# Fatum Academy: Second year.



## Serp (Dec 2, 2010)

Fatum Academy
Where your fate reflects your heart

It was 3 weeks into the new school year, new teachers, new students and new secrets. The halls and corridors of Fatum extend once more the teach and mould the young magical minds of Europe. 

-----
Three weeks in and nothing fucked up had happened apart from that explosion, or so people had thought. A young first year was walking down the corridor until he saw what was written and draw upon a large wall.

_"Chantalio I will find the secret powers hidden within the walls of fatum and neither you nor your vile vir can stop me"_

It was written in somesort of acid as it was burning through the wall and painted above it in the same liquid. 



"Head master!" The boy cried and in an instant, Marcus Chant appeared, he had more greys in his hair than last year and seemed to have aged at least 10 years since the start of last year, he had slowly become the teacher he was before but now this put dread across his face. Slowly the halls began to fill with students talking about the message about who had done it, it had to be a student or teacher, only those who Marcus had invited could enter, suspicions rose.

​


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## EvilMoogle (Dec 2, 2010)

*Akka*

Akka swallowed nervously as the heavy door closed behind him.  It didn't exactly help his confidence that the last hour had been spent explaining - in detail - exactly what horrors could await him if this went wrong.  He _knew_ that, the book explained it clearly.  But that didn't stop the lecture from going on.

It also didn't stop the slight "click" of the door locking behind him.

He took a moment to survey the small room, it was utterly plain.  Solid stone walls and floor lit only by a pair of torches - magical lights could disrupt some of the more sensitive spells they told him.  The door itself was the only part that stood out at all, heavy wood set oddly in silver rather than the more expected iron, bronze, or brass fittings.

He shrugged off the distractions and steeled himself to work.  Confidence was important to this, or so the book said.  He set the book down at his feet and fumbled in his pocket for a bit of chalk.  The book flipped open proffering the page he expected dominated by a sketch of a magical circle.  Taking care Akka bent over and carefully started copying the symbol on the floor.

He took his time, precision was important to this.  After several minutes of careful work pausing to compare to the book and occasionally correcting slight imperfections he nodded satisfied at his work.

He put the chalk away and picked up the open book.  Helpfully the book flipped to the next page as he lifted it and Akka paused to read it, carefully refreshing his memory.  Once he was as ready as he felt he could be he set to work.  He bit into his thumb, hard, a trickle of blood starting to flow.  He reached forward and allowed a few drops to land within the circle, the sound seeming to echo in the dead silence of the room.

Then he spoke, his voice shaking somewhat, "Anaharath, The Burning Rage, of the tribe of Ifrit Djinn, First Servitor of the House of Fire, Fallen from the Presence of Gabriel, I invoke thee, I summon thee, I bid thee come forth.  By true name, by blood, and by symbol I command thee.  I would pact with thee, to offer a part of myself in exchange for your power."

He couldn't help but flinch when the chalk drawing began to glow bright white.  He knew that this was supposed to happen but his successes so far in classes were less than stellar.  Actually seeing magic of his own making was a shock.

The symbol grew brighter then rose up off the ground leaving no trace behind.  It twisted strangely in the air, one moment there, the next it vanished, replaced by a large creature.  It was vaguely mannish, though Akka could not bring himself to call it that when the creature's feet ended in cloven hooves and two giant curving horns came out of it's skull.  The fact that its red skin almost radiated heat didn't help the illusion either.

Akka took a step backwards subconsciously.  The creature looked carefully about the room making only small movements before turning to look at Akka, a piercing stare that threatened to slay him on the spot.  "You?"  The creature's voice was a deep hiss.  Its eyes then settled on the book, dangerously angry.  "An ant of a man?"  Its voice left no question that 'man' was almost as low as 'ant' to him.  "You seek my power?  Then _taste_ it."

Akka took another step backwards as the creature reached for him.  He felt his head shaking but he couldn't peel his eyes off the large figure.  Its hand grasped his shirt and lifted him and effortlessly pulled him in close.  Akka could feel the heat coming from the creatures body, he thought that it would surely scorch him to dust.  Then suddenly there was a surge of energy.

The room seemed faded, as if he was dizzy.  The creature was gone, but the room remained.  Dull.  Muted.  He felt the energy, surges of strength pulsing through his veins.  Every trace of fear was gone.  No caution.  No hesitation.  Just power.

