Arcana Tournament, Elementalism Event (Magus)

[Odyleon]

Third brightening of the Versian Arcana Tournament

The weather was nothing short of gorgeous, even by Versian standards, and the crowd rejoiced. Many among them had camped in the open the darkening before, to secure the tiny patch of grass they had been able to claim for themselves, as close to the action as they could. The city militia had even had to show up a couple of times, when two or more Versians had felt they were in the right to occupy the same spot – and with so many magic users around, the most mundane of brawls could easily escalate to a different league.

It was no surprise that the Elementalism event was easily the most anticipated in the whole tournament after the final battle, perhaps on par with the Druidism one. Elementalism and Druidism had long been held in Vers as the noblest spheres of Arcana, and there had even been someone accusing the organizing committee of open favoritism towards the wielders of the Four Roots; by holding their event as the very first, the winner would have the longest time to recuperate before the final battle. Still, everyone wanted to see mighty Elementals in actions, and the splendid weather meant that there was no obvious advantage to using any of the four flavors they came in.

The ring where the match would take place was actually a square, in keeping with the general theme of four. Interestingly enough, the battlefield was far from empty, as it was clustered with obstacles pertaining to the elements; piles of rocks, small pools of water, and campfires here and there. Nothing about Air, but a gentle breeze blew from the East, carrying the distant smells of the sea. Piled rocks, standing at about two feet, marked the boundaries of the arena.

The host for this event was Master Herwitz von Barmulford, Elementalist of reknown and teacher at the Imaden. The Master had been, at one time, close friends with Master Julos, well before the latter doing what everyone knew about and plunging the Empire into chaos. Vers' stance about Julos was still rather awkward, and all the Masters tended not to touch the topic with a six foot pole. Herwitz's character was every bit as explosive as his looks (he was an amateur Alchemist, after all), and he showed up at the event dressed in a bright red silk tunic, wearing all sorts of Elemental jewelry, most of which probably Enchanted. He was tall but well-built, with thin and long legs that gave him a lanky appearance and looked silly when he walked.

Walking behind him was a small procession of people – the crowd parted to let them pass, glancing at the proud faces and eyes of those youths. The contestants. Some of them, the Versians knew very well, and so did a lot of gamblers; a lot of money was about to change hands today. The silent line followed Herwitz, winding off like a multi-colored snake. It took them a few minutes to line up along one side of the arena square, whereas the Master stepped up a decorated wooden podium from which he began to speak, the contestants in front of him and turning their backs to some of the audience.

"My dear friends" he began "Today is the brightening we have been waiting for. Look at these young men and women carefully, for among them you can see tomorrow's Masters and Mistresses, those who will follow on our own footsteps. They have come from all over the vast territories of the Empire to... drink booze at the Red Mullet!"

The crowd erupted into laughter; Herwitz wasn't the most conventional of Magi, though he was incredibly capable. "You mean they aren't here to drink or woo your daughters?" He feigned surprise. "Did you ask them?" More laughter. "So I was wrong all along and this is no drinking contest, eh? Perhaps we can hold one later, hmm?"

Herwitz's little show had been carefully prepared as comedic relief, to break the tension and stress the participants were probably feeling. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, before we start, I want everyone to step forward, starting from my left, and state your name, provenience, and anything you might have on your mind. Then I will explain the rules for this event in great detail."

He glanced at the very first student on his left. The Master had a sheet of parchment listing all the contestants' names sorted by their position and knew that the boy's name was Magus, but this was for the audience's enjoyment.

[Magus Syfer]

Heading the procession of grinning and confident Apprentice Elementalist was the visitor from Demios, who often sneaked glances back to size out the competition. As they assembled before the crowd, Magus could feel excitement rising within him. As the crowd roared with laughter at Master Herwitz's comments, Magus couldn't help but smile at the mirth himself. He eyed the Master Elementalist nervously, he knew of his kind before, who would never hesitate to ridicule others for laughs. Hence, it was with no small amount of apprehension that Magus stepped forward at the Master mage's insistence, and began to introduce himself to the audience. He could feel the eyes of the other contestants boring into him, eyeing him the same way he had done before, sizing up competition.

"Serale. I am Magus Syfer, and I hail from Demios, from which I travelled to enter in this reputable tournament. I undertook my initiate studies in Port Alyxandrya before moving to Demios, where I finished my Apprentice studies in Elementalism. And now, here I am, partaking in this fine festival of yours. I wish the rest of the contestants all the best [turns to other contestants and smiles, eyeing daggers at them at an angle which he was sure the audience couldn't see] and hope we all have fun. Enjoy the show, people of Vers." So saying, he stepped back in line, and waited for the others to introduce themselves in turn, and for further instructions from the Master Elementalist.

