Zeph Malston: The Aether Mage

Liliana and Zeph were outside sitting in a couple of comfortable chairs, and Rin was sleeping on the soft grass. There was a large circular platform in front of them surrounded by a magical barrier. Bernard created a dueling platform in the front yard. Luckily, there was more than enough room for the stage in the front yard. Bernard said that this was where he used to hold gatherings, like small tea parties and special events. In fact, the two old friends had many duels on this very same stage. A hidden spell was written into the surrounding area, and it could summon the stage or other furnishings. When Zeph asked where the materials come from, Bernard said it was magic and laughed.

The two old men were standing in opposite corners and looking at the children. "Alright, kids watch carefully. You'll definitely learn a few things." Bernard spoke first. "And remember to record this." He looked at Zeph. The boy tapped the emerald pendant he was wearing, and it gave off a faint glow.

"That's right, watching two seasoned veterans like us will definitely be helpful." Ronan reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves. Instead of cloth or leather, they looked to be made of some sort of metal. The gloves possessed a dull sheen and had symbols could be seen on their surface.

"OOOO, grandpa's getting serious." Liliana scooted to the edge of her seat.

"Serious? Does it have something to do with those gloves?" Zeph looked to the girl and saw her eyes practically glitter with excitement when she looked at her grandpa's gloves.

"Mhmm, Mhmm. That's grandpa's special spell focus. They're made from the hide of a frost-wyrm. He doesn't use those unless he plans to go all out." There was reverence in her voice.

"Frost-wyrm, so he specializes in ice magic?"

"Of course, the whole Phillips family is a family of Ice sorcerers." Liliana looked at Zeph like he was an idiot.

Zeph had to think for a moment. Sorcerers were mages who were descendants of a magic or mythical being. There were several humanoid races and magic beings that could take on a humanoid form. In fact, the royal family of a nearby country was said to have a dragon for an ancestor.

"I'm sorry for my ignorance, I don't know much about the mage clans or nobles. Until recently, I grew up in the country."

"No, I'm sorry." She gave a slight bow. "I didn't mean to be rude. I just wasn't expecting you to be so…clueless."

"I thought you weren't trying to be rude." Zeph laughed.

"Oh no, I didn't mean that. What I was trying to say..err." She stuttered.

"Don't worry about it, I know that I don't have a lot of common sense when it comes to that kind of stuff. But at least I have a friend now to help me out." He smiled.

Liliana stopped for a second, and her eyes grew wide. "You mean that? That we're friends I mean?"

"Sure, I don't see why not. Our grandparents are friends." Zeph didn't realize he just signed himself up as a lifetime sparring partner.

Liliana was beaming. Now she had someone she could fight. She always thought that the reason her grandfather was so strong was that he had a powerful rival. Her dad was pretty powerful too, but he didn't reach the same heights her grandpa did. All the children's shows she watched pointed to one essential key to power, a strong rival. The best rivals were also best friends and they helped each other. That kind of friendship was the kind she longed for, and here was a boy who she could fight with to her fullest. Zeph may have never mentioned the word 'rival' but she glossed over that tidbit of information.

"Great! Grandpa hurry up, we're next!!!" Liliana stood up from her chair and shouted at the old men to get on with their fight.

'I didn't agree to that.' The boy thought to himself. Zeph turned to look at the dueling ring, only to see two old men leaning over the side. There was a warm look on their face as they watched the two children. Bernard's gentle smile turned to a smirk.

"We were just waiting for the two of you to stop flirting." Bernard winked at Zeph, causing the boy's eyebrows to furrow in annoyance.

"Oh, to be young and in love." Ronan put the back of his hand on his forehead, pretending to swoon. The gesture didn't look right when a geriatric bodybuilder did it.

"Flirting, we weren't flirting. Are you sure you're eyes are okay grandpa?" Liliana looked confused, obviously unaware of the two old men's teasing. "Besides, why would I flirt with my rival?"

Ronan's smile twitched. It looked like his granddaughter had a way to go before her father needed to start worrying about boys.

Zeph was thankful that Liliana was focused more on fighting than love. He was trying to think of a way to get Bernard back for that little remark. It was obvious that Bernard wouldn't mind if he and Liliana got together, even though the old man said he wouldn't meddle.

"Will you two start with it, please? I'm cheering for you Mr. Phillips" Zeph sent Bernard a smirk back.

