Rat - YA Fantasy

39

It was not rare for there to be a special rule, they were made either to add some interest or challenge to the competitions or, in the case of the platforms, the rule was made for the sake of the watching audience. While the loudspeaker was there to narrate all that was happening inside the arena, even the announcer from where he sat would have a difficult time seeing anything happening underneath the platforms.

I looked past the Sky Monk at the Alavan team; they were dressed in the deep green with a blue triangle sewn on their chests – in accordance with the Alavan flag. We were in the Auranoran grey with the Auranoran symbol of the "Wave and Mountain" sewn in gold thread onto our shirts. The colours were important to the on-looking audience because that would be their only way of telling the competitors apart.

I couldn't tell from a distance across the arena if the Alavans were feeling sick as well. I would discover how badly off we were or weren't in a short moment. The Sky Monk finished his speech with a midair bow and then, his wings lightly stroking the air, he flew up to the torch holster over the stands and placed the torch within it. I bent my knees ready to spring, my mind already going over the attacks I had planned. Then, with a touch of his golden finger, the torch burst into flame.

"Begin!"

We leapt forward, hopping across the platforms. My feet barely resting on each platform as I advanced to the next. The method we planned was to push the opposing team backwards, against the wall. Across the arena, they drew forward as well. I linked my mind with Salan briefly before I started my attack, choosing the oldest member of the Alavan team as my target. I was too far away to determine yet which one of them was the Centre, but the oldest member was always the prime suspect. In most cases, the older you get, the stronger you are at magic. I sent a small invisible whirlwind at him, meant to bring him down mid-jump. It flew at him in a half-arch. I knew he was rather far and had enough time to deflect it, and just as he was noticing it, I whispered at his shadow, tying a strand of it to the platform he was upon.

Jea and Rife briefly touched my mind, pretending to communicate with me as the Centre, Burgen followed their example and so did Salan. It helped me because I instantly knew what everyone was doing. Burgen and Jea were playing defence, while Salan and Rife suddenly joined in on attacking the one I chose. He was a silver-haired middle-aged man and was just untangling himself from his shadow when a flame rolled off a sunbeam toward him. I didn't linger to see what would happen next, as my focus fell upon the other four members of the team. Two were attacking and two were trying to defend.

I knew they were watching the complicated web of signals passing between us in the same way that I was watching theirs. I had to make them suspect me for being the Centre, so while drawing forth my next attack, I contacted each member of my team.  Then I hurled forward a clumsy surge of power, pushing back all the platforms in front of us in a dizzying wave, as if they were no more than water-lilies on a pond. With one hit, two members of the Alavan team lost their balance and fell.

It would not be clear to the other team which one of us sent this attack. An outburst of such magnitude left so many magical repercussions that to my Wielder eyes the air became a mess of shapes and colours. But if they swallowed my bait, then that would mean –

I was attacked from three directions at once – from the left, from the right, from above. I took a millisecond to seem as if I was confused, to send signals to my teammates and also to make sure that there weren't hidden spells coming my way before I broke myself into seven pieces and ran to every corner of the arena. To all eyes, every part of me looked exactly like me, and in essence, I am and will always be every single part of myself. I cannot begin to explain how difficult it is to maintain seven of yourself at the same time. It is hard enough to maintain just one self. As a seventh of me, every part of me could move faster, and immediately I was pursued by four of the opposing team.