Niles
“... You are only three matches away from winning it all. You can do this. No one casts spells like you do. You are amazing. Keep your eyes on the prize. Take a deep breath and feel the magic. You have the power. You have the skill. I believe in you. You’ve got this.”
Niles massaged Birgit’s shoulder and the back of her neck while he finished his pep talk, careful to keep skin-to-skin contact so that the flow of magic to her would not stop. I was all part of their pre-match ritual now, and so far, it had been working. He felt an odd sense of pride, odd because he really didn’t feel like he was contributing much. Sure, Birgit was using his magic, but she was the one doing all the actual work. He just stood behind her, except for those two times he’d had to jump in front of her. Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen again. He might heal fast, but he still felt pain. At least the ice hadn’t been quite as bad as the lightning.
This next match was going to be tough. They were going up against the seventh-ranked student, who’d been tearing up the competition with his greater void elemental familiar. As Niles understood it, void magic was like anti-magic in that it canceled out other magic, making it ideal for countering spells. It had shredded the defenses of all their other opponents so far. Hopefully, Birgit’s defenses would fare better.
“Thank you, Niles,” Birgit said, smiling at him over her shoulder. “I think I am ready now.”
Out in the arena, the match before theirs had just ended, and the field was being reset. Niles stopped the massage but kept his hand on the back of Birgit’s neck so the magic flow continued. He noted how she was standing a little taller and straighter than she used to. When they first met, she’d been a bookish wallflower. She had her two friends and her sister, but other than that, hadn’t really interacted much with anyone else. Over the past few days, though, people had been going out of their way to talk to her, and she was really blossoming. She was kind of awkward about it, but Niles was pretty sure she liked the attention. Either that, or her wins in the tournament had really boosted her confidence. She especially seemed to enjoy the attention she’d been getting from the princess.
Niles hoped things worked out well for her. He wasn’t happy with being trapped in the role of familiar, but he didn’t blame Birgit for that, and things could have been much worse. He just wished he knew when, or even if, he would be able to go home. Having been gone for over a month now, what would he find when he got back? He’d likely have lost his job. That was no big loss, but how was he going to explain being gone for so long? Maybe he should just give up on going back and start trying to make long-term plans here. That was the thing though, how was he going to make any long-term plans when he was tied to Birgit? From what he’d been told, if he was not contractually bound to someone as their familiar, he was considered a monster. That meant he had no rights whatsoever and would likely be hunted down and locked up for study, or forced into another contract. It was possible Birgit had lied to him, but his experiences so far all seemed to confirm it.
He could try to work out a better deal with Birgit at their next negotiation, or even try to get a contract with someone else. He was pretty sure Pam or Sanja would be more than happy to take him on as a familiar, although they both already had guardian familiars, so maybe they couldn’t have another one. The first thing he had to do, though, was decide what he wanted. Birgit had seemed ready to offer him anything she could afford for a semester-long contract, though she was not from a very wealthy or powerful family. So, what she could actually deliver was going to be limited, at least for now. But if she became one of the most powerful mages in the kingdom, that would most likely change. Would he be content to be the man behind the mage for the rest of his life, though? And what would happen if she got married? Birgit didn’t talk about it as much as Uma, but all three friends acted like marriage was something inevitable for them. Would her husband put up with her holding hands with him all day? Would he just become a guard, or not even have his contract renewed, forcing him to scramble to find a new one?
“Here we go,” Birgit said as someone using a magically augmented voice announced their match.
The crowd cheered, and since, in these final matches, competitors entered separately, there was no doubt the cheers were for them this time. Niles could understand it. Who didn’t love a good underdog story? Birgit raised her hand in a brief acknowledgement of the crowd, but her focus was obviously on the match as she marched to her circle. Niles, however, waved and pumped his fist to egg the crowd on.
Their opponent, Lord Damian of Lycopolis, came out next. He was a fairly average-looking cyclops dressed in a black and red surcoat, but what really stood out was the hulking void elemental following him. It towered head and shoulders above the cyclops and looked like a living shadow. Its silhouette reminded Niles of a werewolf, with a bestial head slightly hunched back, broad shoulders, and long arms that ended in claws. From what Niles had heard, Damian hadn’t even been ranked in the top one-hundred of the class until he got that familiar, but since then, he’d raised his rank all the way up to seventh by dueling. Pam, Sanja, and Princess Vedika had all agreed that he was a competent spellcaster with better-than-average magic potential, but his real strength was in his familiar.
