บท 10: Chapter 4-2: Crimson, Fluttering in the Wind
Ren dashed forward; he could see the red ribbon tied to one of the Rush brothers' arm. All he had to do was get to it.
"Now!" Serana shouted as she thrust her spear into the ground, channelling her mana into a much more powerful spell than she had used last time. The ground shook, threatening to throw Ren off balance.
Ren felt a darker, less powerful source of mana approach and ducked just in time to evade a small firebolt. Though it didn't touch him, the trail of heat it left behind formed beads of sweat on Ren's forehead. Edward stood off to the side, once again chanting. Ren threw himself sideways avoiding several more firebolts and closing the distance between him and Serana.
"Never mind him!" Alfred shouted, "Just get the ribbon!"
Ren grinned as he tumbled and sprung back on his feet. He unsheathed his tachi and struck her spear still stuck in the ground with a single motion. The tremors stopped as she was forced to jump back, severing the connection between her and her conduit. He ignored her afterwards, instead turning his attention towards Alfred. He wasn't holding a weapon, but his hand was in his pocket, Ren could sense his mana fluctuating and shifting. He was casting a spell and he was good enough to hide it – Ren couldn't decipher what the spell was from his mana. He was intentionally shifting it constantly, making it impossible to read.
His legs carried him closer to his opponent, just as their cast finished. He was almost there! Suddenly long, thick roots sprouted from the ground around him.
"Gotcha!" Alfred grinned as the roots leapt at Ren. The young man jumped and tumbled, hoping to get to Alfred before they reached him, but more and more roots unearthed themselves, blocking both his path forward and his retreat.
He paused, carefully eyeing the ever-approaching wall of plants. "Come on, come on…" He took a few steps back. What was taking so long? The cage he had found himself in was getting smaller and smaller, not leaving him any space to move. He felt something cold touch his ankle and twist around it. As it reached his knees, Ren's lips formed a thin line. Was she not able to handle one of the Rush brothers on her own?
He suddenly felt a rush of icy cold, blue mana envelop him. At first, there was only a slight gust of wind. Within the blink of an eye, it turned into a small tornado that ripped the roots apart, lifting both them and Ren high up into the air.
"I got it!" He barely heard Edward shout as he allowed the winds to carry him to his target – Alfred Rush. He swung his blade before his feet even touched the ground. Alfred's shocked expression was almost funny as he fell, trying to evade Ren's blade. "Wait – we got it though!" He shouted.
Ren caught one end of the red ribbon and pulled it, undoing the simple knot.
"We win." He declared.
"No," Serana suddenly said with a smug grin. She was standing next to Princess Iris with her spear pointing at her. Next to them stood Edward. He also grinned and lifted his hand. A crimson ribbon, cut into several pieces fell slowly to the ground. "We got it first."
"I don't think so," Princess Iris pushed Serana's spear aside and approached Ren. She reached out and untied the red ribbon holding his hair up. "You simply destroyed a piece of cloth unrelated to the competition." She held the unharmed ribbon high. "Instructor, would you announce the winning team please?" She glanced at Warthorn.
"Sure," He said after a moment's hesitation. "Princess Iris and Ren's team has won."
"Thank you," Princess Iris politely smiled and handed the ribbon to over. Then, she glanced at Serana and the Rush brothers. "You fought well, thank you for the match."
"It was an honour, your highness." Edward bowed with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. He turned and headed to the farther side of the courtyard, where the rest of his class was waiting. As he passed by Ren, he paused and quietly spoke. "I'm impressed by your skill as well." He quickly left, leaving a surprised and confused Ren behind.
"Ren, shall we?" Princess Iris' voice reached his ears. He quickly rushed to her side while being painfully aware of Serana's hateful gaze. As he and the princess took their place at the side lines, the next groups began with their battle preparations.
"My apologies," Princess Iris said with a slightly warmer voice. "Clearly my confidence in my spellcasting was ill-founded."
"What?" Ren asked in surprise. What was she apologising for? Her control over her mana was nothing to be scoffed at and the spell she'd used was incredibly difficult to use properly. "Your spell singlehandedly won us the match, your highness. If anything, I should apologize," He quickly bowed. "I should have kept them busy for longer to allow you more time to cast."
"I told you already, such things are not necessary here." Though her voice was serious, Ren thought he caught a glimpse of a smile on her lips. "Let's say our coordination could have been better and leave it at that."