"Well, you heard the boy Bernie." Ronan went back to his corner of the ring. "Bring out your spell focus and let's see if you can keep your winning streak.

"Alright, how about we set the condition for victory. Lose your beard, lose the fight. Sound good?" Bernard and Ronan would set victory conditions so that they wouldn't end up in a hospital.

"Sure thing, I bet that chin of yours hasn't seen the light of day in over sixty years. Now out with the staff, I don't have all day." Ronan's blood was boiling. He hadn't been in a good fight for over ten years.

Bernard reached into his lab coat and pulled out a large handgun. It reminded Zeph of a desert eagle, but the barrel was bigger and there were runes engraved in gold on it. "You got to get with the times and adapt to the ages, my friend. No one uses a staff anymore."

Ronan raised an eyebrow. He knew Bernard would use a gun often when they were on missions in the past, but his friend would never use one in a duel. "I've never seen you use a gun in a duel before." There was an unspoken question in the air.

Bernard smiled. "I've never seen you pull out a custom-made frost-wyrm gauntlet in a duel before."

Ronan circulated some magic through his gloves. The dull sheen became brighter and the gloves started to grow up his arm until they turned into armored gauntlets. "Well, I would be lying if I said it wasn't to show off in front of my granddaughter. Besides, you know how I fight. I'm all about that personal touch." Freezing mist started to flow off of the gauntlets, and ice formed on the ground beneath Ronan.

The runes on Bernard's gun barrel started to glow a dull orange. "I know all about it, and you should know how much I like my personal space." The air around Bernard started to ripple and distort as it heated up rapidly. The floor directly beneath Bernard's feet started to glow red hot.

Liliana and Zeph were on the edge of their seats. Everything was quiet except for the sounds of ice cracking on the floor and the wind blowing off of Bernard. A barrier started forming around the dueling ring, and large runes were glowing on the edges of the platform. Zeph's magic sense was being overloaded, and Liliana wasn't fairing any better. Just when the two couldn't take anymore, the barrier was completed and the burden on their minds disappeared. The two sighed in relief and focused back on the match about to begin.

"Ready?" Bernard raised his gun.

"Set." Ronan took a stance, ready to rush forward.

"Go!!" They both Yelled.

A fraction of a second after the two old rivals yelled, Zeph heard the sound of glass shattering. Ronan crashed through several shields that Bernard set up in that split second, and rushed to his side. The arena shook as Ronan's fist slammed into another shield at Bernard's side. He had barely made in time to defend against Ronan's icy punch. Cracks formed on the latest shield, so Bernard flew to the other end of the ring using telekinesis. Ronan was assaulted by a pillar of intense flames that Bernard cast when he fled. He used his ice magic to shield himself from the heat and endured.

The fire pillar gave Bernard enough time to reposition himself, and he pointed the gun at Ronan. Bernard pulled the trigger and fired a barrage of energy blasts at his old rival. The gunshot simple spells without needing the mage to focus on building them because the spell formula was engraved on a clip inserted in the hilt. This let Bernard keep Ronan distracted while he focused on building up a large scale attack. Behind Bernard's back, several large spears of lightning started forming. Ronan was busy dodging energy blasts but was slowly making his way towards the old ground. Realizing he wouldn't make it in time to interrupt Bernard's spell, Ronan slammed his hands on the ground. His gauntlets changed again, giving him dragon-like claws and armored scales. A wall of ice erupted from the ground in front of him.

The ice wall formed just in time to block the entire lightning spell. Spears of electricity sunk into the ice wall and shined brightly. Ronan formed a smaller dome of ice around himself just in time to protect himself from a massive electrical storm that covered the entire arena. Bernard saw his friend's last-minute defense and stayed on guard.

It was a good call. Because right before the spears erupted, Ronan threw a small ice grenade at Bernard's feet. When he noticed it, Bernard didn't have enough time to dodge. He reinforced his spell armor and shields. The grenade exploded into a ball of Bright white light, wrapping the immediate area sub-zero ice magic. When the light faded, there was a frozen statue of Bernard.

Not missing this chance, Ronan rushed forward and slashed at the statues beard with his icy claws. At the same moment, the ice encasing Bernard's right hand shattered as he pulled the trigger on his gun. A frozen beard shattered and an energy blast burnt another. Ronan grimaced when the wind blew across his chin. The ice around Bernard's body melted quickly, revealing a mischievous grin on his smooth face.

"Looks like it's a tie old friend." Bernard started to laugh.

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