The Spiritguard

It's the morning of the first round of duels, and the first three matches have already taken place. Starting out the morning, Natalia fought against Jess, another girl from our cohort that I've spent a little time with.

Enough to know her name, anyway.

Jess stood no chance. The match was over within thirty seconds, and Natalia had the poor girl pinned down, her practice spear at Jess' throat. 

The next match, I didn't pay much attention to. Two people I've not known well. Match three was a little more exciting. Mira Berger, Kavella's chatty roommate, faced off against a tall guy that always sits in the back of class. She showed off an Animus Technique I'd never seen before, one she claims to have learned from Kavella. From her hands, she launched string after string of popping sonic blasts that sounded like fireworks. It served well to distract her opponent at the onset, but as the fight progressed he found a counter to her attacks. Unfortunately for Mira, once it came down to a physical battle, she was quickly outmatched and surrendered.

I feel a bit anxious for Mira. She's a good friend of mine, but these three days will be tough on her. If she doesn't claim a victory, she'll be kicked out of the STP. As I think about this, I look over to Marc. I have some of the same concerns about him.

Finally, it is my turn to duel. Mr. Copper calls out my name in his typical gruff, couldn't-care-less way. Then he calls my opponent, Jonah. 

I size up my opponent. He's someone I have only ever interacted with in passing - I didn't even know his name. Probably a fault of my own more than anything. There aren't too many of us trainees, but I keep to myself.

Kael, Natalia, Marc, Mira, and Kavella - those are the only people I associate with. I'd rather have a few excellent friends than many 'acquaintances'.

He's a bit taller than me, and stockier. A similar build to Lance, my old bully. He has a confident look in his eyes as we get ready to battle. The look annoys me. The same look I used to get from guys like Lance in school. The athletic, jocky types who think they have it all going for them. Little old Jonah is going to be in for a surprise today, though. I might not be muscular and tall, but my body is a trained machine, and I am much stronger than I look. Especially over these past three months. I feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I remember the coaching I received from Kael the night before. I can do this.

"Begin!" Mr. Copper shouts, gliding away from the sectioned-off arena that has been set up for today's event. We're in a square, roped-off area about thirty feet across, in the middle of our training field. All of our classmates surround the arena, watching. 

I hold my wooden sword in both hands.

Striking is okay, but not necessary. If anyone should land more than one hit on their opponent, they are automatically declared the winner. I can also win by pinning my opponent, or putting him in a situation where I could theoretically have achieved a lethal strike had we been fighting with real weapons.

I practice with Crossed Heart, a real sword, so the wooden sword always feels alien and clunky in my hands. I can't swing it as fast, nor do I have as much finesse with its wider 'blade'. Still, It's going to have to do.

I know what I have to do. Jonah here is an expert at the Cyclosphere Animus technique. He's going to try and hit me with it straightaway, to get me on the ground. If he can knock me down like that, the match will be his. But I'm not losing today.

As soon as we start, I barrel toward him, running as fast as I can in a mad dash. I see a smirk come across his stupid face. To him, this is the perfect opportunity to use Cyclosphere. To me, that's exactly the point. I'm going to bait him into using his signature skill, and then use Shatterpoint to dispel it. By then, I'll be close enough to strike.

He winds his hand back and I see a ball of roaring wind begin to form in his palm. His Cyclosphere is bigger than Kael's - and more turbulent. More violent. It really is a specialty of his, huh? But I hesitate for a moment when I realize in his other hand, he's conjuring up a second Cyclosphere. So that's his plan. He's going to try to hit me with two, in case the first one misses. But there's a downside to that. As of now, his sword is still strapped into his belt. He's effectively unarmed.

"See how you like this!" Jonah calls out confidently, the first Cyclosphere bursting out of his hand toward me. Already I'm focusing on what I must do. I got some more practice last night. I don't need to build up a light and move it through my body to the tip of my sword anymore. I remember what it's like to hold that Animus energy at the tip of my blade. I can start from there.

The Cyclosphere is rushing through the air. It's so much faster than Kael's. I worry that I can't possibly swing my wooden sword fast enough, but all I can do is believe.

POP!

I slide on my back foot and swing my blade hard and fast in a horizontal arc, all of the Animus energy I can muster manifesting at the tip of my blade. As my Shatterpoint technique comes into contact with the Cyclosphere, there's an absolutely massive expulsion of energy that sounds like a bomb bursting. I don't take even a moment to revel in my success. I look directly into my opponent's eyes. He's surprised, but he has another Cyclosphere ready to go. And I'm much closer to him now. The moment he launches it, it'll hit me. It travels too fast.

So instead of waiting for the attack, I watch his arm. As his elbow begins to extend toward me, I'm already swinging. 

POP!

The Cyclosphere had not traveled even a foot away from Jonah before I burst it with another masterfully-timed Shatterpoint. I lock eyes with him again. He looks terrified. My azure eyes burn fear into his heart. He knows now what it means to underestimate me. 

I swing my sword one final time to end the match, turning my blade at the last second and smacking him on the side of the head with the flat part of the wooden sword. He goes down, hard, and he doesn't get back up. I knocked him out cold.

"The winner of match four is Sigmund Felice!" my instructor calls out. The crowd of students gathered around are all cheering for me. Seems my finishing the match in mere seconds has impressed my classmates.

If Kael hadn't taught me Shatterpoint, I don't know if this would have gone so well.

Mr. Copper walks back into the arena and pats me on the shoulder as my classmates continue to clap at the explosive result of my match. "Good work, son." he says, nodding at me and giving me a smile. Whoa, talk about a break of character. It's the first time I've received anything that could be construed as positive reinforcement from this man. "Those Shatterpoints were masterful. Where'd you learn to do a thing like that?"

I look back at my instructor, pride welling in my heart. It feels good to receive his validation. "Kael, of course!" I beam. He nods and sends me on my way, hoisting up Jonah from the ground and carrying him over to the medic area to be assessed. I skip back to the crowd, feeling like I'm a foot taller and like I could take on anyone here. 

"That's my bestie right there!" Kael laughs, patting me on the back as I return to the crowd. He looks at me with doe-eyed admiration. Such a cutie!

I look on the other side of the crowd. There's someone else who's admiration I want. And as I glance across the way, Kavella and I spot each other. She smiles at me, and nods her head. 

I look back at her. I don't care how dorky it is - I give her a big thumbs up. And for potentially the first time in my life, I see her laugh and smile, and she gives me a (somewhat reluctant) thumbs up back.