Words: 1718
Date published: 10.19.2022
- not proof-read -
You remember walking through the castle doors for the first time as if it were yesterday. Of course, it would be a bit worrisome if you didn't, considering it actually was yesterday. A guard was sent for your arrival it seemed. He led you straight to Emperor Belos.
Introductions were terribly nerve racking - after all, this man had been Emperor longer than you'd been alive. You were so worried about gaining his approval at first, but the longer you talked to him, the more comfortable you felt.
He had an intimidating appearance, sure. His masked figure towered over you even as he sat. His voice, however, was soft and kind. He spoke with an accent you had only ever heard him have. It sounded sophisticated and wise and not like anything from the Boiling Isles.
He explained to you how things would go. He would personally teach you how to use coven-issued staffs and their artificial magic tomorrow. Then, you would be put up against guards of varying skill to gauge your level. After determining your level, he will assign you a room, rank, and schedule. You would act as a coven member until you can be officially initiated along with other recruits. That was the plan.
"Artificial magic works a little differently than natural Palisman magic. Palisman connect directly to the user on their own and can draw additional magic out. Our basic artificial staffs don't work the same. Instead of drawing additional magic from you, they amplify the magic you use. Bearing that in mind may help you quite a bit. Now... have you ever tried using a staff to teleport?"
You shook your head. "B-But I could probably get it pretty quickly!" you added in a rush.
"I know you could, Y/N. Would you like to try?"
"Um... yeah..." He handed you the staff you had been practicing with and you gripped it tightly.
"It helps if you keep your eyes on the spot you wish to reappear in," Belos advised.
You did as he said. It only took a few tries for you to succeed.
"Very good, Y/N!" Belos praised. You beamed up at him. "Now, I want you to run towards me, but teleport behind me at the last moment without losing momentum. If you can do that, we know that you can teleport exactly when you want to."
You were a little nervous, but you were feeling more safe around him. You were sure that even if you messed up, he wouldn't label you as a lost cause and move on. You readied your stance at a distance from the towering man before charging full-speed. You clenched your eyes shut and did your best to activate the teleportation spell, but you instead crashed straight into him. You almost fell backwards, but he caught you, holding you up for a moment before bringing you back to your feet.
"S-Sorry," you stuttered.
"It's alright, Y/N. Try again."
It was the same thing the next time. You crashed into him, but he caught you before you could fall.
The third time, however, was successful. "I did it!" you gasped after opening your eyes.
"Very good, Y/N! Let's make sure you can keep it up. Two more times?"
Both times were successful. "Now, there is a special kind of magic I would like to teach you. It is very difficult with regular Palisman, but with our staffs, it's made quite easy. It merges teleportation magic with bending the very reality we live in."
He took hold of a staff and spun it, creating a strange, orange glowing circle in front of him. "Come here, Y/N, and look through this circle." You did as asked and gasped when you saw that you could see through it to another room.
"I can see someone training!" you exclaimed excitedly.
"That's not all, Y/N. Are you ready for your first test with a real opponent?" You nodded eagerly. You had a newfound courage.
Belos gave you a mask to go with the rest of your uniform and you placed it securely over your face.
He held out a gloved hand to you and you took it. He pulled you along with him as he stepped into the orange circle. You squeezed your eyes shut as you approached it yourself, holding your breath as you went through. When you opened your eyes, you realized what the orange circle was - a portal.
"Portals help you travel longer distances while using significantly less magic," Belos explained before calling over a guard.
"This is Lemmy, a first-year guard. He doesn't have a ton of experience under his belt because most of his time since training was spent recovering from an accident. He is your first opponent. In order to win you either must restrain your opponent, cause them to surrender, or otherwise render them unable to fight. Understood?"
You and Lemmy nodded firmly. You assumed stances, awaiting Belos's approval to begin. Once given, you stood your ground waiting for Lemmy to attack first.