[Odyleon]

There were twelve Magi competing for the highly coveted spot in the final battles, and at the end of the brightening, only one would succeed. The competition wasn't going to be easy at all for Magus as an Apprentice. If he cared to know, the Versian bookmakers had gauged his odds at 45:1. It wasn't the boy's fault, but he was virtually unknown in town and two out of twelve contestants were Journeyman – no Masters, of course, as Masters had better things to do with their time – and Apprentices were mostly there for the experience. Still, it had happened for weaker Magi to defeat more experienced ones through clever tactics, second-guessing and sheer willpower, so Herwitz had not dismissed any of the twelve young people lined up before him as a potential winner.

Everyone's bets were placed on Iluvian McGregor, a muscular human whose glacial eyes were only matched by his proficience with Ice; and his nemesis Mirwen Laladrinialal, a red-haired Elven girl known for her mastery over Fire. The fact they had been an engaged couple before but then had broken up because of their Arcanic rivality merely added to their determination to succeed. Both Adepts; both close to Mastery, according to many.

Herwitz cared not about gossip, and the contestants merely stated the usual hypocrisy that came before and after any confrontation. Had it been for him, he'd have had them fight from the very first moment; but that moment would come soon enough. "Very well, ladies and gentlemen, the contest may now begin. Each of you is required to enter Clara after drawing a Circle of Magic on the ground before you, and inside that Circle you must summon an Elemental of your choosing. Do choose wisely – this is the only Elemental you can summon, and if it returns to its Plane before the end of the contest, you will be disqualified. If you have befriended a particular Elemental entity before, you may use it freely. You will be able to reshape, outfit, or upgrade your summoning any way you want, either now or later."

Herwitz cleared his throat to give the participants enough time to digest the information. "You have fifteen minutes. I will then inspect your Elementals and select four among the twelve of you who will duke it out in the Arena in a free-for-all. The last Elemental standing will grant its owner a place in the final battles." Herwitz's grin grew even wider. "Good luck, lads. You will need it!" Sticks had been placed in front of the twelve Elementalists, so that they could draw a Circle and begin the summoning inside.

[Magus Syfer]

Magus listened to the Master Elementalist, a frown creasing his brows. Though the task was to be expected, he wasn't so sure he could defeat some of the other Elementalists. To be sure, there were ways to go about winning the game, some underhanded, others over the-top-handed. Briefly, he toyed with the notion of somehow managing to disrupt the casting of the other Elementalists with a small rock. Simple and effective. But this idea was quashed almost immediately as he remembered that there would be Circles of Magic being cast, the protective spell that would ward off physical and magical attacks. He sighed.

Taking hold of his stick, he sat down in a cross-legged position, the one he found most comfortable to be in when attempting to cast spells over a lengthy period. With the stick, he slowly drew a circle around his body, taking care to make sure that the two ends of the circle met up and completely encircled him. Magus looked around him. He saw the other contestants taking similar steps to draw their circles. Some of them looked rather worried about the contest, while a few seemed too confident for Magus' comfort. Especially that elf-maid and another man. Mentally berating himself to concentrate on the task at hand, Magus closed his eyes. After entering Clara, he began to cast the Cirlce of Magic, the spell that would in essence imbue the drawn circle around him with the ability to ward of attacks, to guard him against potential rampaging elementals.

With his defence erected, Magus sat in quiet contemplation. In reality, he had not summoned an elemental since his days at the Paxian Academy, after conjuring a small fire Salamander whom he befriended, though to a certain degree. Dropping a column of fire on top of it was certainly no way to further a friendship, was it? But at this crucial juncture, dare he summon that same elemental, whom he at least had an inkling of its ability. Or would he go for a new elemental, one whom he didn't know, and could possibly lead to him being worse off. Better yet, I could just wait and see what kind of elementals the others are summoning. Elements are quite circular in their dominance over other elements. Biding my time might be the wisest course of action. Although I don't think I will be able to win this fight through sheer elemental strength, seeing as the Journeymen's Elementals would undoubtedly be far stronger than I'll be able to make mine.

And so, Magus sat there patient and quiet, waiting for all the Elementals to appear before making his move and summoning his Elemental. In all probability, he would choose the same Elemental he had summoned before, but there was always a chance he could spy a weakness among his opponents, and be able to capitalise upon it. Water against Fire and all that. Idly, he wondered if he would be able to alter his own Elemental with the Imbue Element spell, even though this was not its intended purpose.

