Jeff Inlo - Pure Choice

"I never said you weren't powerful," Jure conceded. "I said you were misguided. I still think so."

"Misguided? Misguided?! No! If anything, I finally see the truth. My spells are far more powerful than they have ever been before. I have proved that already."

"Prove? What did you prove? More importantly, who did you prove it to? Me? Yourself? Or the sorcerer over there?"

"I do not have to prove myself to anyone. I only seek to challenge myself."

"Now your starting to sound like the sorcerer. That's what he's all about. I know. I've dealt with him before. He thinks he's the only thing that matters. He disregards everything else. Is that what you want? Is that how you want to think?"

"What I want is to progress! I want to advance to a state of being beyond your limited aspirations. I will become the very power of the pure storm. I will be the wind, rain, and lightning combined into absolute perfection."

Jure couldn't bring himself to dislike the elf, not completely. The elder wizard didn't like Scheff's tone or the selfishness in the elf's ambitions, but that was youthful pride speaking. He had no idea how old the elf was, but immaturity could be cured. Despite the arrogance of his words, Scheff revealed a desire to grow and that desire might eventually lead to greater wisdom. The elder wizard couldn't fault the elf for that.

Scheff, however, was looking in the wrong direction, accepting guidance that was potentially harmful. The elf bought into Ansas' belief that everything came from within and the ridiculous notion that purity led to absolute power. Scheff was considering his abilities not as a gift but as a demonstration of pure individual development, and the elf clearly viewed the magic as nothing more than an inconsequential tool to manipulate.

Jure felt such a self-serving view would ultimately limit the elf. Scheff was blinding himself to influences that were far more important than the magic itself. Disregarding such concepts as sacrifice would lead to an empty journey.

Comparing Scheff's abilities to his own, Jure believed his own growth was based on a dedication to both discipline and faith. Even when he practiced his spells in the desert, he left room for guidance… not just direction from some experienced magic caster or advice from a well-meaning wizard, but a desire to follow the path placed before him. Even at that moment, he was willing to accept a higher calling as opposed to simply forging a direction based on his own desires.

Wondering if he might see a way to reach Scheff, the elder wizard tried to establish what he believed was a fallacy in the elf's logic.

"If you're trying to be the full storm, then you have to include the hues of water and light. You might want to think about that when considering this concept of pure magic. The storm isn't just dark clouds and wind. You said it yourself. It's rain and lightning as well."

"You are twisting my words."

"No, I'm just repeating them."

"You think your storm spells would be more powerful than mine?" Scheff asked, but then answered the question himself. "That is what you are implying and that is why this challenge is necessary."

"Maybe it is," Jure conceded. "Maybe you'll learn something more important than you think."

"I will learn how to defeat you."

"Actually, maybe you'll learn there's more to life than your own narrow point of view. And by the way, I'm still standing here."

It was a defiant declaration, a near taunt that enraged the elf.

"Old fool! You brought this on yourself!"

Scheff cast another storm spell, but this one dwarfed the first. It was meant to do more than simply defeat the elder wizard; it was cast with the pure intention to annihilate him.

Thrown into the air by the elf, a purple ring of power compacted itself into a flat disk no larger than the size of a small dinner plate. It hovered high above Jure's head, spinning at incomprehensible speeds. It pulsated with both fury and intensity, a dark purple shadow throbbing with a massive potential to unleash absolute devastation. Despite its meager size, it cast a great darkness over the entire plateau.

Realizing the elf unleashed all of his energy into one compact spell, Jure doubted he could survive the onslaught. If he tried to absorb all of the power, the force of the individual elements would crush him or the overwhelming energy would tear through him. He didn't believe he was strong enough to block every lightning bolt as well as the deluge of rain and blasts of wind, but in an instant of comprehension, he knew he didn't have to.

Jure cast several spells at once. He used a wind shield to deflect the gale burst that would rip him apart and a water bridge to divert the surge of water that was meant to drown him. He cast a land spell that brought the ground up around him to draw away the lightning, and a light spell that speared through the darkness. In every spell he cast, he focused on redirecting the energy rather than attempting to meet it head-on. He would not try to overpower Scheff's fury, but simply repel it into the lifeless rock around him.

The barren ground of the dark realm would serve as the receptacle for nearly all of Scheff's magical onslaught. Since the existence was-as Enin explained-a physical representation of the darkest corners of imagination, it could easily absorb Scheff's ferocious outburst of anger. Jure didn't have to match Scheff's power, he simply had to avoid it and use the advantages of his surroundings.

By the time Scheff realized what was happening, it was too late. He had committed himself to the one spell, believing there was no way the elder wizard could survive. He could not retract the casting or immediately reabsorb the energy that was flowing out of his core. Just as when he cast the cyclone against the half-demon's flaming twister in the desert, he had lost control of his spell.

The wind swirled about the two spell casters in a deafening roar, interrupted by mind shattering cracks of thunder. The pouring rain rushed down over the plateau, but directed its sheer volume entirely on the elder wizard. Streaking bolts of lightning struck near Jure again and again.

Each element had the strength to obliterate the wizard, but not the will to overcome Jure's manipulations. The magical shields redirected each strike and sent the wind, rain, and lightning into the very fabric of the dark existence. They stood at the very edge of that realm, at its connection to a surrounding void. The very nature of the connecting planes fully accepted-even desired-the conceit inherent in the dark violet storm. The selfish desires intertwined into the elements of Scheff's spell forged a path that would not touch the noble wizard.

Scheff could feel the spell pulling the last remnants of magic from his core. He had exhausted his magical reservoir and it would take time to recharge. In that time, he would be vulnerable to the wizard who was using only a portion of his energy to survive the storm. The elf had made yet another mistake, but he still did not quite see the truth or uncover the error in his judgment.

When the spell ceased, Scheff would not look to Ansas for assistance. He had been defeated and he had to accept his fate. He waited for Jure to cast the spell that would destroy him in bitter silence. The spell, however, never came.

The elder wizard had no desire to end the elf's life. He believed Scheff had certainly been foolish, and though foolishness sometimes led to senseless deaths, it wasn't mandatory. If it was, Uton would have been a very empty place, and he himself would have died long ago.

In some ways, he saw himself in the elf's desire to embrace the energy of the storm. When Jure was first able to cast magic, the overwhelming sense of power confused him, even frightened him. As he practiced and grew, he soon reveled in his newfound abilities. It would have been easy to let the idea of grandeur swallow him in unshackled pride. Fortunately for him, he looked for purpose, not glory. That was the key to both his survival and growth, and it would also serve him in his dealings with Scheff.