Ren nodded. She wasn't wrong. Before he could say anything, the next battle had begun. It was Aiden and Mirielle against two Class II students.
"How are you acquainted with Aiden Condor, Ren?"
"He approached me during our first day here." Ren hesitated, he couldn't tell her it was because they were the only guys in the class now, could he?
"I see."
Aiden and Mirielle both started casting as their opponents rushed towards them. "He's skilled and knowledgeable, not to mention smart." Princess Iris silently said. As they watched, Aiden's spell created a strong wind, pushing their opponents back. Mirielle was still casting, Ren couldn't sense her mana as her Highness' mana was still surrounding him.
"Though, I do believe he can be too smart for his own good sometimes." Princess Iris sighed. "She's not bad either," She gestured towards Mirielle, who had just finished casting. A small flame shot up from her wand. It quickly took the form of a bird as it lunged to the Class II students. Leaving a trail of fire in its wake, it flew directly at the red ribbon, burning it to ash within seconds.
Ren's eyes widened – he had never such a spell before. He then nodded and watched as the two were congratulated for their victory. "Mirielle is skilled but she needs to learn a lot about controlling her mana."
"It does feel… violent." Princess Iris quietly said. "Is that what caused you pain earlier?"
Ren flinched. "Yes. I didn't think you had noticed." He hadn't introduced himself to her yet and she was busy talking to the Ashthorn sisters and Lena at the time.
"You nearly collapsed; it would be a greater surprise if I didn't notice." She sighed and gestured towards Aiden and Mirielle. "I do believe you have found some good friends. You should treasure them." With that, she left the courtyard.
Ren stared after her, too dumbfounded to speak.
"You guys were amazing, Ren!" Mirielle shouted as soon as they reached him. She was panting and seemed a bit pale. Clearly that spell had taken its toll.
"I didn't do much." He smiled and gestured towards Aiden. "Your spell was stronger than I expected. And yours was unlike anything I've seen before," He said as he turned to Mirielle. "What was that?"
"Oh, it's just a little something my grandpa taught me when I was little." She smiled but avoided meeting Ren's gaze. "He was a skilled wizard."
Ren hesitated. It didn't look like she wanted to talk about it. He couldn't help but be curious; she had 'inherited' her violent mana and could manifest her mana as a bird – a living creature. He couldn't be entirely sure, since he couldn't sense her mana as she cast the spell, but it seemed awfully similar to the stories he was told years ago.
"Oh, they're really going at it." Aiden mumbled. Lena and the Ashthorn sisters were relentlessly attacking the five Class II students. Though they were getting slowly pushed back, Class II seemed to be holding their ground much better than Ren would have expected.
"REN!" Warthorn shouted. "Come here!"
"By the moon…" Aiden sighed as Ren's shoulders dropped. "I thought I wouldn't end up in the infirmary today…" He mumbled.
"I- I'm sure you'll be fine, Ren." Mirielle said with a nervous laugh. Ren shrugged and approached Warthorn. He was watching the ongoing fight intently. "You did well today." His sudden compliment threw Ren for a loop. Warthorn wasn't one to give compliments lightly.
"Thank you, sir."
"Whose idea was it to swap the ribbons?"
"It was her Highness' idea." Ren said. He hesitated, was Princess Iris going to get into trouble because of this? He couldn't let something like that happen, he wasn't about to allow his shortcomings affect her. "You didn't state that it was against the rules. She- "
"Relax, Ren. I'm not angry. I'm just surprised at how she used everything so… efficiently." He sighed and shook his head. "You're done with your battle, so you can leave early. The same applies to your friends as well."
As he finished his words, he took a deep breath and shouted. "Class I is the winner." Ren glanced at the ongoing battle to find Lena holding a red ribbon victoriously. They must have won while he was talking with Warthorn.
Ren quickly made his way back to Aiden and Mirielle. Lena joined them almost immediately after, with a huge grin on her face. After congratulating her, their questioning gazes prompted him to explain what happened as they slowly made their way to history class. Ren had only attended this class once more before. Usually his time after Warthorn's class was spent in the infirmary.
"Oh damn!" Lena shouted as they arrived to the classroom. "I didn't finish my report!" She quickly took her study materials out of her bag and sat down. "Ohh, please let me have the time to finish this." She mumbled as she continued writing the last few paragraphs of her report.