[Odyleon]

So Magus had not prepared an Elemental acquaintance beforehand. This singled him out as the only participant who had not done so – his colleagues did not show the least sign of hesitation as they recited a familiar script, sitting outside of the Circle (what was that Human boy doing inside his Circle? When Summoning, Circles were used as a precaution to keep defective Elementals from going berserk; it kinda defeated the purpose if one sat inside, unless Magus was so confident in his creature's loyalties; nevertheless, he got many a funny look from his colleagues and a curious one from Herwitz) and casting their spells inside.

Everyone else had prepared for the tournament very well. They had all selected their champion cycles before, and had gone through a rigid training regime to make them as fit for the challenge as they could. The Summoned beings – humanoid, most of them – were split among the four elements more or less equally, but Magus was more interested in Iluvian and Mirwen's actions – the former summoned a being of pure Ice, and introduced it to the audience as Albner, the Cataphract. Truly, the Elemental looked like it was clad in heavy armor, shiny Ice covering the entirety of its body except for the major joints. Albner was bulky and not terribly fast, but its frame was nothing short of massive.

Mirwen did not summon a humanoid. Everyone expected her to use a Fire being, but knowing she would be facing Iluvian's Ice and hence at a disadvantage against Water, she had opted for an Air Elemental instead. She called her Madwhisper. The Elemental was a ball of glowing lightning, roughly two feet in diameter and, sending forth showers of sparks as she floated, which also made up her language, though only Mirwen seemed to understand it.

Magus' opponents were fearsome and he was running short of time. He had to enter Clara now if he was to Summon his creature in time.

[Magus Syfer]

OoC: oops. btw, can I control my elemental? Or will you be modding its actions? Tell me if the latter case applies, and I'll edit this post, and will post accordingly in subsequent posts. also, how do elementals communicate with humans, and vice versa? I was under the assumption that there was some kind of telepathic link... I could be wrong.

Magus noted the quizzical looks his colleagues awared him, but was too deep in thought and concentration to give it a second thought. For all intents and purposes, he had honestly thought that it was wiser to cast a Circle of Protection around him, rather than around his summoning. He reasoned that, what with all the monstrosity of Elementals seeming to pop up everywhere, there was a real possibility of him getting hurt while on the combat field. At least this way, he could be in the middle of the combat field with a front row seat from which he would direct the actions of his elemental. Besides, was this spell not meant to protect mages while they concentrated on casting other spells?

As the last of the other elementals were summoned, Magus realised with a start that he was the only one left not to have summoned one. Seeing that all the elementals were equally distributed among the four Elements, Magus sighed. It would appear that he had no choice but to summon his only elemental that he had come in contact with. Still sitting in the Circle of Protection, Magus closed his eyes, and once again entered Clara. Conjuring the elemental back from the plane of Fire was not as hard as it had been the first time. As his mind raced through the Astral Plane and interfaced with the pools of Fire energy in the ether, he summoned forth the familiar small Salamander from its natural habitat. With a poof, the small fire elemental appeared in front of Magus, inside the Circle of Protection with him. It's ugly diminutive head glared at its master, crossing her stubby arms and with a visible pout, the small elemental turned its back to Magus, irritated still with what the young mage had done to it the previous time they had parted. Magus couldn't help but stifle a little giggle, before composing himself to properly apologise to the small elemental. "Awww... come now, it has been a long time. Surely you can't be angry with me about dropping that Column of Fire on you. I didn't think it would have hurt you, after all, you're made of fire, too, right? Please don't be mad. I promise you, I'll treat you real well after this. Once this tournament is over, I'll treat you like a royal princess, how's that sound? No matter if we win or lose. Anything you want to eat while you're here in the Material Plane." Magus' apology had descended into an outright plea for help.

Slowly, the small fire elemental, still resembling vaguely like Magus' former boss from the Spring and Summer Pet shop, turned and regarded its master coolly, accusation still burning in its eyes. With a gesture that seemed to Magus as a shrug, the elemental nodded her head ever so slightly. Compared to Magus, the diminutive elemental only rose to his knee. Now, it was to be fighting against elementals, some of which were fully taller than Magus.

"Wait! Tell me, what is your name, little one? I'm sorry we hadn't been properly introduced before, a fact that I apologise. My name is Magus."