When their opponent reached his circle, his familiar stayed on the sand beside it, which came as no surprise to Niles. The referee asked each contestant if they were ready. Both confirmed, and the signal was given to begin their preparations. Niles watched as Birgit began quickly weaving her defenses. Unlike most of the other elements, there was no counter to void magic other than just making the defense very strong. Birgit had explained what she planned to do to Niles, something about a layered defensive barrier, but most of what she’d said meant little to him. Whatever she was doing was very complex, using most, if not all, of the elements. Niles watched her opponent work as well. He was throwing around a good deal of power, and his weave was fairly complex, but not on the same scale as Birgit’s.
As soon as the signal was given to start the battle, Birgit switched to weaving attack spells, while still maintaining her hold on her defensive spell. Across from them, though, it looked to Niles as if Damian was still working on his defense. His familiar, however, had clearly gone on the offensive, sprinting across the short distance between them. Swinging around to the side of their circle, the shadowy creature slashed its claws across Birgit’s barrier. Niles had seen those claws shred other opponent’s defenses on first contact over the course of the tournament, but to his relief, Birgit’s defenses held. Still, the void elemental persisted, and Niles could see that it was not completely ineffective. Each slash of its claws sheared away strands of the weave, and with Birgit focused on offense now, even her multilayered spell would not last forever. It was a race against time at this point.
Niles thought they had won the race when Birgit launched her spell before the elemental broke through her defense, but the attack failed to breach Damian’s barrier. Niles could see the damage she’d done to Damian’s barrier, but the mage was quickly trying to repair it, allowing his familiar to be his sole offense. Birgit was channeling some of the magic she was pulling from Niles into strengthening her defenses, but this split her attention. Drawing his club with his free hand, Niles shifted over so that he could intercept the elemental if it broke through. Birgit’s defense was clearly thinning, and with Damian focused entirely on defense, Niles was not sure how many spells it would take for Birgit to break through.
The void elemental suddenly switched tactics, and rather than slashing, it stabbed its claws into Birgit’s defensive weave and then pulled its hands apart. Niles’ eyes widened as he saw Birgit’s weave deform, pulling apart to form a hole. Once the hole was large enough, the elemental shoved its snout through, followed by its entire head, its jaws gaping wide.
“I’m going to have to go deal with this,” Niles warned before letting go of Birgit and lunging at the monster.
The creature was pushing its shoulders through when Niles struck. He half-expected his weapon to pass right through it, but instead, he felt a solid contact as he clubbed it on the head. He pulled the club back for another strike, but one of the beast’s hands shot out and grabbed his wrist. The move caught Niles by surprise, and the beast pulled back, dragging Niles off the circle and out into the sand. Its other hand came around and raked its claws across Niles back, leaving a bloody trail of pain.
Still holding the arm that held Niles’ club, it practically dangled him in the air with one long, powerful arm, while the other pulled back to take another swipe at him. Unable to reach the monster with his arm, Niles snapped a sidekick into the creature’s stomach. Off balance and in an awkward position, the kick did little damage, but it at least forced the elemental to let go of his wrist. Unfortunately, that resulted in Niles falling to the sand.
The elemental dove at him. Unable to avoid the attack, Niles brought his knees up into the creature’s chest as it descended. The creature’s foul breath huffed out into his face as the impact drove its breath from its lungs. With that proof that it needed to breathe, Niles’ hands shot up and fastened around its throat. Hopeful he could strangle it, or at least keep it from biting his face off. Unfortunately, that left the elemental’s arms free, and it began savaging him with its claws. Niles squeezed with all his strength, but the beast's neck was thicker around than his thigh. Scrunching up, Niles protected his face, but his arms and sides were getting torn to shreds. It was a war of attrition, and Niles wasn’t sure he was winning.
Suddenly, the horn that signaled the end of the match sounded. It took a moment, but the elemental stopped clawing him, and Niles loosened his grip in return. As the creature got off him, Niles looked over to see Birgit coming to his side.
“Did we win?” Niles asked.
“Are you alright?” Birgit asked, worry etched on her face as she knelt down next to him.
If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
“I will be,” Niles groaned. With the immediate danger passed, his awareness of the intense pain increased. “Did we win?”
“I am afraid not,” Birgit sighed. “Can I do anything for you?”
