Intimancer

The room was silent when Sade walked back inside.

She, naturally, ignored all the intense stares and took her usual seat in the corner.  It would be good to let her fellow competitors stew for a bit, to desperately wrack their brains on comprehending just what it was they had witnessed.  Sade had taken great pains to limit her true capabilities during the school year, to tow the careful line between simply competent and outright brilliant.  While she hadn’t gone so far as to fabricate lower test scores, her pride would never allow that to happen, the more practical lessons gave her considerably more wiggle room to obscure her talent.

It was a simple matter really.  All one had to do was to sit back and observe.  The beauty of going last in a demonstration was that those who went before set a precedent, an obvious bar to clear, the minimum effort needed.  If the assignment is to create a fireball, then all Sade had to do was make one just slightly bigger than the rest, cast the spell slightly faster, or a myriad of other methods.  It wouldn’t do if it was too obvious what she was doing.  The goal was to be the best, but not have the gap so large that the other students believed that they couldn’t catch back up.

This tournament was the first time she let the mask slip, a chance for her classmates to finally peek behind the curtain in her grand stage play.  Not everyone had caught the subtle clues she left behind.  Even as Sade sat and listened, there were more than a few voices wondering if she even had a chance to beat Ariwyn.  Sade didn’t mind.  The fact that some people still relied on their preconceived notions meant that her desire to hold back only marginally less than before had succeeded.

Not everyone was fooled by her though.  Professor Armondo had always seemed far too clever for her simple attempts of deception to work.  Her session with him on dual casting was less about revealing the truth but rather her simply confirming his long held suspicions.  The dean was another person Sade felt knew more of her capabilities than most.  A man in his position should be at least that observant.  Sade would think considerably less of him otherwise.

And then there was the matter of her friends.

“Hey, um, Sade?”

Sade dragged herself out of her musings to look up.  “Yes Hattepa, how can I be of service?”

The young woman nervously adjusted her robes and sat down next to her friend.  “I… uh… About the next match….”

Sade sighed.  The poor woman already had to fight against one person she considered a friend, and her next opponent was Sade herself.  It was a difficult situation to deal with at the best of times, one Sade didn’t quite know how to assist with.

“Miss?”

Sade looked up to see an attendant walking up to the two of them.  In her hand was a tray topped with several brightly colored bottles.  She took one and offered it out.  “A potion to restore your mana before the next fight?”

Sade looked around the room.  Many of her fellow competitors still in the tournament were sipping on similar bottles, even Hattepa had one clenched tightly between her nervous fingers.  Sade accepted the potion.  It wasn’t necessarily needed since her reserves were at around two-thirds full, but it would help sell her ruse.  Besides, it was faster than waiting for her mana to refill naturally, so I couldn’t hurt.

She popped the cap and took a large sip of the saccharine liquid, she was unable to hold back a slight gag from escaping her throat.

“They really do taste awful, don’t they?”  Hattepa asked in sympathy.

Sade could only nod before chugging the rest down in a hurry.  “Ugh… I would rather spend another six months purely devoted to increasing my mana pool before I try one of these again.”  She said with a groan, having meant every single word.

A faint giggle escaped the coyote-kin’s throat.  “Understandable, but they are effective.”

Sade was forced to agree.  No sooner had the foul liquid hit her stomach than she could feel her body become rapidly saturated with raw magic.  If only she could discover a way to make them taste halfway decent, she would make just as much money as she did auctioning off those coins.  But until that day came, Sade would make sure she never had to drink another mana potion for as long as she was able.

“Now, I believe you wished to discuss the upcoming match between us?”  Sade asked in an effort to put the potion nonsense well behind her.

Hattepa’s large ears drooped.  “Well… yes, but-”

“You feel you are not worthy?”

The beastkin woman sat up straight in surprise.  “How did you know?!”

Sade groaned, she hated being right sometimes.  “You are not the first to feel that way, and you will not be the first to hear what I say next.”  She softly cupped her nervous friend’s cheek and stared deeply into her eyes.

“It is an honor to be able to fight against someone like you.”

Hattepa’s eyes grew wide at the declaration.  “What?  But it’s only because of you and the study group that I was able to compete.  I’m nobody special like you or Ariwyn.”

Sade scoffed.  “And how does that change anything?  Because you had help?  For all his faults, those crystals Ferdinand summons are extremely resistant to outside magic.  Combined with his unusual fighting style, he is a potent obstacle for mages like us to overcome.  If I had not been sparring against Tyr, Lilie, or Rick for months on end, do you think I would be able to deal with someone with such potent anti-mage capabilities?”

This wasn’t completely true.  Sade had over a dozen ways to deal with someone like Ferdinand without relying on her own combat experience.  But a small white lie wouldn’t hurt, could it?

Hattepa shook her head.  “N-no.”

“And do you feel that my training makes me unworthy?”

“Of course not!”