"I finished it last night." Mirielle silently said. "The Princess helped me a bit." She glanced around, then led Aiden and Ren to the bench in the front row. "How about you Ren? Did you get the chance to finish it?"
Ren nodded. He had finished writing it the day the assignment was given. He pulled out the four-page report from his pack and placed it on the desk. "Aiden helped a lot though. He knew a lot more on the royal lineage than I do."
"Well, I am a noble, let me know at least that much." He grinned.
"Good point." Mirielle said with a smile. She wasn't panting anymore and wasn't looking as pale anymore.
Ren also smiled, her Highness was right, he was lucky to be surrounded with such kind people. Thinking about her words reminded him of the match. He pulled his now freely flowing hair away from his face. Back in the Inner Keep he'd never tie his hair back but here it was a bit too eye catching. He looked inside his pack in hopes of finding a ribbon or something similar, but his search was in vain.
"I'm jealous." Mirielle said suddenly, gently taking a few stands of his hair in her hand. "I never was able to grow my hair quite this long."
"Oh? I think short hair suits you perfectly though." Aiden gave her his best smile. He then also took some of Ren's hair in his hand. "I don't get how you can fight like that while you have all this hair getting in your way. Don't get me wrong," He quickly explained. "I can't really imagine you with short hair, but what made you grow your hair quite this long?"
"Well, my master taught me much of what I know." Ren smiled when he remembered his training sessions with Yu. "He didn't just teach me how to fight, but also a bit about inscriptions. Usually when you cast a ritual spell, you use your own blood, unless it's a simple enough spell for chalk to do the job. But most powerful rituals need quite a lot of inscriptions. That means a lot of blood. Someone my size and build can't really afford to lose that much blood every time they want to cast a ritual. It's apparently possible to use hair, but I'm not sure how." After all, hair wasn't liquid like blood. A special, paste like substance was also required.
"That's the first time I heard of it." Aiden said with a thoughtful tone. "You sure know a lot Ren."
Ren awkwardly laughed and shook his head. "No, just a few bits here and there."
As their conversation continued, the other students also arrived. The Ashthorn sisters took their place at the farthest side of the classroom, while Princess Iris sat right behind Ren, her mana once again spreading around him. He felt a chill run down his spine but refrained from saying anything.
Soon afterwards, the door creaked open to welcome Instructor Eron.
"I see the Tenth spared you today, Ren." He said with a wicked grin. "Good timing, too. Today's lesson is an interesting one." He then approached Lena's desk. "Miss Nirei, are you done?"
Blood rushed to her face as Lena flinched and nodded. She handed her report over to him with a shaking hand.
"Good. Now, what about the rest of you?" Everyone quickly submitted their reports. Instructor Eron glanced at each of them, sometimes nodding in approval. "Good, very good." He leaned on his desk and, with a shine in his eyes started talking.
"Last time, I told you about the history of Arkon – of when and how it was built, and of the people who sacrificed their lives to protect it. Today, I will talk about those that were here before us. The humans of old – of the times before magic. I will tell you about the times men could walk outside with no fear of the sun or monsters."
Ren's eyes widened. Yu had never really told him much about that time. He always said it was in the past – it'd never be relevant again.
"And I will tell you of The Fall. Of when magic became commonplace, of how the great cities that spanned entire continents were destroyed." No matter how much he tried, Ren couldn't imagine such massive cities. How could one even feed such a huge population? How would they protect it?
"And I will tell you of those that existed before humanity. Those that awakened once more after magic retuned to our world. Those that saved the last few surviving humans, taught them magic and guided them. Those that were hunted down to extinction by the very humans they saved, as well as the other sentient races." He spread his arms wide, and with a dark, ominous grin, kept talking.
"I will tell you of The Ancients."
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Dweia
Dweia Hello!
As usual, thanks for your support, it means a lot to me. As for the story, Chapter 4 was one of the most fun and chellenging parts of the story to write. I'm both proud and nervous as hell to be finally posting it. Let me know what you think about it!
As for other news, just two days left until I start publishing my submission for the Spirity Awards! That's also something I'm nervous about, so please consider checking it out.
Also, starting this wednesday, my posting schedule will be permanantly changed to 00:00 GMT+8. Sorry for shuffling it around like this all the time, but there were some pesky circumstances.
Anyways, stay safe!
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