“Just let me lie here until my healing kicks in,” Niles said, not wanting to move. “What happened?”
“I saw you being mauled by that beast, so I stepped off my circle.” Birgit’s continued look of concern let Niles know he had to be torn up pretty badly.
“You gave up for me?” Nile asked. He wanted to say, “Why did you do that? I had him,” but instead, he said, “Thank you. I’m sorry you gave up your chance of winning the tournament for me.”
Birgit smiled. “Being in the top eight was far more than I even hoped for, and I could not risk losing you. Thank you for once again coming between me and danger.”
Niles wondered how much of her concern was for his wellbeing, and how much was her desire to protect her investment? When he felt well enough to get up Birgit helped him off the field as the crowd cheered, and when they reached the exit, Hilaria, Uma, Bonzo, Pam, and Farah were there to meet them, but they were not the only ones. A servant in royal livery was there as well.
The servant waited patiently for the others to express their concern for Niles’ injury and give their congratulations on a well-fought match before delivering her message. “Princess Vedika would like you to join her in the royal box, if you are able.”
“I would be honored,” Birgit said with a polite bow. “Please tell her we will join her as soon as I get my familiar cleaned up.”
Fortunately, Niles had brought a change of clothes with him this time, and he quickly washed up and changed. The last of that round’s matches was finished by the time they reached the royal box, and the guards must have been told to expect them, because they were let right in.
“Birgit,” Princess Vedika called out, and they saw her waving. Rising from her seat, she came to meet them. “That was an excellent match. You did so well in this tournament. But come, let me introduce you to my father.”
Birgit’s eyes went wide, but she followed behind the princess, and Niles followed behind her. The royal box was huge, big enough to seat fifty people, and that was not even counting the space taken up by a large table laden with food. King Gravnar III was a very large troll with wrinkles enough to place him at least in his late fifties, if trolls aged like humans. Wearing long, regal robes and a massive amount of jewelry, he sat upon a huge stone seat that was raised high enough that he didn’t have to stand to look down on people.
“Father, may I introduce Lady Birgit of Hazzerbog,” the princess said once her father noticed them.
The king looked at Birgit and gave a surprisingly friendly smile. “Ah, yes, I saw your match. You have very impressive spellcraft, but why did you yield like that at the end? I thought you almost had the match.”
Birgit curtsied. “I fear my familiar can be quite stubborn. I was afraid he might keep going until he did permanent injury to himself if I did not end the match.”
The king nodded. “Yes, well, but that kind of stubbornness can be an outstanding quality in a guardian familiar in some situations. A shame about the match, but have him stand where I can see him better. Vedika has told me about this hu, and I have never seen one before.” Niles hid a grimace at being treated like a pet again and stepped forward for the king’s inspection. “He is a formidable-looking one, but he must be to have gone toe-to-toe with that brute of a void elemental and look none the worse for wear. I look forward to hearing how well you and your familiar do on next semester’s field test. Now, help yourselves to some food and enjoy the rest of the tournament.”
Having dismissed them, the king’s attention turned back to the stadium, where a troupe of acrobats was entertaining the crowd, while the four remaining contestants rested up for the semi-finals. Taking advantage of the selection of food in the royal box, Niles filled a plate before heading over to sit with Birgit and the princess.
“Would it be alright if I draw on some of Niles’ magic while we watch the rest of the tournament?” Princess Vedika asked. “I have been wanting another taste ever since the ball, but did not want to ask while you were preparing for the tournament.”
Niles was pleased that Birgit looked his way and waited for his nod before just agreeing. Taking a seat between the two, Niles made himself comfortable, with the princess taking his left hand and Birgit putting a hand on the back of his neck so that he had a hand free to eat. Both the food and the acrobats were quite good, and the two ladies talked over Niles while he ate.
“At the ball, you hinted you might be able to send more magic into me,” the princess said casually once Niles had finished his snack. “Could you do that now, with Birgit also drawing on your magic?”
Niles glanced over at Birgit, who gave a subtle nod. “Sure, Pam’s familiar, Farah, is quite the glutton for magic, so I’ve gotten pretty good at pushing out magic. Of course, all she wants is fire, but I should be able to send you everything if you want. Just let me know if it gets to be too much, and I’ll dial it back.”