They made him go through this.  They were to blame.  The upperclassmen, the teachers, his classmates, the school, the whole world.  Raw anger flared from his nose as he charged at the heavy locked door.  He barely acknowledged the red clawed hand as his as he struck out.  The whole room seemed to shake with the force of the impact, but the door stood strong.  He roared a bestial roar and struck again, his hand brushing against the silver fittings of the door.

And then there was a bright flash of white light that filled his vision.  He stumbled backwards and the room, and his thoughts, faded to black.

Akka awoke some time later.  A girl stood over him, he vaguely recognized her as one of the upperclassmen.  She smiled politely at him and spoke, her voice hiding hints of humor, "this is why we advise caution.  Charging forward too quickly can lead to catastrophic results."

Akka tried to speak but his throat felt raw.  She shook her head, "rest a bit longer.  But not too long, you've got classes to attend."  She turned and headed out of the room, leaving the door open this time.  Just before she vanished from sight she turned back and added, "you might want to rush just a bit, you'll need to stop at the dorms to change."

As she vanished from view he became aware of a dampness in his pants and sighed.  Magical school was _not_ turning out to be what the movies promised.


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## Serp (Dec 2, 2010)

Oldas was watching everyone huddle around the message on the wall, he himself wasn't that interested, someone was always getting threatened at Fatum.

"Oldas! Wait up!" he heard a voice call. Through the people Oldas saw his two best friends, Joanne Arcus and Richard Valentus.

"Oldas, what do you think of that then?" Jo asked as she reached him. 
Oldas shrugged. 

"O mate, you really do seem different, your eyes and just the way you act." Valentus whispered so that only those three could hear.

"Well I have alot more differences to reveal." Oldas mused.

"Like what?" Jo asked quizzically.

"Well that is what I intend to explore, but lets just say being a Delarbok as its benefits." Oldas smirked.

"Erm well you know I'm Corsaint and she is Sayuri but we could ask to change house." Vent said.

"Makes no difference, its in the Delarbok blood not title and I mean in the blood."

"What are you on about?" Jo asked she was getting abit worried. 

Oldas raised his hand, and with the nail of his other hand which now that he raised looked darker, longer and harder than it should. He make a quick jab and his blood pooled in his palm.

"Look!" He said. The blood was as all delarbok blood was red with a slight purple hue.
Oldas closed his eyes and concentrated the blood started to glow soon it was purple with a red hue. 

"What?" Vent was confused.

"I've unlocked my families bloodline."

Unbeknown to him, someone was listening with an extended hearing range spell. Thomas Gaunt sat against the wall as his second cousin explained the secrets of his family. Thomas and Oldas shared a great grandfather and that was about it as far as Thomas knew. Oldas was arrogant and would soon learn his place.
--------

Grays was a small boy, his family was in part from the same strand as the Hanterelo and as to try and keep onto some past glory his family had tried to learn all magics but alas it was hard to grasp. Grays was still entered into Hanterelo and all wasn't going as bad as he had first thought it would. 

Gray's family claimed they were borne from illegitimate affairs of Piero Hanterelo and their ancestor Ruthia Grays. But since then his family had to hid in the shadows, in order to protect themselves and through that they learned the magic of the shadows. 

Grays was of course was too small and too little to continue on with his families shady business, his mother wanted him to become a true mage and help the family when he grew up. But ever since a young age Grays wanted out, he wanted to be like his ancestors he heard so much about, crawling through the underbelly of Venice, being bats in the daytime and doves at night, hiding in plain sight. 

And now the writing on the wall. Grays stared at it intently, he would return later that night.


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## Serp (Dec 3, 2010)

Thomas had left Oldas and his friends behind and was now entering the library. But as he turned the corner he heard a sound and rose his hand hi and fired a blast of green light at the direction the sound had come from.

But then the sound came from another side and yet he still couldnt see anything. He raised his ring again and shot more green light. But then he heard the noise disappear into the distance and he dare not follow it, but quickly make his way into the library. As he reached there the first few books he picked up where: _History of Fatum, Delarbok the legacy _and_ Magical Inheritance. _He was Delarbok whether of not his hair or name showed it, he was more than just a Gaunt. 

