Aeris studied the man with a cold gaze. His steel grey eyes moving slowly and taking note of every aspect. The way he held his wand, the way he stood, the tilt of his head. It all came together plain as words on parchment to tell a story, the man's story.
It was that story that told Aeris exactly where to aim and when to strike. The man made a quick gesture flicking the tip of his wand left and the arc of electricity leapt through the air towards Aeris. He danced to the side moving his wand upward, and a bolt of ice blue energy surged forward. Aeris watched as his opponent was too slow to dodge and the energy struck his chest, seconds later ice had formed pinning his wand arm to his chest.
"You see Percy, that's the problem with form 4 you can be easily pinned."
"Form 1 is easily countered as well." Percy growled
"Ah but alas you were too slow my dear friend."
" "
The city of Denarae was alive with busy bodies, Aeris and Percy strolled through the streets as Merchants haggled wares with travelers and the wealthy. They spoke of the art of Wand duels, of the weather and how it would affect the harvest in a week's time. All in all they strolled and discussed, that was when they came across a man in garish yellow clothes arguing with a humble man with a handlebar mustache and a copper hand. They were too far to hear the words but the man in yellow lifted his hand to strike the old man.
His hand swung through the air and met a transparent wall instead.
"Pardon the interruption but I'd sincerely appreciate you keeping your hands to yourself on my street." Aeris called to the man in yellow.
The man in yellow whipped around fury blazin in his eyes and a wand already drawn. The man held the wand gripped with the fingers, his forefinger running parallel with the wand tip pointed into the grip. His arm fully extended and body turned dominate foot pointing forward.
"You're street?!" The man howled like a cat when their tail got stepped on.
Aeris sighed drawing his own wand twirling it once in his palm and gripping it in his fingers matching the grip of the other man but holding his arm at a 90 degree angle. "Yes, I have dueled exactly 5 men for the right to claim this quarter as mine. I do not care who you are when in the Slate Quarter you will respect me even above the Manicar."
A scoff escaped the man's mouth as it hung open wide eyebrows so high they nearly blended into his sandy brown hair. "Do you have any idea who I am!?" He howled once more
Aeris lilted his head back lazily and looked over to Percy, "Perc, what do you think it is obstructing his hearing."
If Aeris could read the expression of fear on Percy's face, which he could, he paid it no attention. "Perhaps it's his big head." Percy said choosing to put his faith in his dear friend, "or maybe the god awful yellow suit he wears as if it was last spring."
"You insolent cur!" The man hissed he flicked his wand upward and a blue flame soared through the air towards Percy stopping long before it hit him choosing instead to harmlessly strike the cobbled street.
"Perhaps it is that you are deaf, or perhaps you do not take me seriously but that is twice you have disrespected my authority. The first was moderately excusable for you did not know who I was but the second was a blatant disregard of my warning so I'll have to ask you to either leave and never show your face or submit to a Duel."
At this time a crowd had formed around Aeris and the yellow man. The old man with a handlebar mustache looked to Aeris pleadingly, "Aeris don't do this."
In response Aeris smirked at the old man, "time to choose Dandy." He called to the man in yellow.
"Confrontium, in the Lord's garden at noon tomorrow." He spat and stormed off. A short man in plain clothes hurried after him.
As the crowd dispersed Aeris and Percy moved to the old merchant. Who gave them each a quick hug.
"Father what was that?" Percy asked
"He didn't agree with the price of my silk." The man spoke
"Well he won't be bothering you again anytime soon Garin." Aeris assured
"Aeris have you no clue who that man was?" Percy asked
"Just another spoiled noble, nothing new." Aeris shrugged
"That was actually, Havish the Champion of Denarae. He hasn't lost more than three duels in his life."
"Like I said, nothing new" Aeris said with a sly smirk
The next morning came and Aeris got dressed in his best dueling clothes which consisted of an emerald green silk shirt, brown pants and black boots that end just below the knee. Accompanied by a black leather half cape. He strapped his belt around the green shirt at his waist. On the belt was a wand resting in its holster, the wand was a foot long and made of blackthorn wood, it curved slightly after 9 inches.