Feyra. A faint thought brushed against Magus mind, which he took to be the elemental's response.

[Odyleon]

Herwitz examined each Elemental in turn. "Uhm... yessss... nice... not bad..." he murmured upon passing by the creatures, clearly unimpressed. Magus had been the last one to call his champion, and the Elementalist visited him last. Magus Syfer, he thought, did not seem to have summoned anything, and the boy had run out of time; cruel as it may sound, he had to disqualify him. He had plenty of time to improve, after all...

Wait. There was an Elemental next to the kid, but Herwitz had not noticed it before since he had expected it to be human-sized. 'He miscast, no doubt about it. How on Telath could it be that small otherwise? Either that or it's the first time he's summoned anything in his life. Maybe both.'

The Master stopped right in front of Magus, staring down at the creature, Feyra. Feyra stared back. "Tell me honestly, boy..." he asked slowly, too softly for the audience to hear, his mask-like face totally unreadable "Please tell me it's all tactics. Tell me you did it on purpose. Tell me you've been planning this for months, training this... thing for some kind of surprise attack or something. Tell me that this Elemental actually mastered some deadly form of combat you developed for this event..."

Feyra gave him an odd look and then faced her summoner. "Hey, what's this place? Why are there so many people here?" she asked "And why is this old idiot asking so many stupid things?" Oops. Hopefully, only Magus could hear the...

"Old... idiot, eh?" Herwitz breathed heavily. "I'm sure you have a great explanation for this, boy." And now he really wanted to hear it.

OOC: I say we should share Feyra's control. More fun that way!

[Magus Syfer]

OoC: Sure.

Magus could feel the heat gradually building up in intensity, blossoming into bright red flushes on his cheeks. Oh, how he wanted to burrown a hole in the ground and hide in it forevermore. The unexpected outburst from Feyra had surprised him, but the surprise was later replaced by utter humiliation. Hesitantly, he ran a quivering hand through his hair, trying to think of a way out of this mess. As the seconds ticked by, he suddenly realised that Master Herwitz was awaiting a reply. Reluctantly, he raised his head to meet the master mage, and tried his best to put on a brave act of confidence.

"Why certainly, I have everything planned out. It's the quality, not the size, that counts, Master Herwitz. I apologise for *nods at Feyra to indicate he was talking about her* my elemental's outburst. Her name's Feyra, and I let her run a bit wild most of the times. She means no offence."

Will he buy it? He must! Oh, to have the powers of a Mystic in a time like this. Me and Feyra are having a loooong talk after this. With this promise made in the secure vaults of his mind, he looked onwards at the Master Mage with a glassy expression in his eyes, his mind having already fled onto another plane of fantasy and safety.

[Odyleon]

Rather unexpectedly, Master Herwitz's face relaxed upon hearing the Apprentice's response, and he even wore an amiable smile as he spoke his next words. "Ohh, that's exactly what I wanted to hear, young... Magus, isn't it? No matter your goal, a proper strategy is essential; in the study of magic, it's what separates a mere Spellcaster from a true Mage. And... who am I to deny you the chance to test your strategy? In fact, I'm looking forward to it." His smile further widened as he turned around, as if to leave.

"Of course, if I find your strategy disappointing, I'll consider taking appropriate action." he dropped the words casually as he walked away "Like Binding your powers forever and ever, for example. Good luck, young Magus!"

With Magus and his little helper Feyra (still wondering who the old idiot was) left to their own devices, Herwitz stepped up his podium once again, ready to make his announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, the four Magi whose Elementals I have selected for the main event are..." The Master cleared his throat to let suspence build up.

"Number one, Apprentice Spelsner Ypsilon, please step forward." This came as a surprise to the audience, as very few knew the Mousai who showed up – it took some time for many people to even remember his introductory speech. Well-dressed, light grey in color, the Rodenti bowed respectfully, his Elemental crawling shortly behind. It was a small Earth creature, shaped like a chain of sorts, only with rock segments instead of iron links. It moved just like a snake, with the exception that one could not tell the front from the back as it had no head to speak of.

"Number two, Journeywoman Mirwen Laladrinialal." The girl was not surprised her name had been called – if anything, that she had not been called first. Madwhisper, the globular essence of crackling Lightning, expressed her impatience sending out brief bursts of light and thunder.

"Number three, Journeyman Iluvian McGregor." The man smirked as he waved two fingers at the audience, his hulking Ice Elemental, Albner the Cataphract, immediately marching towards the arena. The two Adepts were only paying attention to each other; if the Apprentices had one advantage over them, that was it.