----

Grays got up his head was hurting him, that shady looking guy had almost hit him with that spell and he had to jump out of the way and hit his head in the process. 
"That guy is shady, I'll have to keep and eye on him." And with that Grays lowered his invisibility charm. 

---------

Oldas was sitting in one of the many common rooms. 
"So how did you do it then O?"

Oldas smiled, "I was reading through the family history and one thing led to another, it was hidden away."

"If it was hidden then there was a reason Oldas." Jo raised up.

"I dunno, scared of power maybe, or maybe they just didn't need it anymore and decided to hid its secret from people who would wanna steal it."

"Fair enough, so what does it do?" Asked Vent.

"Erm I'm not too sure but it does errode magic."

"Thats your blood O, don't fuck with it too much."

"Whatever." Oldas said gripping Jo in his arms. "Lets just relax I'll explain more later."


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## Azure Flame Fright (Dec 3, 2010)

"Perfect James, just what I would expect from a student of Chantalio House." James had just finished explaining the intricacies of Actualization magic to the rest of the class. It was rather basic, but they were still in the process of reviewing what they learned the previous year. The teacher nodded after she spoke, signaling James to take a seat. "Now class, we're going to begin with magical application now, please turn your textbooks to page 57." 

James wore a had a soft look of pleasant surprise on his face. He had yet to cast any magic this year, but it was not because he was incapable. During James' last year of school, casting magic was impossible for him.

"Now, as James has just explained, Actualization magic utilizes your own magical energy that bends reality, whether it be to introduce a new object, or alter an existing one. We will be starting with the _Generation_ spell. Now, I'm sure that most of you see your parents use this spell on a regular occurrence, it is certainly one of the most convenient spells out there."

James turned to page 57, but he didn't need to read the textbook instructions for the _Generation_ spell. James looked around at the rest of his class, while most of them were reading the book, he noticed a few others that weren't. 

He could think of three reasons why a student wouldn't be reading the instructions. They were either incredibly confident in their ability to perform the spell, like James was, or they had read ahead of the class and already knew the instructions for the spell. Barring any of those, they could just be lazy. 

"Who would like to go first?" The teacher asked the class after everyone had been given an appropriate amount of time to finish reading the book's instructions. James raised his hand, and looked around the rest of the room. No one else seemed interested in showing off their skills. "Oh, James again."

James took note of the mild surprise in his teacher's voice, but equipped his magical catalyst anyway. For the catalyst, James wielded a pair of steel gauntlets, ancient yet flawless. As he walked to the front of the room, he could hear his fellow students whispering amongst themselves.

"Hey, isn't that kid supposed to suck at magic?" 

"Yeah, I heard he couldn't do any magic last year." 

"Maybe he practiced over the summer?" 

"Dummy, if all he needed to do was practice he wouldn't have had a problem last year." 

"Are those gloves his catalyst?" 

"He had a staff last year didn't he?"

James ignored their voices, and once he reached the front of the class, the students all silenced themselves anyway. James made an image in his head, the most important thing when casting any creation magic, and then drawing in a deep breath he began to focus.

A feeling of power, a feeling of control. Using Actualization magic, especially creation magic involved bending reality to your will, it involved twisting what is, and what could be. The very instant that James finished drawing his deep breath, he spoke.

"Generation." The word was pointless, James was easily capable of casting the spell without any sound, but he did not want to seem too advanced compared to his peers. It was necessary for him to hide his true power, at least for now.

Of course, his spell was successful. James held a blade in his hand, it was a simple longsword, but it was light and could be easily handled by even the most frail student. The appearance was perfect, and James cast the spell in very little time. Even though he was holding back, he doubted any students ability to replicate his feat during the rest of the class period. 

"Wonderful!" The teacher began clapping, only for the rest of the students to join her. She spoke up once the applause had died down. "That was an excellent demonstration, a brilliant way to represent Chantalio."


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## Serp (Dec 4, 2010)

Azure Flame Fright said:


> "Perfect James, just what I would expect from a student of Chantalio House." James had just finished explaining the intricacies of Actualization magic to the rest of the class. It was rather basic, but they were still in the process of reviewing what they learned the previous year. The teacher nodded after she spoke, signaling James to take a seat. "Now class, we're going to begin with magical application now, please turn your textbooks to page 57."
> 
> James wore a had a soft look of pleasant surprise on his face. He had yet to cast any magic this year, but it was not because he was incapable. During James' last year of school, casting magic was impossible for him.
> 
> ...



