Beyond?

“The people who live in the grasslands are bigger than the normal citizen of Nict. Their nomadic lifestyle seems to be the reason for that. They form caravans with up to a hundred people and travel the grasslands. We don't know much about them because they avoid contact with outsiders.

But we know that everyone who travels through their territory is attacked fiercely and without warning. Your only chance is to avoid detection, or to travel with a large enough group to repel any attacks. But even that isn't enough in some cases. It's told that multiple nomadic caravans joined hands to take down a diplomatic mission from Quinn. They had three hundred guards with them.”

-Unknown traveller

***Free City States of Nict, Nict***

***Azir***

“There is no need to worry. This test will be easy.” I nod while I take a look over the obstacle course which was assembled to test our skills. We are in our fifth year and this test is open to the public. Many people from different clans are sitting on stands which are placed in the best position to watch the entire length of the course.

They came here to watch the next generation. Making a good impression during this test is actually very important for our future and it'll influence the reputation of our clans.

Karsen looks in dismay at a set of ten training dolls. “You say it like that, but I am not sure on how to destroy the dolls in the middle of the course. They are fireproof.”

“Don't joke around.” Louise huffs and crosses her arms in front of her chest. “We trained your skills with the wind-fist spell especially for that purpose.”

Karsen looks at the ground and kicks a pebble away. “I know, but it doesn't look cool. I mean... it just goes 'poof' and something is blasted to pieces! That's no fun! My flames go 'WOOSH!' and 'ROAR!' ! You get it?” Advertisements

Louise smacks her head and snarls at Karsen. “Do you want to fail the test? Because THAT would be uncool! So just crush the stupid dummies with the wind-fist. Coat the wind fist in flames and make a fireball that explodes if you are keen on wasting mana.”

Karsen's eyes become wide and he smiles. “That's actually a good idea!”

Stella sighs and gestures at the course. “I am actually not very keen on making a show in front of so many people. Especially because nobody from my family is watching me. They didn't want to sit between all those mages.”

“What are you saying? We are watching you. So go out there and show them that talent isn't everything! You are the one who has to prove herself the most. If you shine here they make fools of themselves if they talk bad about you.” I point at the course. Well, it's a lie. Stella is very talented and smart. Probably more so than many other kids here.

“I am actually the one with the most pressure here. My mother told me to do something that makes their jaws drop. She wants me to show off to increase the reputation of our clan.” I take a better look at the course.

First there is a twenty metre long pool of mud. You have to get past it without losing too much time. Then you have to cover fifty metres of flat ground as fast as possible. A ten metre high pillar with a platform on top is the next hurdle. You have to climb on top of it somehow.

While standing on the platform you have to destroy ten training dummies. They are placed on the ground around the pillar.

That done, you just have to jump down and move a big boulder, which is blocking a gate, out of the way. Afterwards you step through the gate and you are done.

“Have you decided on what to do?” Talia invests her time into some warm up exercises. She is the first one to take the test in our group.

Louise nods. “It'll be hard to match Annice's show. Telekinesis is just boring in that regard. She flew onto the platform, turned around in a circle and blasted the dummies away, then she flew down and moved the boulder aside. It was really anticlimactic.”

Stella purses her lips. “But if you are that good at telekinesis there isn't much more to do.”

I nod. “Though I am interested in that rumoured prodigy from the Veit. It interests me to see what an enchanter can do. Especially on how she is going to deal with the dummies.”

“Then your question is about to be answered.” Louise points at a small girl who readies herself at the start of the course. Her hair is of a dark orange and reaches down to her thighs.

A teacher signals her to start and a magical circle with several layers appears under her. Then she jumps! It's a huge leap which carries her over the mud. Landing on the other side she starts to run, her legs moving like a machine gun.

The pillar is taken with another jump. From the platform she points her hands at the dolls, magical circles appear under them and the dolls are crushed like toys. From there the girl jumps off the platform and touches the boulder.

The boulder simply floats aside with a light push and the girl steps through the gate, bowing to the audience.

“She is skilful. To enchant something with gravity magic to increase or decrease its weight is actually not that easy. And she even managed to do it from a distance.” I nod.

Karsen shakes his head. “But why didn't she use it float up to the platform like Annice?”

Stella answers his question. “It looks like she can just increase or decrease weight. If she had made herself weightless and propelled herself to the platform, she would have needed an astounding amount of physical control to actually hit her target. Apparently she doesn't have that, so she chose to run.”

“Who cares! My turn!” Talia runs up to the teacher who signals her to wait until the course is repaired. But there is an army of workers and adult magicians for exactly that purpose waiting at the sidelines. Within moments the obstacle course is repaired and Talia can start her show.

With the signal of the teacher a bubble of mana forms around her. It's the trademark move of our clan. The mana takes physical shape and Talia encases herself in a blue shimmering sphere. The sphere starts to spin while Talia is floating within it.