"Number four, Apprentice Magus Syfer." The audience gasped in shock as they realized that the small, ugly, red creature next to the foreigner boy was supposed to do battle with those monsters. Feyra herself did not seem all that impressed – perhaps she had not put two and two together yet?

"You have five minutes to outfit and upgrade your Elementals" said Herwitz. "Talk to them, feed them, do whatever you want. Then enter the arena and show us oldies what the younger generations can do!"

[Magus Syfer]

A strange chill entered Magus' bones, as he heard the casual remark from the Master mage about bounding him. Though he wasn't sure whether it was a threat or a joke, he nevertheless realised he was treading on thin ice.

I best ready myself for this tournament. It won't be easy. The most intimidating elemental seems to be that ice warrior. And just luck would have it, that its element is Feyra's weakness. Regardless, the other two elementals seem also formidable. Though the other two are Journeymen, and can augment their elementals, us apprentices cannot do so. I guess the only way to outfit Feyra is conjure a blade of fire to aid her in the battle. Yet, the more Magus thought of this plan, the more he began to doubt himself. After all, a blade of fire could easily be extinguished by the ice warrior, and would also be rather ineffective against an earth elemental.

Perhaps a blade of Earth would be more effective and neutral element. As long as Feyra can avoid outright fighting the three elementals until they all tire out, then swoop in at the last minute and finish all of them, then I can win.

With this thought in mind, Magus entered Clara and began the task of fashioning a blade of Earth. A blade that he hoped would be solid enough to withstand the blows of ice, effective against another earth elemental, and ground the electrical attacks of an wind elemental. Hopefully it would be a blade small in proportion to Feyra's small stature, sleek of design and densely compacted with the element is was made of.

[Odyleon]

Feyra said nothing as her reptilian eyes stared at her summoner, busying himself with Meditation. Despite the overwhelming odds against which he stood, Magus wasn't doing bad, technically speaking. His Salamander may be small and less than pleasant to the eye, but at least seemed complete and functional. And his Earth Blade was cast without a glitch, conjuring a proportionally sized sword of rock into Feyra's grasp. The blade reflected the nature of Earth, the element which was Cold and Dry; sturdy, well-balanced, and cruelly sharp.

By now the realization had dawned on Feyra that she had been summoned for a reason – Magus' strange apologetic speech had left her somewhat confused – and upon seeing the other three Elementals taking position by three of the four corners of the arena, she sent out a telepathic message, which touched the boy's mind, this time very softly. "Before that brightening, I had not been summoned by anyone in thirty era's. I missed this place, somewhat. That's why I felt resentment when you dropped that spell on me right away. But I owe you at least this... I will fight for you. Unfortunately, this shell you have made with your Apprentice powers cannot contain my t..." Feyra's mental voice hesitated "... but it doesn't matter. Just tell me what to do and I will do it. Just don't leave me alone..."

And with those words, she finally started to move towards the arena. Herwitz made a new announcement. "Our four contestants will watch the fight from my podium. Of course, I'll be sure to interview you as things happen, but remember Vers is watching you, so no four-letter words please." The audience burst into laughter, someone screaming a very detailed list of such words – so the four Elementalists would know which words were to be avoided, of course.

Herwitz beckoned for the four to join him on his podium. The platform was large enough to host the five of them rather comfortably, though Iluvian and Mirwen immediately did their best to keep their distance. Spelsner was munching on some snack as he ordered Sausage around – since his Elemental could not speak, he had named it himself, and guess what kind of food it did resemble?

Albner occupied the North corner of the arena; Madwhisper was stationed South, right across from the Cataphract, and indeed they looked like they were going to jump at each other as soon as the match started. The West was Sausage's playground, and Feyra took the last remaining corner, East. The arena measured about one hundred feet across, littered with boulders, water pools, fire braziers and other such obstacles.

A roar from the crowd accompanied Herwitz's outstretched hand. "Show us what you can do, youngsters!"

And so it had begun.

[Magus Syfer]

Magus climbed onto the podium, behind the other contestants. His feet dragged across the ground, wishing time would stop. He ignored the cries from the audience, too wrapped up in his worries. No matter how much he thought, the only strategy he could come up with seemed cowardly, a strategy he was reluctant to use. As he came to a stop on the podium, between the Rodenti and the red-haired elven maiden, he turned slightly sideway to peer at the human. His gaze then turned to his elemental, the stern-looking ice warrior. It was his elemental that worried Magus most.

