Encountered (Finally)

While they were waiting, Mike remembered to ask Tal a question that he'd kept forgetting.

"I've been meaning to ask. What is the meaning behind the chants you use prior to activating your magic?" He asked the elf.

A derisive snort emanated from the other mage, as if he couldn't believe that someone could ask that kind of a question. He quickly returned to 'ignoring' them.

Tal tilted her head, a little confused herself. "Chants improve spellcasting. Focus mana. Increase efficiency. Create known outcomes. But take time. Didn't know?"

Mike rubbed the back of his head, a little embarrassed. "Honestly, no. I usually just channel some mana, and mentally command it to do whatever I need."

Tal looked shocked, although casual observers would have a hard time telling.

The mage scoffed, no longer able to help himself. "Unless you had truly fantastic mana reserves, practicing magic in such a way would leave you exhausted after a few spells. It's wasteful and unnecessary. Where did you learn to use magic?"

"I'm self-taught."

The mage sighed, "No wonder. Alright, I'll be giving you a free lesson on the nature of chanting as it pertains to spell casting, because I can't stand to see the uneducated."

He cleared his throat. "A large part of properly learning to control magic is the memorization and usage of chants. Even the most powerful casters, with access to skills like Chant Omission, still make use of mental chants. The only time free casting, as your method is called, is useful is when one needs to achieve a result they do not have a chant for."

Although the man was being a bit of a prick about it, this kind of information was something that Mike had not heard before. After dealing with Morris on several occasions when he was in instructor mode, Mike could handle listening to the self-important mage.

The way he was giving his lecture reminded Mike of an arrogant teacher, but there was something compelling about the way he expounded on the finer points of magical theory. Even Tal seemed to be paying close attention.

The man continued. "There are a number of factors that influence the efficacy of chanting, not the least of which is the kind of magic being practiced. For elemental magic, which I presume you use?"

He paused long enough for Mike to nod.

"Elemental magic is more instinctual than other branches. For elementalists, a chant is a tool to improve the spellcraft. In other branches, such as Arcane, chants are necessary to produce magic at all."

Mike felt like he should be taking notes.

"Now the most important aspect of chanting is the language used to issue the chant. Depending on the type of magic-"

"Now is not the time for a lecture." James broke in. "We will have enemies on us in less than five minutes, and I need a quick rundown of your individual capacities so I know where to place you."

He pointed to Mike first. "What can you do?"

Knowing that whatever was coming would likely require all of his skill to overcome, he decided to reveal the majority of his abilities now.

"I'm an Elemental mage. I can use all four of the basic elements, but I'm at Intermediate Level in water and fire. I can also using elemental healing magic."

The lecturing mage simply stared at Mike, a look of disbelief clear on his face.

James was slightly taken aback, but evidently felt that now was not the time to question the absurdity of the youth's statement. "So you can use mid-tier fire magic? How much damage could you do, if you let loose?"

Mike thought the question over, and realized he didn't have a clear answer. The closest he had come to really letting loose was during his fight against Brutus. Judging from the amount of damage he had done prior to the activation of the Hidden Skill, he estimated that he could devastate a kilometer square or so without too much difficulty.

"I'm not certain, since I've never had the opportunity, but I could probably destroy a few city blocks if I tried."

The mage interjected. "There is no way that a spell caster this young, without any formal training or understanding of chants, could unleash that kind of power."

Mike shrugged, not really caring what the mage thought. "Believe it or don't." He looked over at James, "If you put me on the front lines, I can probably do the most damage."

James hesitated, obviously deliberating whether or not to trust Mike's word. Finally, he nodded his assent, and turned to the other two. "Well?"

Tal stepped forward. "Pact Mage. Three contracts. Earth, Air, Ghost. Best as support."

Mike finally realized that the bound armor that he had grown used to seeing following Tal around, was currently absent.

James nodded again. "Place yourself behind the center. You'll have free range to maneuver where you are needed." He turned to the man dressed as a mage, expectantly.

"Victor Malmis, former faculty member of the Arcane College of Toluthin University in Gildusi. I am well versed in several-"

James cut him off. "I don't need to know your life history, just tell me what you can do in combat."

Rather miffed, Victor answered shortly. "I can use arcane magic to create bolts of energy, shields, and move objects."

The group leader thought for a moment. "Alright, I'm going to put you with our largest group of archers. Do what you can to shield them from hostile fire."

"Well, that's a bit of a waste of my skills, I might be better utilized in a more supervisory-"

He was cut off again, this time by one of the archers placed in a nearby building.

"We got incoming! One Tir class and a swarm of Kal class demons on their way. Civilians are in our line of fire."

Mike hurried over to the makeshift barricade, leaving the group leader to sort out Victor. Taking a spot near Brenden, he scanned the area. He could see a dozen or so people desperately running from the oncoming demonic horde. A massive red scaled feline-looking thing was casually slaughtering the stragglers.

"Hold the line! If we break formation we'll be overrun." James called from his position.

