Chapter Four Hundred And Fifty Four – 454
Atar rubbed his temples and sipped slowly at a Mana Potion. It didn't do much to ease his headache, but at least it kept the Mana deprivation at bay. The roar of the crowd didn't help much either.
"Ooh!"
A wince swept through the throng as a man was hurled into the shimmering barrier, sending ripples of light across the sigaldry's edge. Mana drained from the formation, spent by the impact, and Atar focused on channeling more Mana into the sigils to keep them active. The mana Bladetried to stand, but fell back onto his face, defeated.
"Who's next?" Evie shouted, reeling her chain back around her hands. The dull silver weapon moved like a living thing, twisting around the woman's arm and shoulder with a purpose.
Evie stood in the middle of a wide circle they had cleared on the third ship in the fleet, the outside marked by a barrier formation Atar had inscribed into the chitin boards. A mass of people hugged the edge of it, most watching with enthusiasm but a few bearing arms and armor with an excited air about them. They were all of them there to fight, testing themselves against the elite of the Fiend's people. Vess had been out earlier, laying waste to any number of Claw members that dared face off against her, but she'd either grown bored or had a breakthrough. She left three glasses prior, right before Evie arrived, soaking wet and filled with a need for violence. The Claw had obliged.
Lens of the Magus is level 77!
Sigaldry is level 72!
Atar grunted as a final bit of Mana poured from his palms and into the circle, reigniting the failed portion just as the unconscious body of the Blade was dragged away. As annoying as it was to act as a Mana battery for the barrier formation, it was a form of training for him as well. While Evie exhausted herself against challenger after challenger, he had to keep updated the barrier formation on the fly, adapting to the Skills and stats of the fighters quickly. If any one of them proved too powerful for his array they would pierce it and break the entire thing apart. On the plus side, the entire structure was a derivation on the field array he'd composed back in Nagast and it was far more efficient now than previously. Even without Mana Potions to top him off, Atar was fairly certain he could keep up a similar barrier against Journeyman level attacks for at least half a glass.
"We challenge you, Chainmaiden."
Evie spun to face a number of Yttin sailors, all of them stripped to the waist and bearing their long, trident like spears. "All six of you?"
"Alone we cannot hope to win. But together, we are stronger," the Yttin sailor said, and his wide mouth displayed dozens of sharp, triangular teeth. "Together, we shall triumph."
Evie shrugged, and the tightly coiled chain slipped off her shoulder like water, pooling on the deck with a heavy clank-thunk. "Sounds fair. I've been moppin' the floor with the rest of you. Let's make it interestin'."
Atar focused and opened up a hole in the formation directly in front of the six Yttin. They nodded at him in thanks before stepping through. Their broad chests were all covered in thick armor that varied between red, blue, and violet that thickened visibly as each of the sailors prepared. Wide plates of knobby and spiked chitin swelled their frame, until the Yttin were all hulking brutes covered head to toe in impressive natural armor. The extra appendages on their backs grew as well, turning into sharpened spears and huge, prehensile pincers.
"Twin's teeth," Evie swore. "Does that hurt?"
"No," their leader rumbled, his voice no less loud for the fact that his face was entirely covered by a chitinous mask. "It is our Born Trait, unique to our Race and lost to use for many Ages. Now we claim it once again. You shall see that it is as fearsome as it appears, Chainmaiden."
"Yeah yeah." Evie twisted her arm and her chain rippled across the boards. "Prove it."
Atar leaned forward, interested to see if the warriors could best his annoying ally. They moved deceptively fast for their size, and from the way they shook the deck beneath him, Atar assumed they did not weigh as much as someone in metal armor would have. Indeed, when the first two engaged with Evie, she turned their blows aside with relative ease. She didn't even use her chain, relying instead on her thickened vambrace and some sort of Parry Skill. When the other four closed the distance, however, things changed. The armored appendages moved independently of the Yttin's arms and legs, attacking from strange and complex angles that Atar had trouble noticing before they landed. Evie was forced to bob and weave, all thoughts of Parrying set aside for pure Agility.
Evie was laughing. "More! Faster!"
Yttin claws slammed down with tremendous force, missing her by a hairsbreadth each time, while she dodged between their huge Bodies with wild, impossible motions. She was like smoke, or water, meeting their Strength with an Agility so high they couldn't land a single hit against her. Frustration danced across their Spirits as the Yttin's strikes became more and more forceful. Atar could sympathize with them.
