This week is Team Four's first live battle
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“ROAAAACK!”
Tiza spun to the sound, eyes bright
with excitement. “What was that?!”
“That would be your monster,” Nolien
said dryly.
A bird much bigger than the kind they
had been messing with the past two days stalked the trees. Eric remembered it
from his studies. It was called a “Cecri,” and the book warned its reader to
hide as soon as they saw one. So this is why they hire mercenaries to
collect poop.
Cecri stood on two legs and dwarfed Threan
cars. Its feet were long talons, but it was the sharp beak that caught Eric's
attention. These natural blades were so strong and finely honed that they were
used as weapons in Tariatla's antiquity. Cecri were dangerous carnivores and
this one spotted them.
“We should get the sergeant!” Nolien
said. “We can't handle something like this.”
“Are you kidding?” Tiza asked. Her
sword and shield were already drawn. “This is what I've been waiting for!”
“But—” Nolien protested.
“Too late!” Tiza shouted happily. “Here
it comes!”
Nolien groaned and reached for his staff. Eric
pulled out his own, despite how much his hands shook. He was determined not to
freeze and let his teammates do the fighting for him. The battle mage took a
deep breath and prepared the barrier Tiza would need.
Tiza meet the huge monster's charge
head on. With a yell, she slashed its stomach, but was parried by its talons.
The beak came down on her and a screen of solid light intercepted it. Eric
grimaced at the impact and fell to his knees; his barrier dimpled and broke.
Nolien's, however, gave Tiza enough time to plunge her sword in the monster's
leg. It reared in pain and tried to rake her with its other leg, but Tiza
dodged and stabbed that one too. The Cecri squawked in pain and fell backwards.
Tiza lunged to finish it off, but the
Cecri spat gooey liquid at her. Caught off guard, she took it full in the face
and screamed in surprise. While she furiously rubbed the gunk out of her eyes,
the monster stood on its injured legs and struck with both beak and talon.
Nolien blocked the beak, but Eric failed to stop the talon. It tore through his
wall and struck her shield, lifting her off the ground and throwing her across
the clearing. Her head collided with a tree and she went limp.
“Eric!” Nolien yelled as he ran. “Keep
that thing busy!”
I have to fight this thing . . . alone!?
Eric shook his head and steadied himself. He pointed his staff at the monster
and concentrated. By channeling his mana through his staff, he could create a
bolt far stronger than any he threw at Laharg. With a mental yell, he released
the gathered energy at the monster.
The Cecri was knocked off balance and squawked
in confusion. It turned from the fallen Tiza and towards the new irritant.
Nolien used the distraction to chant a healing spell. Eric fired another bolt
and sent its head reeling. Feeling confident, he met the monster's eyes.
Cold fear hit him like a tidal wave. He froze.
Couldn't move, couldn't think; helpless. Forced to watch that murderous beak
come slashing down—
--and clang on a barrier. Eric blinked
and the fear was gone. A sigh of relief shook his frame and his legs gave out.
Nolien's staff glowed faintly as he channeled his power through it. Tiza sat
next to him, shaking her head. The monster continued to peck and slash the
barrier, squawking in confusion when it couldn't reach its prey. The screen of
light cracked under the pressure.
Tiza jumped on the monster's back and
stabbed it. The Cecri let out a piercing shriek and all three dropped their
weapons to cover their ears. The monster shook Tiza off its back and she
dropped to the mud. It harpooned her. She rolled aside.
Eric looked for his staff, but to his dismay,
he saw three. The bird's shriek scrambled his mind. The Cecri stepped on Tiza's
stomach to hold her in place. Eric lunged for a staff and grabbed air. In
horror, he looked to the monster in time to see it strike.
“To protect this friend of mine, make
that monster blind! Dark Eye!” Darkness shot from Nolien's staff and covered
the monster's face. It stopped an inch from Tiza's neck and squawked in
confusion. Tiza was again forgotten in favor of its lost sight. Tiza wiggled
from under its talon and scurried to her feet. Is that how spells work? Eric
retrieved his staff and improvised a spell.
“From its toe to its head make that
monster dead! Death Spell!”
Nothing happened except the monster heard
him and darted in his direction. A mana bolt knocked it off balance. It ran
toward Nolien and he ran to a new hiding place.
“Attack!”
To learn more about Tiza and A Mage's Power, visit Tvtropes at http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/AMagesPower.
A Mage's Power, and the rest of the Journey to Chaos series, are available for purchase at
http://amzn.to/10NsG2i
Click here to read the next Sassy Saturday: Training Dummy
Click here to read the previous Sassy Saturday: Tiza's First Mission
Brian Wilkerson is a independent novelist, freelance book reviewer, and writing advice blogger. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).
I read your earlier Sassy Saturday post, so this comment is for that and this one. Your link to TVtropes helps in making your excerpt more enjoyable. Still, while the characters do a lot of exciting stuff, there's very little that makes me want to care about them. I would very much like to see these characters developed into something with greater depth.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, but remember, these are just excerpts. Specifically, they are excerpts involving Tiza, who is not my protagonist. If you want to see them all develop greater depth, then you have to get the full text.
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