"You did well James, a segway into this." The teacher handed James a card.

On the front of the card was an image of the world in the palm of someones hand with the writing beneath it saying. _"In the beginning." _A clear reference to genesis in the bible, a clear sign of Chantalio's house. On the back the letter V.

"The tournament is coming. There are 8 slots and 10 of these cards out there, 2 for each house. The winner of the magical test will win something extraordinary. The cards have been scattered around Fatum, and anyone who finds one can hand it over to anyone else, or they can appear or be found in places that represent the values of the house. I believe you James will have a good chance to win this year."

-------
Marcus was sitting in trace, he was as he often did in Mind Mundus with the other house heads on what was going on.
"Someone has opened a challenge." Marcus added. "They have threatened me and the vir."

"Could it be Mark?" Maria asked. 

"No it wasn't him, this person called the Vir vile and seemed like he or she was against it." Marcus retorted.

"Well it has to be someone you invited in." Jin intersected.

"Yes a student or teacher. And I think they are looking for the source of that magical explosion that happened on the first day."

"Yes Marcus you never did tell us what that was." Jin's eyes narrowed. Jin could enter Marcus' mind and see what it was but he daren't start a fight with Chantalio after they had awakened the long forgotten Vir. 

"I can't it would mean the _death_ of me." Marcus' eyes narrowed to met Jin. But of course this was all imaginative as they spoke with their minds in a mindscape create by them. "But I have started the seeds of the High King Tournament. No doubt the culprit will think the prize was what set of the explosion."

"Was it?" Oldas asked.

"No no no." Corsaint rose his voice.

"The High King tournament only has one prize, the winner gets one weapon forged in the Smith or Corsaint, metals so pristine and magic so pure past down from the Faeries of Arthurian times that only goblins hope to make better metals. Blessed with true magic of course, weapons fit for a king." Corsaint huffed.

"Well the students don't know that, unless they look it up, and that might very well be the prize that they think they seek."

"So what are the rules then Chant?" Oldas asked.

"8 participants, each may bring into battle with them nothing but their catalyst and no rules barring death." Marcus squeezed out.

Oldas smiled. "Well Oldas can prove his worth." 

Marcus looked away. 

"Regardless I will be there for the finals." Maria said.

"As will I." Corsaint answered.

"I think its fair to say we all will." Marcus responded.

"I won't I have no heirs nor anyone of interest in this school for me to watch." Jin retorted.

Oldas let out a chuckle and ran his hand through his hair. "Ok Sayuri don't worry we don't blame you. " 

Jin was full of rage. "Fine I shall bring my daughter Hana back from overseas."

"You have a daughter?" They all asked in unison. 

"Yes not trueborn, but she is Sayuti nonetheless."

"Very well then." Oldas was grinning ear to ear. 

"Do not forget your place Delarbok, you are beneath Sayuri, you fall from Sayuri in blood and you fall beneath us in magic." Jin said amazingly cool, having regained his temper.
--------

Thomas was reading more and more into his book, history of Delarbok, he could see his grandmother her long purple hair and her Delarbok eyes, which he had for some reason. He turned the page once more and there staring back at him was an odd book mark the book he was reading was opened in the centre, and a small card with a picture of an open book in the centre also, was there. On the front of the card the words _"In knowledge comes strength." _was written.
"The Crest of Hanterelo" Thomas said aloud. And on the back the letters "IX"


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## EvilMoogle (Dec 4, 2010)

Akka had time - barely - to clean himself up and make it to his first class.  He pulled out his text book and his own book, what the teachers called his magical catalyst.  From what he could tell his book said more or less the same thing but the teachers insisted he keep up in the textbooks.

He sighed slightly when he saw the water-filled bowls laid out on the desk.  Either freezing charms or boiling.  Either way he managed them at best one-in-three.

His book flipped open, pages fluttering and landing on the page dominated by the symbol from the morning.  He muttered under his breath and turned to the section on elemental magics waiting for the class to start.  He hissed slightly at the book "we're not doing that right now, it's class time."