"Tooth and Claw!"
As four of the six Yttin attacked, Evie's chain suddenly constricted, locking all four warriors' claws into a bundled mass of metal links. New, jagged spikes and blades erupted from the weapon, forged of Mana and Stamina, cutting deeply into their chitin armor and forcing an agonized howl from their throats. Horrifyingly, the chain began to rotate, spinning its mess of blades against the appendages and spraying chips of chitin and thick, orange ichor in all directions. Atar gagged as pieces of their limbs fell to the deck with a wet thud.
"Grim Fervor!" Evie shouted.
"I don't plan on it." The woman's questions had started innocuous, but it was clear the Chanter was trying to assess Felix for...something. "Have you mentioned it to him?"
"No. Have you?"
"No." Atar glanced up, seeing Felix several strides away and intently watching the fight. Evie was a whirling dervish in the circle, and two of the six warriors were down on the ground. He jolted, but his fear was replaced by soothing relief as he saw their chests rising and falling. A small flare of Analyze indicated their Health was rising slowly. Burning ashes, Evie. Take it easy.
"Then we should tell him. Tonight, after dinner." Alister squeezed his hand. "Alright?"
"Alright."
From within the circle, a sudden burst of purple-white lightning flashed across the space. The final four Yttin fell to their knees, Bodies limp yet hanging suspended by ghostly chains about their limbs and chests. With a sharp, exhausted gesture from Evie, the chains vanished entirely. That, however, wasn't the strangest bit: it was Felix, who stood poised at the edge of the barrier and was staring directly at Evie. No. Not Evie. Her chain. Atar pursed his lips. Why?
"Drop the shield, the fight's over," Evie said. She jogged over to the Yttins' side, pulling several Health Potions free from her pouch. Several Yttin came close to help their brethren, and she tossed the bottles to them. "Make sure they take these. That was a good fight."
They bowed and immediately uncorked the Potions and administered them.
you could have bested them all. they are nothing.
The Flame was very annoying, Atar had discovered. It wanted him to grow, no matter the cost, and just like its predecessor it desired fuel. Atar had determined that the Flame was not the same as the Urge he'd somehow absorbed, but it carried many similarities. Mostly it wanted to burn, bright and hot and furiously for all the Continent to see. The vast majority of its communication with the fire mage were requests for fuel or to somehow exhibit their power in a public forum. Like these sparring matches. Atar had refused. While he was feeling better, his recovery was far from complete.
Interestingly enough, the Flame had been affected by Atar's Link with Felix. While mostly it was a quivering tongue of flame, sometimes it manifested as a bird, a small one with only the roughest shape of wings. That was why he'd formed his new core into a cage, in the hopes that he could restrain the Flame within it; the plan had worked, sort of. The thing could still manifest around him, but it felt...leashed. Held tighter, at least.
People began dispersing as Evie left the confines of the formation, many of them moving away quickly as Felix arrived at her side. They began talking in low tones, the Autarch gesturing excitedly.
you cannot ignore us forever, atar. we sit in your heart. we know you desire the sky as much as we. to blaze.
Atar pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling his headache getting worse. He almost gasped in surprise when soft, warm fingers pressed against his temples and began to massage them gently. "You're pushing yourself too hard, love," Alister said. "You need rest."
"I've had enough. I need to fix myself," Atar said, and perhaps with more heat than he intended. The massage stopped for a second before resuming. "IAlister I have to rebuild it all. My core space is still in shambles, and these changes to my appearance and my Race...I need time. And we're going to fight soon. Worse, we're going to war, probably. I cannotI cannot be a liability."
Though Atar couldn't see him, he could envision the annoyed amusement on Alister's face as he took several measured breaths. "Fine, you giant idiot. We keep walking the razor's edge together. Can you hold the barrier alone? Or should we get some of the Arclight Apprentices in to help?"
"No, no, I have it. It's been doing wonders for my Sigaldry and Lens of the Magus Skills." Atar sighed, enjoying the massage. "But I should take a break for a bit."
"Alright. Take that break now, because we'll need the barrier back up soon."
"Why?"
Alister laughed. "Because Felix wants me to fight our new friend."
"What?"
"Alister! Get ready!" Beef shouted from near Felix and Evie. He was doing a series of odd lunges and bends, flexing all the while. "I'm gonna crush you into paste, wizard!"
Atar blinked and looked up at his boyfriend in confusion. "What in Avet's black teeth is a wizard?"