Like being inside a wheel, Talia drives through the swamp and across the empty segment of the course. Reaching the pillar, a tentacle whips out of her bubble and catapults her onto the platform.

Turning around once in a circle, Talia points at each doll and it is blasted to pieces by a sphere of condensed mana. Then she jumps down and and slices the boulder into two pieces with a thin mana tentacle. Afterwards she walks relaxedly through the gate.

“Tch! She had to show off with that sphere of hers.” Karsen looks unhappy while he walks to the starting point.

The teacher signals Karsen to wait until one of the older magicians fused the boulder back together.

Then it's his turn. Karsen simply starts to run towards the mud. He stretches one hand out and a jet of flames bakes a bridge of dried dirt for Karsen. Reaching the end of the mud, Karsen keeps running normally while creating a trail of fire behind him. At the pillar he summons two jets of flames from his feet and catapults himself onto the platform.

The dolls are dealt with by using the wind-fist. Of course Karsen adds some flames to sugar-coat the spell. The area under the pillar is bathed in a sea of fire while Karsen jumps down and places his hands on the boulder, melting his way right through.

“It just has to burn and be hot. He doesn't care as long as those requirements are fulfilled.” Louise mumbles as she walks to the start. It takes the repair crew a while to clean up Karsen's mess, but finally it's Louise's turn.

At the teacher's signal she forms a complicated symbol with her hands and disappears in a flash of light, reappearing on top of the platform. Then she slices the empty air with her hands, summoning blades of energy which shoot out and slice apart the dolls and the boulder below.

Another flash of light takes her to the finish. I nod approvingly. A perfect memory is surely helpful in learning high level spells like teleport and light cutter.

I breath out between my teeth. “They are all so flashy. How can I make it a big show if everyone stands out like that?”

“Muh. I am sure you'll find a way.” Stella runs to the teacher and can immediately start her test. Louise didn't destroy anything beside the dolls and the boulder after all.

Stella takes a meditation stance and glowing runes start appearing all over her skin, shining even through her clothes. Rune magic became her speciality after all. Then she leaps over the mud and onto the platform, empowered by the assist magic of the runes.

On top of the platform she draws with her finger a complicated set of runes into the air. A glowing trail of mana is created and a set of glowing lances appears above her, nailing all dolls at once in the next moment.

She jumps down and draws another set of runes onto the rock, reducing it to dust in the blink of and eye. Then she walks through the gate.

I sigh and walk to the starting line. How can I impress these people? The kids here are already doing stuff that's destroying the equipment. Probably it will do if I simply go with the stuff my mother taught to me... nah... I'll show them a real spell.

The teacher nods. I place my hands in a praying position and meditate for several seconds. There should still be enough mana around. So I close my eyes to sense the power all around me and force it under my will.

Glowing spheres of light start appearing, but instead of forcing them into a protective sphere around me, I image a big magical circle under my feet. It should create a space time bubble, speeding up the passing of time around me.

In short it makes me super fast! I raise one hand and release the spell. “Activate!”

The world around me turns grey and silent while everything stops. I pull a pen out of my pocket and scribble “SLOW!” onto the teacher's forehead. Then I add some good visible whiskers to his cheeks.

Finally I decide to start the race and walk over the mud. While I am in this time frame the mud is as hard as rock.

On my way over the clear part of the course I decide to use a stick to scrape some childish drawings and messages into the otherwise smooth and dusty ground. “How did it get late so soon?”

“Time is the longest distance between two places.”

“Time is an illusion.”

“There is never enough time to do all you want. Unless you stop it.”

“Time is what keeps everything from happening at once.”

Well. I think that's enough. So I walk up to the platform and jump smoothly onto it by using levitation magic.

From the top of the platform I cast an arcane lance for every doll. The spells actually freeze upon leaving my time frame and turn grey, hanging still in the air.

Well. I only have enough mana to accelerate myself after all. Combined with the spacial magic to shift the air around me while I am moving it takes a lot of mana to sustain the spell. Even doing something a simple as scraping something into the ground takes a heavy burden on me. I wouldn't have been able to cast such a spell without my clan ability.

Speaking of time, I should get going. There isn't much left according to my wristwatch. I place a curse on the boulder which should split it as soon as the time starts moving again. Or more accurately, when I slow down again. Advertisements

Then I walk around the boulder and give the teacher there a similar treatment as the one at the starting point. Afterwards I wait for my spell to run out. The world returns to its colourful state, I hear the calls of the people and my arcane lances start moving while the boulder splits.

The teacher who should announce the end of the test beside me is still looking at the starting point while straining his neck to find out what happened.

I decide to help him. “Ahem!”

He turns around and ogles me with big eyes. The enhanced eyebrows I painted onto him do their part in making him look really stupid.

.