Sade raised her brows in an unspoken question.  The lithe woman squirmed a bit before her flimsy resistance crumbled away.  Her ears and tail drooped even further.

“While the study group has helped you considerably, we never once did the work for you.  Every correct answer on the test, every successful casting of a new spell, that was all you and your effort.  Hattepa, with your power alone, you have earned your place here.  You have fought hard to reach this point, and I would never wish to take that victory away from you.”

Hattepa sniffed, doing her best to hold back the tears flooding her eyes.  “Thank you Sade.  I needed to hear that.”

Sade patted the woman on the back lightly.  “I am always happy to help out a friend.”  She paused, as if in thought.  “Although… I could use a favor from you if you do not mind.”

The coyote woman hastily wiped her eyes and sat up straight.  “Of course!  Anything you need!”

Sade took her friend's hands in her own and stared deeply into her eyes.  “When our fight begins, I want you to come at me with everything you have.  Hold nothing back.”

Hattepa looked taken aback.  “Wha- Why?”

Sade sucked in a deep, steadying breath.  Each of her fights had shown off a little of her true self.  First was her incredible skill, second was her ruthless cunning.  For the third…

“I believe it is time to show everyone our overwhelming might.”

The crowd roared when the two women stepped out of the tunnel and approached the center of the arena.  They had just been given the same lackluster type of performance from the high elf magus as her last two fights, so their enthusiasm for watching something other than a student rolling around in a panic while under a relentless magical assault was understandable.  Hattepa had proven to be a fierce competitor while Sade… Sade was quite unpredictable.

Sade squirmed slightly from where she stood at the ready.  All the fighting she had watched or participated in really seemed to get her in the mood for some odd reason.  She was always horny to some degree, but the night prior she had been outright ravenous and nearly drained all her partners dry.  Standing there, heart pumping with excitement for the battle about to commence, that feeling had returned tenfold.

Concentrate woman!  She chided herself.  Stick to your plan, THEN you can be ravished in all your holes!

It took considerably more willpower than she would ever willingly admit, but the raging fire in her belly was eventually tamped back down to a manageable smolder.  She heard a cough to her side and was mortified to see both Professor Armondo and the dean staring at her.

“Are you ready?”  The human mage asked with just a hint of annoyance.

“Y-yes I am!  M-my apologies!”  She stammered out, heat blooming across her face.

“Very well… Begin!”

Sade snapped her head up to look towards Hattepa.  The coyote woman was already channeling a spell.  At her feet, a small, but steadily growing field of flowers in a myriad of colors began to sprout and bloom.  It took a moment for Sade’s distracted mind to fully process what was happening before realization slammed into her like one of Tyr’s mighty fists.

“Shit!”  She cursed before she hurriedly channeled mana into her palm.

Hattepa let out a primal scream and shoved her clawed hand forward.  A mound of twisting roots and flowers swelled out from the ground in front of her before zooming forward like a wave.  The roiling mass grew in both size and speed as it hurtled towards where Sade stood.  The front of the twisting mass split horizontally across the middle, transforming into a wide lupine mouth filled with sharp teeth made from hardened roots.

Sade was out of time.  She ceased overcharging mana into her spell and hurled it as hard as she could straight into the gaping maw.  The small ball of fire expanded out until it was the size of Sade’s torso before colliding with the roof of the plant mound’s mouth.  The resulting explosion sent smoke and chunks of greenery flying everywhere, obscuring almost the entire arena.

That was too easy.  My spell should not have been that effective against her attack, especially not when half charged.  Sade thought, her powerful mind fully engaged in analyzing every aspect of the fight in front of her.

A coil of vines lashed out from within the smoke and Sade quickly leaned to the side in order to avoid it.  She could hear a loud snap from right beside her ear where the plant whip cracked in the air.  She sent another fireball hurtling through the smoke from where the vines retreated in retaliation.

There was another dull explosion before a figure dashed out from the side of the black cloud.  Hattepa was sprinting, each footfall causing a patch of flowers to bloom where her delicate feet touched.  Sade threw out fireballs rapidly, one after the other.  Those weren’t charged in the slightest, focusing more on spraying the area with attacks rather than straight damage.

With every shot that came close, the beastkin woman evaded with the grace of a dancer.  Somersaults, flying leaps, and cartwheels all allowed her to avoid any oncoming fire without losing an iota of speed.  Sade was in awe of the display.  The sight of her long hair and big fluffy tail flowing in the wind while a trail of blooming flowers followed in her wake set Sade’s heart aflutter.

Suddenly a vine shot out from within Hattepa’s billowing sleeves.  Sade blocked with her forearm, letting the coil wrap itself tightly around her limb, and yanked hard.  The coyote-kin flew towards Sade, claws out, fangs bared.  It seemed she planned on being reeled in from the start.