He stepped out onto the street where he met Percy and Garin, both wearing the same worried expression and plain clothes. When they caught sight of Aeris Percy nodded appreciatively,
"As fine an outfit as any to die in." He said lightly.
Aeris mocked shocked as he gasped loudly, "betrayed by my only friend, what a shame." Aeris said with a chuckle "you were like a brother to me."
Percy fell into step next to him and they began walking towards the Lord's estate.
"So what's your plan?" Percy asked
"Easy, he exposed his form yesterday. I will simply counter it with form 4."
"And if he tries to counter it with form 3?"
"I counter with form 1."
They discussed more strategy, Percy trying to subtly urge him to back out if the duel. Which of course he knew was in vain but he tried all the same.
The Lord's Garden was beautiful, bordering on extravagant. Large flower bushes decorated the smooth stone walkways. At every intersection there was a different statue, paiges sat at the base of each statue leading spectators to the arena of the duel.
It was a large oval that sat into the center of an amphitheater. It was already half full and more people flooded in as Aeris walked onto the field. A sudden quiet filled the area as the spectators studied the man who challenged the city's Champion. Havish, the champion, stood on the opposite end of the field wearing a cocky grin. Sat above him was the Lord, Ganus Selaise, he was a short man with platinum blonde hair and wearing scarlet red robes.
After the theater filled, Lord Selaise stood and addressed the crowd.
"Well this is certainly not how I expected to start my day. For those of you in the crowd unaware of the codes of conduct the two contestants are to lock in a one on one battle, to the death." He paused to let the crowd absorb his words, "contestants step into the center of the ring please."
Aeris slowly walked to the center of the grass patch. He noted the smirk on Havish's face, and nodded with a wide smile.
"Such a shame." Aeris said to Havish
"A shame that you have to die on such a nice day?" Havish said with a grin
"A shame," Aeris spread his arms out turning in a full circle "that the fine city of Denarae has such a shit Champion, really a poor reflection on the city. The lord is gonna be filled with joy over your death."
The Lord's voice boomed over the field, "begin."
In a fluid motion Havish whipped his wand out slashing from left to right causing a blast of wind to strike out. Aeris was ready as he turned his wand sideways and a ripple of golden energy halted the wind before it hit him.
Immediately as the wind stopped Aeris flung the tip of his wand up a ball of fire leapt towards Havish. He leapt to the right but Aeris was ready and a bolt of fire struck Havish in the chest. It knocked him back and Aeris halted his assault.
Aeris held his wand in front of his body. He grinned as his arm settled into a 90 degree angle and his pointer finger pressed into the grip of his wand.
"Form 4, an admirable move though choosing the counter to my preferred form means little if you lack the skill to capitalize." Havish said before flicking his wand upward and quickly waving it down two blasts of air shot forward.
Aeris dodged one but was too slow to dodge the other. The wind pushed him back and as he stumbled he threw his wand out a wall of fire erupted in front of him as another blast of air ignited before hitting him.
Havish had tried to sneak a third strike in but Aeris planned for it. Just like that Aeris had his opponent all figured out. With two swings of his wand two balls of flame leapt forward Havish dodged the first but was taken by surprise as the second split into two smaller fireballs one hitting him from the left and the other from the right. Havish dropped his wand and Aeris resumed his passive position letting his opponent regain his composure.
"You know I expected more of a challenge from the Champion of Denarae" Aeris said with a shrug.
Havish's face twisted in rage and he swung his wand in two wide arcs from left to right. Driven by the force of Havish's swings two wild blasts of wind flew towards Aeris
If he'd been paying attention Aeris would have seen the lord lean forward in his throne. Eyes glued to the battle ensuing in front of him and nearly his entire city.
The two blasts of wind cut through the space between havish and Aeris. Tearing up loose dirt and rubble, two blades of raw power driven by the uncontained rage of an arrogant man. Which of course was exactly the story Havish had told Aeris through each of their interactions.
When the winds met the spot Aeris had been standing they met emptiness. A bolt of flame struck Havish in the side with just enough power to send him sprawling. He dropped his wand and Aeris pushed the attack this time another bolt of fire armed downward towards havish who rolled out of the way. Unfortunately he rolled right into the freshly spawned wall of flame scorching his right arm as he rolled through it.