As if to emphasize the point the teacher began the lecture.  Sure enough it was boiling today.  Akka tried his best to pay attention but his mind was focused largely on his own training earlier.

It had been a failure, and a spectacular one at that by any definition he wanted to put on it.  But at the same time he could still taste the power.  His mind wandered back to the attempt, analyzing the details, trying to find some clue as to what went wrong.

As if answering his unspoken question the book's pages shuffled.  When they stopped they were on a section talking about the binding rituals.  His eyes seemed drawn to a passage; _Above all else face spirits with determination.  All spirits, whether good or evil, have their own motivations and will seek to bend the pact and the pactmaker to their goals.  Do not waver, do not falter, and know yourself._

He swallowed at the memory.  It was easy enough to say but how could he really be expected to be confident when faced with a creature that could snap him in two?

As if to say "don't expect me to answer that for you" the book slammed shut.  Akka scrambled to open it again hoping the teacher didn't decide to set any examples with him.  To his chagrin only the cover opened, the pages stayed firmly shut.  He stared at the first page looking for some sort of answer to what happened, on the first page was a simple statement: _This book was written by a man and it stands as a testament that spirit and determination can overcome anything._

And that was certainly something to think about.


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## Serp (Dec 5, 2010)

Grays was busy praticing magic, he had already heard the rumours of the tournament and he was determined to get a spot. But even if he got the invite he wouldn't be ready so he decided to train and if the time came he would be ready to fight if he got in.

Grays clasped his hands together with his Dagger between his fingers. He cast a silence spell and repeated his families secret spells. The air shimmered for a fraction of a second and he disappeared. It was then he flipped backwards and cast another spell, his legs landed on the wall and it stuck there. 

He was an assassin these were his tools and tricks of the trade. Ninjutsu proved hard though he would master it in time. There was a weird aura crawling through the halls of Fatum and he could tell his magic was getting stronger and stronger not that he would complain.


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## Serp (Dec 8, 2010)

The day of the tournament was upon them all, it was rumoured that the other combatants had received their invites, but logically they were keeping quiet until the time came to present their tickets.

The nobles, lords and ladies of the magical world came to view this and they stood by and watched the main stage for the contestants would arrive upon. Ten minutes past and nothing, noone had appeared yet until the doors open and in walked an arrogant male, his purple hair blowing in the wind.

Oldas walked upto the stage and stood before the crowd. The annoucer spoke first. "First to arrive, Oldas Delarbok of the house Delarbok." Oldas bowed and waited to see who else would arrive. 

Oldas looked across the way and saw his father. His sister was not with him, she must still be sick but no matter he would prove the worth of the Delarbok.

It was then the door opened once more with a green flash, Thomas Gaunt walked in his black robes waving behind him. He looked around and his eyes met with Oldas Delarbok VIII and for the split second they met it was if they were looking into each others eyes. 

Thomas walked on stage and handed his card.
"The next contestant is Thomas Gaunt of house Hanterelo!" Maria smiled secretly, but unbeknown to her, the noble whose eye Thomas hoped to catch was Lord Delarbok.


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## Azure Flame Fright (Dec 15, 2010)

The doors opened loudly as James began moving towards the stage. He walked with an air of importance, and did not look towards any of the nobles, nor did he give the other contestants more than a passing glance. To him, he was a King, and his worth was greater than everyone in the entirety of England. 

James walked onto the stage and handed in his card, proof that he belonged on stage with the other contestants. 

"And now we have James Cypher of the house Chantalio." 

James gazed at the crowd, but he was not looking at them, as one normally would with an audience. James was looking over them, as a shepherd would do with their flock of sheep. His disposition exuded an air of superiority, although James must have appeared undeserving of such arrogance.


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## Serp (Dec 17, 2010)

Grays came bumbling in to the hall, he had stolen his invite straight out of another contestants back pocket. He was wearing his assassin Greys and he walked up to the stage. 

He pulled back his hood and handed them his card. "Grays Hasai of the Hanterelo." The annoucer said loudly. 

After time four more contestants appeared 2 girls and 2 more boys, Grays wasn't as worried about them apart from the small Asian girl with empty eyes, but the real ones he wanted to watch out for Delarbok and James. 