Mike gritted his teeth. People were dying right in front of him, again, and he couldn't just stand by and watch it happen. Not if he had the power to change it. He was tensing himself, preparing to leap out into the fray, when he met the gaze of one of the civilians.

She was young, probably around his age, and pretty in a sort of ethereal way. The hood of her cloak had fallen in her press to escape revealing long silver hair, streaming behind her as she ran. The contrast between her pale skin and cold, blue eyes brought to mind a frozen stream in the depth of winter.

For a second, he could only stare. He felt some strange connection with the woman, as if she was someone he was once familiar with.

The woman broke eye contact first, her face contorting into a spasm of agony as she collapsed, rolling to a halt. She got to her knees, obviously in pain, and glanced back at the approaching horde of demons.

Mike could see it, when she resigned herself to her fate.

With a blast of Air Magic Mike threw himself forward at a blistering pace, suddenly desperate to save the woman.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sera ran. Her lungs burned, her legs felt like lead, but still she ran. She had no other choice.

Fear, deep and visceral, pulsed through her veins. Never before, even when hiding from the Cabal, had she been so utterly terrified.

Sera knew that if she could just stay ahead of the demons for a little while longer, the protection of the Adventurer's Guild would be close at hand. At least so she hoped. For all she knew the entire city could have been overrun by this point, and she was merely running towards a slightly delayed death.

Thankfully her prayers were answered. She rounded a corner, and saw a makeshift barricade formed in the streets. An eclectic mix of grim and well-armed people that could only be adventurers stood behind it.

With the end in sight, she was able squeeze just a little more energy out of her tired body, picking up the pace in the final stretch.

She kept her eyes fixed on the barricade, focusing on it and the safety it represented. This let her see when another figure joined the group at the center of the fortification. It was the flash of gold that really caught her attention.

She found herself meeting the intense gaze of a young man with golden eyes. He was handsome, in a way that could be called rugged if he was a little older. His short brown hair, and sun-tanned skin gave him a sort of solid, earthy feeling.

[This is it! The destined meeting!]

All she had to do, was make it to the barricade, and whatever her mother foresaw, whatever path that she was meant to follow, would finally start. She was only a few hundred meters from both safety and the object of her mission in this city.

Of course, it was precisely at this time, that another pair of visions saw fit to push their way into her mind.

- A vertical scar in the very fabric of the world birthed a stream of horrors. A twisted mockery of a man laughed maniacally from within a glowing circle of magic. The very souls of the slain city folk streamed into the formation, widening the scar. Suddenly a massive clawed arm, wreathed in black smoke reached through the opening.

She gasped for breath, and struggled to her knees.

[Of course I had to have a vision now! I spent months waiting from some sort of guidance, and now I can't get them to stop!]

She knew she had to get moving, to get away, but she lacked the strength to even stand. Her visions had always taken a lot out of her, and this was the first time she had one in the middle of running for her life. She was frankly exhausted.

With a titanic effort, she managed to turn and face her pursuers. At the very least, she wanted to stare her death in the face.

The red scaled demon loped forward, elongated jaws salivating, seemingly in anticipation.

In these last few moments, her fear had left her. All that remained was resignation and regret.

[Well mom, it looks like I failed after all. I'm sorry that your sacrifice was in vain. I was close, so very close. That gold-eyed bastard is just over there, but he may as well be an ocean away.]

Sera suppressed a sob. In truth, failing her mother hurt her the most.

As the jaws of the demon closed in around her, she had time to feel the hot wet breath of the creature, smell the carrion stench that emanated from its maw.

With a bizarre noise that reminded her of a single beat of a large drum, the demon was launched into the air, as a 3m tall pillar of stone suddenly appeared from beneath it.

The sheer incongruity of what just happened left her completely flabbergasted.

In a daze she followed the creature's path through the air with her eyes. As it reached the peak of its arc, a sudden flash of light could be seen from behind it. With a quiet sizzle, the beast separated into two halves, making way for a small figure, which promptly crashed into the ground directly in front of Sera.

It was the golden-eyed man!

He straightened into a standing position, facing the wave of lesser demons, and flexed his right hand. Sera felt the temperature in the street rise quickly, as an intensely bright ball of fire appeared in the man's hand. With a gesture, he pushed the ball forward, unleashing a tidal wave of flame that engulfed the entire roadway in a roaring inferno.

Even though he was shielding her from the worst of the heat, she still felt like she was sitting inside a furnace. It was hard to breath, and a few of her hairs began to ignite.

Thankfully, after a few seconds he dropped his hand, causing the flame to abate. From her vantage directly behind him, Sera could see that nothing remained of the demon horde save charred piles of corpses. The buildings on either side of the road had been scorched by the intense heat, but seemed to have suffered little actual damage.

The man turned then, and offered her a hand, the same hand he'd used to annihilate the demons.

"Are you alright? Can you walk?"

For a moment Sera was overwhelmed with emotion, but quickly composed herself. Now was not the time for an emotional response.

After all, her next words would set the tone for her future interactions with the man. She needed to choose them carefully.

She smiled, looked the man in the eyes, and said. "Well it's about damn time!"