Sade held out her unbound arm and summoned her ethereal shield.  Hattepa slammed against the defensive spell feet first, nearly sending Sade stumbling backward with the force of the impact.  The nature mage snarled and cast about a handful of seeds before kicking herself away with an acrobatic flip.

Sade looked down at the scattered seeds then back to Hattepa’s grinning face.

“Clever girl…”  Sade muttered appreciatively.

Roots and vines exploded out from the ground, swiftly wrapping themselves around her legs.  While annoying, those weren’t the hardest thing in the world to deal with.  Unfortunately, they were not the only little surprise the nature mage decided to leave behind to occupy Sade’s precious time while she no doubt freely channeled mana for a devastating attack.

Small plant creatures slowly grew all around where Sade was immobilized.  They only stood at about hip height, with cylindrical or flat paddle-esk limbs, their entire bodies studded with rows upon rows of sharp needle-like thorns.  Sade could only grimace as the cactus creatures swung their arms at her in unison.

Her shield still active, she swung it around, knocking aside most of the attacks while her body shifted around from where she was unceremoniously rooted to the ground to dodge the rest.  She knew this was merely a delaying tactic.  Quickly glancing up, she saw Hattepa twirling around a gnarled wooden staff she must have summoned from somewhere while an extraordinary amount of power was being funneled into the earth at her feet.  Sade could faintly see the patch of flowers and roots rippling like a still pond after a stone was thrown into it.  That could not be good for her health when it was finished.

Battering aside the next wave of thorned attacks, Sade’s other hand came down, and a gout of bright orange flame bathed her legs and much of her surroundings in a wave of magical fire.

It hurt… Oh, did it hurt.

While the fire was born of Sade’s mana and was theoretically under her control, that did not make her immune to the effects of dousing herself in white hot flames.  Thankfully, the roots and plant creatures were composed purely of mana, and thus were considerably more brittle than their appearance would suggest.  They were still just as resistant to mundane methods of attack, so unless hit with an opposing magical force, the difference between real and conjured outside a mage duel was purely academic.

The moment the vines and roots began to shrivel and blacken, Sade cut off her torrent of flames, and yanked herself free.  While Hattepa’s eyes were wide with astonishment at Sade’s questionable tactics, she had not once faltered in her spellcasting, and continued to pour mana into a massive spell that she surely planned to finish the fight with.

Ignoring the searing pain in her legs, Sade dashed towards the nearest intact cactus monster.  Right before they collided, she activated her shield, trapping whatever passed for its head within the swirling magic.  In one smooth motion, she lept atop her barrier in a crouch and activated the repel function.  The charred cactus monster was smashed into the dirt with incredible force.  Additionally, the strength of the spell also launched her high into the air.

Sade had to force back the maniacal laughter that tried to bubble up from her throat after seeing the look of utter disbelief plastered all over Hattepa’s face, and settled for a wide, manic grin instead.  The nature mage snapped out of her shock at witnessing the sheer insanity before her eyes and hurriedly activated the spell she had been charging up while Sade had been occupied.

Flower tipped staff held high, the ground rose up behind her to form a colossal shape.  Roots, vines, and flowers all twisted together to form an elegant, yet oddly skeletal, clawed hand.  Swinging her own arm forward, Hattepa sent the large appendage straight on a collision course to where Sade flew through the air like a giant ready to swat away an annoying fly.

The time had come.  Energy coursed through Sade’s body, bluish sparks arced across her skin and hair, her eyes glowed with the power soon to be unleashed.  Her hands extended forward to form her favorite spell, a spear of pure electricity growing out from where her hands connected.  Cocking back her arm, Sade took careful aim, then threw.

A sonic boom rocked the whole arena as the bolt of lightning ripped through the air, scattering dust and flower petals everywhere.  The giant hand collided with the rampaging electricity and for a single heartbeat time stood still as the two spells fought for dominance.

In an instant, there was a terrifying screech as the thunderbolt tore a hole straight through the palm of the twisted greenery and slammed right into Hattepa’s chest.

Magic tore through the stadium, wiping away the lighting, the coiling roots, and many of the scattered flowers in a wide radius from where the nature mage stood.  Hattepa was on her haunches, rapidly blinking away the shock as her body sat within the protective barrier that had just saved her life.

Sade would have been happy.  She would have gladly leapt forward to wrap her friend in a fierce hug and squeal with joy about how amazing and pretty she was during that fight.  While she would have loved to do all that, Sade was instead focusing entirely on her uncontrollable fall straight to the ground.

“FuuuuuuuUU- OOF!”

With a painful grunt, she impacted the ground and did her best to roll forward.  Everything hurt.  Her legs were charred, her dress was singed, and even with the incredible padding, her chest felt like she may have cracked a rib or two from the fall.  Despite the overwhelming agony she felt while laying there on the hard earth, Sade could do nothing to stop the triumphant grin from splitting her face as she looked up into the bright blue sky above the arena.

“The winner is Sade of Kanho!”