Grays looked over at Gaunt and saw no real threat. 

"Ok its time to make the draw." The annoucer shouted, he removed his top hat and threw in some balls, they rolled around and then two shot out.

"First match will be Between James Cypher and Christopher Glace." One of the other boys stood up, he had presented a Delarbok Card, the second to Oldas's, his hair was jet black and his eyes a deep blue like wild water.

"To the arena please." The annoucer said. He raised his hand to his hat and tipped it. "_Rise!_" The ground started to rise a little higher than it was before. 

"The rules are no killing, everything else goes." And with that he parted, leaving James to face Christopher.


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## Azure Flame Fright (Dec 17, 2010)

"It's only fitting for a King to start the ceremonies." James looked toward Christopher and he couldn't help but feel as though they'd seen each other before. James only kept that peculiar look on his face for an instant before speaking across to Christopher.  

"Are you a second year student?" James thought that Christopher was looking a lot like one of the students that used to harass him. Of course, there's no way James could be sure. It was impossible for James to remember every student that pestered him last school year. 

James used to be an easy target after all. He had no magical ability, so why wouldn't kids go after him? Just because the reasoning made sense to James did not mean that the experience had not left him a little bitter.

James was still putting on Mordred's Gauntlets, his magical catalyst, but already he was preparing to cast numerous spells on a seconds notice.


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## Serp (Dec 19, 2010)

"Oh little our little king, of course I am a second year do you forget me so easily." 
Christopher was wearing grey furred robes and pull out his wand. 

"Both contestants have pulled out their magical catalysts, what do you say on this matter Corsaint?" The announcer said. Lord Corsaint was on the podium next to him. "Well it seems young James here has struck gold, those Steel Gauntlets that he puts on seem to be imbedded with true magic, they will boost his spell's greatly, but young Christopher seems not so lucky, his wand is simple, Fir tree, a pagan symbol of everlasting and a Yeti fur core . A typical wand from those of the north but still a great tool nonetheless more suited to nature magics though." Corsaint huffed. 

Christopher wasn't dumb he didn't think much of James but he wouldn't take his chances. The both raised their hands. And then the spells came reigning down. 

"ARMATURE ATTACHMA!" Christopher cast not paying attention to James cast. His fur had been replaced by armour, it was lightweight but still there, and had a slight blue glow.


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## Azure Flame Fright (Dec 20, 2010)

James cast a _Generation_ spell, creating in his hands both a bow and arrow. This time James did not speak as he cast the spell, and thanks to the few extra milliseconds he was able to draw and fire his bow as Christopher just finished his spell. 

"_Duplication!_" James pointed to the arrow that was flying free towards Christopher, and in that instant dozens of other arrows sprouted off the first, creating a shotgun effect. 

Originally, that would have finished the match, but James knew that with the armor Christopher summoned, it would take more than a few simple arrows to do any real damage. 

"I hadn't guessed a Delarbok student would start off with Actualization magic." James voiced his wonderment aloud. However, it was the proper choice, if they had both started with offensive magic, James surely would have won the encounter with his first attack. 

_Armature Attachma_ was not a high level Actualization spell, so it shouldn't be very surprising that anyone of any house could cast it. After all, not everyone was as overspecialized as James.


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## Serp (Dec 20, 2010)

Christopher smiled as the arrows bounced off his armour or hit the ground. "So James, you learned wordless casting, takes up a bit more magic but can make the difference ey. And Yes a Delarbok using Actualization, its not that hard and well in the North Armour is the most important tool." 

The annoucer stepped up. "James started well with a single silent cast Generation spell and an outward duplication, spells that would help anyone win a match this easy, but Glace was smart enough to use Armature Attachma, the spell used mainly for those not skilled enough in actualization magic to create strong enough armour or weapons would summon some to battle, or better yet summon things with special talents an old spell but still useful." 

Christopher smiled. "I am from the north the blood of the first people runs through my veins, my fir wand, my wolf wools and my cold blue eyes, but you I can tell there is something regal in you."

Christ rose his wand and pointed it towards James. 

"_Spada el Naturalus_!" Christopher's wand turned into a sword. And then in an instant, Christopher was trying to cross the arena, jumping over the arrows, he was fast but his speed was hindered by the weight of the arrows. "Come on my king!"


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