He started with a simple blast that you side-stepped, slowly inching closer. You shot a blast of your own at him. A simple attack, but as he dodged, you made your way behind him using the teleportation spell you had just learned and kicked his legs out from under him, causing him to fall on his face. You set your foot on his back to prevent him from getting back up. "Sorry, Lemmy," you murmured. He gave up struggling and responded with a simple thumbs-up.
"Very nice job, Y/N. I expected no less!"
The next guard was a step up, but still not too much of a challenge. You had her bound by magic after barely any fight at all. "Damn, kid. You really are a prodigy of some kind, huh?" she said lightheartedly. You were happy to know she wasn't upset.
The guard after that was a little tricky. Dodging was difficult and you even had to break out of restraints. Teleportation magic seemed to be the key to winning that one.
As he left, the next guard approached. It was none other than the legendary Golden Guard himself. "I see you've got teleportation magic down." Well, shit. There goes my best tactic.
"Hello, Golden Guard. I hope that by watching Y/N fight, you've developed a strategy. She's a strong one. Be careful of her."
Golden Guard didn't say a word as he faced you, crouching into a ready stance. He's been watching me this whole time... he knows every trick I've used so far, you realized. So, as soon as Belos announced the start, you charged at the boy.
This seemed to surprise him a little, but he still dodged effortlessly. He fired a blast, causing you to jump back, but a second blast almost immediately followed behind you. This caused you to lose balance, but you teleported behind him before you could even hit the ground and opted for physical fighting over magic, slamming the staff into his back.
It proved effective, as he fell to his knees. You shot a burst of magic in his direction, but he gripped his staff and shot forward and out of range before it could even reach him. He whipped around to face you, and next thing you knew, he was no longer in your line of sight. "Boo," he whispered cockily from behind you. He had you in restraints before you could even turn to face him. He was right in front of you now, standing over you with a threatening aura.
"You still have a chance to escape, Y/N," Belos said from the sidelines. "Remember how you got here..."
The fuck's that supposed to mean? I'm here because of my power, right? Or... You noted that the end of Golden Guard's staff was still glowing. If you could make him lose concentration, he would release you from the binds... Did he mean that literally?
Your staff was just barely in reach. If Golden Guard saw you reach for it, he'd stop you in an instant... but you knew how to stop him from noticing even as it happened right in front of him. You managed to make a circle with your fingers, creating an illusion of you standing still as you reached for the staff.
You held the illusion as you concentrated all other areas of your strength on that portal. You spun it once, but nothing happened. Then again and again. Finally, after several rotations, there was a spark of orange. Oh, there!
With one final sweep of the staff, a glowing orange circle opened beneath Golden Guard and landed him on the opposite end of the room. The shock of his sudden fall caused him to - as planned - lose concentration and release you.
"What?!" Golden Guard exclaimed angrily as Belos began clapping.
"I'd say that's almost a tie!" Belos announced. "Golden Guard technically is the true winner, but Y/N, your power is incredible. Come with me now. It's time to discuss your future as a member of the Emperor's Coven."
A grin spread ear-to-ear across your face. You were so embarrassingly happy. Luckily the mask hid any signs of that.
Emperor Belos led you down a hall that contained many doors. A lot of halls in the castle were like this, though this hall seemed relatively empty. Other halls had nameplates on most doors, but this one only had one nameplate on the far end.
He stopped at the door right next to it. You were too far away to see the name. "This will be your room, Y/N. I'll have guards assist you in moving your belongings. You will start off as a middle rank guard, though your level is much higher. As you gain experience and trust, your rank will rise. Before you know it, you may be at the top..." He pushed the door open and led you inside. It was a nice room. Very bare, but as expected. "I will have someone bring your schedule tonight, but for now, let's get you settled in."
He left the room, ducking as to not hit the doorframe, and slowly closed the door behind him. After hearing the click of the door latching, you made your way to the window to check out the view.
You pushed it open, letting the wind sweep through your hair. You had accomplished so much today. This was a good start to your new life.