Okay,” Graham said as both combatants retreated to their sides of the circle, drawing their wands. “You all know the rules, so I'm not going to repeat them. Good luck to both of you. You may begin in three, two, one!”
“[Controlled Blast],” Faulkey sent the spell at Lyra the second the bell rang, and Lyra waved her wand.
“[Vitality Loss].”
This was one of the new spells that Arielle had crafted for her, an upper adept spell.
The Vitae-Vacu-Calor complex not only slowed down Faulkey's spell, but anything that entered its vortex lost vitality, including the mini-orbs. This caused the entire spell to break apart, and so it worked well as a spell breaker or a shield.
The only issue was that it required a lot of focus and essence.
But Lyra was focused. She didn't waver when she cast the spell, which was why it worked perfectly, disintegrating Faulkey's spell.
Yes! Arielle cheered in her mind.
"[Controlled Blast]," Faulker said again, aiming for her side, and Lyra used [Vitality Loss] once more.
"I've never seen that spell," a second-year student commented. "What does it do?"
Arielle would explain, but she was too busy watching the match.
After the third attempt that Lyra's spell blocked, Faulkey got visibly irritated.
"Are you going to keep showing off, or are you actually going to fight?" he said. Arielle saw that he was readying himself to use a bloodline spell. "Just because you learned some new tricks doesn't mean you belong here."
"I know," Lyra said simply, then she closed her eyes.
Landon gripped Arielle's wrist. "What is she doing? Why are her eyes closed?"
"You'll see." Lyra was in deep focus, letting Vitae guide her steps, becoming one with the orbs that were wrapping themselves around her limbs. She was breathing deeply, quickly, also increasing her body temperature at the same time.
As Faulkey aimed the spell [Dancing Sparks] at Lyra’s feet, she stepped out of the way, neatly avoiding the flames and his follow-up [Kinetic Push].
Then she finally opened her eyes, looked straight at him, and said, [Spore Burst, Minor."
The spores exploded with controlled force, less than normal, yet it was enough to strike Faulkey out of the circle with a resounding thunderclap.
He hit the wall with a loud thud and sank to the ground.
Graham’s jaw dropped.
A few students jolted back and gasped, and even Professor Llywyd jerked. But unlike the rest, who were staring at either Faulkey or Lyra, Llywyd was staring at Arielle.
It was probably because she could read Lyra’s aura and knew that it was a purely Vitae spell. Something she'd said was impossible.
Everyone seemed frozen in time, until Lyra said tentatively, “Um…Professor? I don’t think he’s moving.”