17 Battle for the Scirese

Lyzbeth Heredis

"Romain, no!" the girl with jet-black hair exclaims. "Put him down! He did nothing wrong!"

"Miss, I will gladly put your friend down," the sorcerer says loudly. "But I will have to ask the enchantress with blonde hair and green eyes to show herself. Here's a message to her: show yourself or face this boy's end!"

And if I show myself, it would be my end. I don't know what to do. The obvious answer is just change myself and go after that sorcerer. Then again, what about the aftermath. How will I face my people? I do not know if I can erase all of their memories. I can't do that. There's too many of them. I would face the pyre to save Romain.

It is a battle within my heart and my mind once more. There are silent tears forming within my eyes, but I can't show it. I really thank this coat for hiding my face from this. . . this monster!

"Miss, you asked for it!" I look up and I see him threaten a flame near Romain. ". "'Tis the end for him now!"

Romain. . . I look into his eyes and he looks back. He does not even flinch. It was as if he is ready to face death for me. He actually wants me to be safe. No, I cannot let him face death for my sake. I take off the coat and stand my ground. Everyone is aghast to see my golden locks shining with the mid-morning sun.

I recite my incantation quickly and here I am in my true form of gowns and wings. It is me! I am the Scirese Enchantress, and I won't tolerate this battle anymore! Before the flames of the blue fire touches Romain, I quickly take him away from the sorcerer and gently put him down. Quickly, the girl embraces Romain. I guess this is his best friend. I'll never know.

Knowing that he is finally safe, I fly back to the sorcerer and face my enemy. "Here I am! I am the one that you seek and I demand that you stop this fire!"

"I believe I can't do that," he says. "You owe me a battle."

"I owe you nothing. I never did anything to you!"

"Tell that to the last sorcerer you sent to Infelix!"

And then, I remember. Of course. Danaca. I never knew how strong the camaraderie of the sorcerers. And that's when I realized. "You're here for revenge, aren't you?"

"Smart observation, miss enchantress," he says smugly. "'Tis a pity that we're enemies."

Was it all a trap? Have I done wrongly to challenge Danaca? What if I just did an incantation to free Romain and ran away with him? And suddenly, a wind pushes me down. He merely distracted me. I was almost knocked done towards the ground, but I quickly got myself up.

"Storm brews on a morning sky, lightning fires is nigh!" he exclaims.

And suddenly, lightning! Lightning is firing everywhere! Everywhere I move, a lightning comes to strike. It was as if I am dancing a waltz or a tango with nature. The lightning, however, just goes towards the trees and plants to set it on fire. I hate to be the one to be struck by those. I need to stop this. I can't even think of an incantation to cast.

"Sunlight ray, make it rain," I say with doubts

Oh, that is a stupid incantation. It only made the sun shine brighter. Yeah, sure, the storm clouds that causes the lightning went away, but the sun is making the fire even worse. Great job, Lyzbeth Heredis! You can't even handle multitasking!

"What spell are you trying to do, girl! You only bring shame to our kind! 'Tis a pity that you cannot cast incantations right!"

I know it is stupid! Why don't you try casting an incantation while evading lightning fires? This is a battle of skills in The Arts, not word mockery. I can't believe it's been days since I fought Danaca, but it seems that my abilities are growing a bit short. It's probably due to the energy I put on that one day. In any case, I'm not giving up now.

The sorcerer and I exchange several incantations by the minute. Alright, this is a much more fun battle than the song of ice and fire. As I look down, I can see the people in anticipation. They are almost biting their nails to see who would win. Even the persecutors that are meant to arrest me are watching this battle. This is the beauty of The Arts. Sure, it can be destructive. Well, it is destructive at the moment, but it can be beautiful.

Looks like the King will have more reasons to kill me.

In any case, we are both panting out of tiredness. I wish I could create more incantations, but I can barely think. Suddenly, the sorcerer is in pain. He covers his ears as if something tortures him through sounds. What is going on? I did not even do anything to him. Then, it occurs to me. Someone is helping me! Where is that mysterious practitioner? I look down, and none of them appears to be the one. He is helping me from a distance! I know it!

I take his distraction to my advantage to finish it all. "And thus they confound, may he be bound down to the ground."

He falls down to the ground as if the earth would swallow him whole. I can't handle this anymore. The mysterious sound still tortures him, but I can't rely on that to continue tormenting him forever. I simply cast that incantation to Infelix, and lo, he is gone.

But, there is still a problem. The fire is still there. With the little strength I have left, I raise my arms to cast one final incantation. "Fires that never burn, leave and never return!"

That was the last. Through my dimming eyes, I can see the cheers of my peers and my fellow Scirese. This is a step. Soon, The Arts will no longer be forbidden in Scire. I can't handle it. I gave all that I could for this people. As I close my eyes, I feel myself falling to the soft grass beneath me.

It is time to rest for a while.