Andrew Rowe - On the Shoulders of Titans

Near me, Patrick whistled appreciatively. Controlling lightning mid-flight like that was impressive .

So, however, was the ball of flame that was gradually solidifying in Rupert’s hands.

Kyra’s shadows were still spreading — they now encompassed a half-dozen squares, almost reaching where Loria was standing. Assuming she could see within her own shadows, it seemed like a valid strategy — her opponents wouldn’t know where to attack.

Desmond ducked down, forming a phantasmal blade to cut away at the vines that were binding him, while Loria hurled another lightning blast. Rupert took this hit head-on, but he managed to retain his focus on the spell he was gathering.

And, without any further delay, he hurled the sphere in Loria’s direction.

Kyra’s shadows shot out and covered Loria’s square, then seemed to thicken as the fireball approached.

The flames diminished as they entered the enclosure of shade, and not just visually. With my attunement active, I could see the intensity decrease as it crossed inside. An unexpected effect; I hadn’t known that shadow magic could diminish the power of other spells.

But it wasn’t enough.

The fireball detonated with tremendous force, burning away a section of shadow and crashing into Loria. The impact hurled her backward, shattering her barrier. Then she vanished.

It wasn’t one of Kyra’s tricks this time. Loria’s barrier was gone, and she’d been eliminated from the match.

Kyra dropped to the ground when the fireball detonated, and it left her mostly unscathed. Her shadows began to spread again immediately afterward, but it didn’t seem like a sustainable tactic.

Desmond was almost free of his vines, and Rupert was already preparing another ball of fire.

I was expecting Kyra to do something sneaky. Maybe create a bunch of illusions, or manipulate the shadows into attacking from a direction opposite from her own location.

Instead, she braced herself, took a breath, and jumped.

The remaining shadows jerked inward, pulled as if connected by strings, and condensed until they were pressed against her skin.

Kyra’s features vanished as the shadows stretched across her entire body, covering her like paint.

I’d seen that kind of spell before, though; it was more than a cosmetic change. The shadows would enhance her physical capabilities further, and protect her like a suit of armor.

The leap didn’t take her far, but it did draw her opponents’ attention upward. That meant that her opponents didn’t see that she’d left something behind when she jumped — a tiny metal rod.

She landed on another white square, just a few feet away from where she’d started, and began to slowly advance. Nothing happened, seemingly confirming that the white squares were safe.

Desmond was free now, and he conjured another hail of glittering blades in the air above Kyra. They descended, jamming into the writhing shadows around her — and vanished without a trace.

The shadows seemed to diminish for a moment after the attack, but Kyra exhaled a breath, and they solidified again.

Kyra advanced, hopping from white square to white square.

Rupert turned to his partner, still focusing on conjuring a ball of flame, and yelled, “Slow her down!”

Desmond gave a nod and a reply, then closed his eyes and focused.

A glowing wall appeared in Kyra’s path.

She punched it. The wall rippled as umbral mana met with gray, tearing a fist-shaped hole.

Seeming satisfied, she struck the wall again and again, widening it until there was almost enough room to jump through.

The wall vanished just in time for Rupert’s fireball to pass through where it had been a moment before. It hit Kyra straight in the chest.

The shadows rippled on contact, sizzling and burning away as the fireball drilled through. Kyra reached into a pouch at her side, twitching her hand just as Rupert waved his.

The fireball exploded at Rupert’s command, but Kyra had already vanished.

She was right back where she’d started, standing near the metallic rod on the white square.

I hadn’t heard the chime, but I understood what she’d done —

She had a jump bell in her bag.

And now, with Rupert’s fireball detonated harmlessly, she charged.

The lingering shadows around her must have augmented her physical abilities. She was too fast to be running — and then jumping, to clear a section without white tiles — based on muscle alone. I knew Shadows had access to enhancement mana as their secondary type, but I hadn’t seen it in action before.

As she ran, more shadows began to collect around her. Rupert tried to start to gather another fireball, but he was panting with exhaustion, and his forehead was dripping with sweat.

And Kyra was too fast.

Desmond conjured another wave of weapons, but Kyra avoided them entirely this time, dodging and weaving through the flurry of glowing blades.

Then she was nearly on top of Rupert, hurling a knife from her belt. It hit his barrier and made a crack just before she landed in front of him, widening that crack with a solid punch.

Rupert stumbled backward, landing on an orange square. The blast of energy that surged upward enveloped him, shattering the last of his barrier.

Then there were two left on the field.

Desmond gestured upward, and glowing wires rose from the square below Kyra, similar to the vines that had enveloped him earlier. She jumped over them, but Desmond gestured again, and a glowing shield appeared and flew forward, slamming into Kyra’s midsection.

The force knocked her back, forcing her to land on a yellow square.

A warm glow emanated upward, and as I watched, it began to slowly repair some of the damage to Kyra’s shield. She grinned, stretched, and made a “come hither” gesture to her opponent.

Desmond waved a hand again. “Finally, you’re visible and standing still.”

A glowing metal box appeared around Kyra’s entire square.

I blinked.

The box shook a moment later, no doubt due to Kyra’s attempts to break it from the inside. She couldn’t use the jump bell again so soon without recharging it.

Desmond shook his head, then made another gesture. Another box appeared around the first box.

Then another. And another.

Then he closed his fist — and the boxes began to collapse inward, as if crushed by an invisible hand.

I could hear the sounds of vibrations from inside the box for a few more seconds before Teft stood up.

“That’s enough.” He clapped his hands. The light from the squares vanished, as did the boxes.

Kyra was still there, breathless, huddled into a ball on the ground. It must have been the only place she could find the space to breathe.

“Master Desmond wins by incapacitation. You may both exit the arena and rest.”

And that, I considered, is why I should never fight a Shaper in a duel.

My own match was, unfortunately, only a few minutes later.

On the plus side, I’d figured out a few little things from that first one.

On the minus side, it was safe to assume that Sera had noticed the same things, and she was probably already a step ahead of me on formulating a strategy.

We made our way to the arena, clipped on the sigil monitors, and headed to our sides of the ring. We only had moments to prepare before the match started.

I saw Sera on the other side of the arena bending down and pointing at the tile beneath her, making a sweeping gesture with her hands, and Patrick nodding in assent, then whispered something I couldn’t hear.

Then Sera turned toward us, pointing her dueling cane at me and smirking as she made a mock salute. She couldn’t cast spells, but she could still use a dueling cane with deadly efficiency.