His gaze widened to observe the arena in its entirety. It would seem that all four elements were represented on the field. A glint of interest entered his eyes as he saw the boulders that littered the area and the fiery braziers. Excellent places to hide. Feyra can hide behind the boulders, and blend in the flames of the brazier.

Magus turned to view Feyra, who was watching the proceedings with a quizzical expression. He conveyed his plans to the fire elemental: In this arena, you will be pitted against the other three elementals. The Ice Elemental might be your greatest weakness, so avoid him at all cost for now. Also, be wary of the Air Elemental, since its master is also a Journeyman level mage. Those two will be the biggest obstacle in this bout. For now, hide behind the boulders, and blend in the flames. Wait and watch for an opportunity. And one last word of warning, the earth elemental might also be playing the same game as we are. Keep an eye out for it, especially when around the Earth region of the arena.

[Odyleon]

As everyone had predicted, the two Adepts' creations went for each other right away. They had not even considered the option of teaming up to sweep the weaker Elementals off the arena before getting dirty with a real fight; they probably viewed Sausage and Feyra as part of the scenery, perhaps providing some comedic relief later on, when the winner would crush them very, very artistically.

Madwhisper was the first to advance, a few meters only before stopping on her tracks, still floating in mid air. From the other side came Albner, marching relentlessly towards a melee where he would probably outmatch the globular Air creature. But would the Ice warrior ever get to reach his opponent? Madwhisper began to emit a strange whistling sound which kept growing in pitch. It didn't take the audience very long to realize the Elemental was charging up, white sparks gathering around its shapeless, flashing form.

Meanwhile, Feyra was doing exactly what she had been ordered to. Biding her time, that is, as nice people sometimes put it. She had approached a hot brazier, apparently safe from the main fight taking place, and was considering jumping in it to blend with the flames. The Earth elemental was still crawling on the opposite side of arena, its movements rather sluggish for the time being.

All of a sudden, Madwhisper finished charging and unleashed its attack on Iluvian's champion which was closing in on it. Three lightning bolts drew irregular arcs and impacted into the Ice creature with a thunderous roar and an azure flash of energy, leaving a patch of darkened earth all around. Albner was enveloped in raw electric power. "The water it is made of is an excellent conductor" Mirwen commented sharply, addressing no-one in particular "It's the end, Iluvian. Just a few more rounds of this and..." The man said nothing in response, but merely pointed an index at his Elemental.

The Cataphract was unhurt, and massive as ever. "Conductor?" now retorted his master "Running water is a good conductor, but that's because of the many Earth minerals found within. That electricity must have gone to your brain, Mirwen; you seriously don't remember that pure Water is actually an insulator? That's... pathetic!"

Albner covered up the few meters that separated it from its opponent with impressive speed for its size – so much speed, in fact, that it became clear Iluvian had made it walk at a slower pace on purpose. Even Herwitz was surprised at seeing such fast action. The Ice soldier lifted its right arm, the glacial water shimmering in the sun and revealing something even more shiny that the Elemental clasped in its fist... a gem, or something like that.

"Strike."

The punch was devastating – many jaws dropped as its momentum literally shot Madwhisper backwards like a comet of electricity, blasting it across the arena, where it disintegrated into a luminous fountain against one of the largest boulders. 'That strength... worthy of an Elemental Lord... I can see how he did it, though...' thought the Master. And yet, Mirwen did not look frustrated in the least.

"Her Elemental is still in the arena" said Herwitz. Indeed, Madwhisper's sparks had not faded into oblivion and kept lingering on, attracted to one another in a swirling dance of light. Soon, the creature would regain its original form. "I bet it takes energy for it to reshape itself, doesn't it?" Iluvian asked rhetorically "I'll just have to punch it till it collapses, then." It was the girl's turn to stay silent, now.

Feyra was watching intently. So intently that she didn't realize Sausage's attack until the very last moment. No matter how coward-like Magus' plan was, Spelsner could out-coward it, for his Elemental's power became apparent as soon as it burrowed in the ground. The snake-like creature emerged on the other side of the arena, next to Feyra's brazier, in the blink of an eye. The thing was as fast underground as it was slow and sluggish in open air. With a lash of its tail, it hit the pedestal that held the brazier, making it fall with one swift motion – Feyra jumped just in time and landed next to it. After that, Sausage burrowed again and poof, it was gone, back to the safety of the other side of the arena. Oh, sure, Feyra could chase after it, but she would have to cross the furious fight between the Adepts.

You couldn't get much more coward than this, it seemed.