Aeris stopped and kicked Havish his wand, the man caught it and quickly stood sweeping his wand around his body elegantly spawning a small swirling cyclone of air that bounded towards Aeris. Who quickly side stepped and struck Havish with another blast of fire. The blast threw him backwards, this time though he kept a solid grip on his wand and as he flew backwards Havish whipped his wand down, spawning a vertical swatch of wind that caught Aeris off guard. It hit him in the left side causing his body to spin and opening a long cut on his torso.
"I let you have your fun," Havish said as he landed on his feet from the brief journey he took through the air. "Unfortunately for you boy, I am the King of wands. Your antics are little more than parlor tricks for me." His voice was a vicious hiss of fury his eyes blazing and sweat had formed on his brow.
Aeris tried to catch his breath but Havish swung three more times, each strike hit Aeris causing him to lose his wand and sending him sprawling into the grass.
A spike of wind formed above and below Aeris, who instead of rolling pushed his hands out, his wand leapt into his deft fingers and as the spikes closed in on him like the mouth of some terrifying beast Havish was the only one who saw the smirk cross Aeris's face as the ball of fire struck his head. He wasn't quite done but the spikes vanished and Aeris stood gracefully rolling to his feet.
"You claim to be a King but all I see is a Paige."
The crowd gasped, and Havish roared. His fury tearing at the already scorched walls of his throat. "You-"
Havish had started a sentence but Aeris sent another onslaught of fire at him crisping his body where it was kneeling.
The crowd roared with excitement, and the lord let it sit for another couple minutes before standing once more and holding his right hand up.
"There you have it ladies and gentlemen, Aeris Argent is now the city's New champion."
Applause rose once more and the crowd went wild. A paige in scarlet robes came down to greet Aeris, silently guiding him to a lavish room in the Lord's estate.
" "
Moments after the Paige left the room, Aeris was accompanied by a short stout woman with light brown hair and golden eyes, her pudgy face bare save some freckles and the token Crescent Moon Marking on her forehead. The moon marked her as a Lunaris, an order of mages dedicated to healing.
Once the Lunaris left Aeris was left alone, which he felt was long overdue. He sat in a plush high backed chair and leaned his chin on his hand. He thought for a long while about the duel, how he could have done better. He spent so long nitpicking the tiny details about his form that he didn't even get a chance to think about the consequences of his victory. That is of course until it was too late.
The Lord stepped into the room flanked by a short but somehow still gangly Paige in scarlet silks and a man in shimmering silver armor. The lord was a tower of a man, he had platinum blonde hair and striking silver eyes. His skin had a sun-kissed tone to it and his stomach had begun to sag with age. Despite the remarkable size difference Lord Selaise still managed to make Aeris feel warm and at home in this foreign room.
"Aeris Argent, The Mirror. You spent an awfully long time away from my fair city. Only to come back and clean up my most dangerous quarter nearly single handedly." The Lord said with a large smile.
"I wouldn't give myself too much credit, my lord." Aeris said standing from the chair and bowing respectfully
A booming laugh erupted from the lord, and he looked over his shoulder at the man in armor, "you see that, Heath, he's Humble just as much as he is skilled."
"A true testament to his character my lord." Heath said with a practiced reverence.
"Aeris, as the champion of my city you are granted certain privileges. Chief among them is not having to show me the same boring pleasantries as the rest of those under our protection."
"One your predecessor took a fair amount of liberties with." Heath growled, Aeris noticed a brief showing of anger and filed it away for possible future use.
"Yes, Yes Havish was a bit Savage compared to the court, or even the Throne Guard." Lord Selaise said reigning in the conversation "No matter, we can go over your privileges and what is expected of you later for now I need your measurements, and the name of your right hand."
"My uh what?"
The short man stepped forward with a long strip of green fabric. He hadn't said a word the entire time they were in the room but a quick and firm "Stand" made Aeris readjust his initial calculations of the man.
Aeris stood as the shorter man weaved around him. Being the son of a silk merchant, and by proxy having interacted with loads of tailors, he knew exactly what was happening.
"Your right hand, your advisor, your confidant, the man or woman at your side."
"Percival Argent." Aeris said without hesitation.