Until now, Niles had been throttling the magic flow he sent out to everyone but Birgit back to about half what she got, and he’d had up to three people pulling from him at once with no problem. Over the past few weeks, Niles had gotten fairly good at regulating how much magic he let flow out of him, so he gradually increased how much the princess was getting. Watching her expression, Niles saw Vedika’s eyes grow wider as the flow increased. He did not push it at all. Rather, he just slowly decreased his resistance until she was pulling as much as she could. It was not as much as Birgit was pulling, but the kappa had been steadily increasing the amount she could pull for weeks. But the princess was already pulling more than Birgit had been able to at first.
The princess’s grip on his hand increased, and he could feel her pulse quicken through their touch. Her breathing became slightly heavier as well. He wasn’t sure if that was from effort or just from the feeling of the magic. It was evidently a very pleasurable experience for Farah, but she was from an elementally attuned plane. Birgit had never actually told him how it felt for her, but he got the impression it was not unpleasant.
“Are you doing okay, Princess?” Niles asked.
The princess turned to smile at him. “Yes, but you certainly can generate considerable magic. How long do you think you can maintain this?”
Niles considered for a moment, feeling the magic flow in and out of his body. “With the two of you both pulling magic, it feels like I’m putting out a little more than I’m taking in here. I’ve never really run out of magic yet, so I don’t know quite how much of a reserve I have, but I could probably keep this up for at least a few hours.”
“Remarkable,” the princess said softly. “And if I were the only one drawing on your magic?”
Niles shrugged. “At the rate you’re drawing now, I could go indefinitely. And the ambient magic is pretty low here, probably due to all the other people drawing on it. Out in one of the remote areas we hunt crystals, I could probably support you both forever. Of course, the more you get used to pulling on my magic, the more you’ll be able to take. Birgit’s pulling way more than when we first started.”
The princess’s eyes widened. “This is just incredible. And Birgit, do you think your magic potential is actually growing?”
“Yes, definitely,” Birgit confirmed. “It is easily two or three times what it once was, granted it is still below average for the academy, but I feel so much stronger, and I hope to become even stronger still.”
When the acrobats concluded their performance, the semi-final round began. In the first match, the solar elf, Jabari Brightlance, went up against Damian and his greater void familiar. Jabari had a seraph for a familiar. The winged humanoid reminded Niles of an angel, and it kept Damian’s familiar busy by flying in and striking with a practice sword every time the void elemental tried to attack Jabari’s defenses. This allowed the solar elf to overpower Damian’s defense and win the match.
In the second match, Vedika’s twin, Prince Advick, defeated a gorgon. The prince displayed more power than anyone else Niles had seen in the tournament, and his spellcraft was quite good, as far as Niles could tell, though he simply judged spellcraft by the complexity of magic weaves he saw people use. Even so, the prince’s spells were less complex than Birgit’s, or his sisters’ for that matter, but the princess lacked her brother’s power. No doubt that was why her brother was going to the finals, while she had only made it into the top sixteen.
Following the match, there was another break in the tournament to let the last two competitors rest and regain their magic. To fill the time, a group of mages who specialized in light and fire magic came out to put on an impressive pyrotechnic display, accompanied by a troupe of musicians playing drums and flutes. A large troupe of actors followed the display. From what Niles could make out, the play they performed was some sort of historical reenactment of the forming of the Kingdom of Deca. The cast included over a hundred actors in elaborate costumes. Only a few of them had speaking parts, however, with most only involved in elaborately choreographed battle sequences. It was quite impressive.
“I’m almost glad we lost, so we got to enjoy seeing this without having to worry about our next match.” Niles commented when the performance finally came to a close. “We should go out and do fun stuff more often. We haven’t done anything fun since that night we did karaoke.”
“What is karaoke?” the princess asked. She had been holding Niles’ hand the entire time and had made herself quite comfortable, even leaning in so her shoulder rested against Niles.
“That is something from his plane,” Birgit explained. “It is where people go out to a tavern and take turns singing. We went to the Tune and Tun, on the night they let anyone sing, and Niles said it was like his karaoke.”
The princess smiled. “I love the Tune and Tun. It is such a nice place. Did either of you sing?”
“We both did,” Niles answered. “Birgit has a great voice.”
“But Niles really stole the show,” Birgit insisted. “He has an amazing voice, and he sang a song from his plane.”
The princess raised an eyebrow. “Really? I am not surprised that you are a singer, Birgit, but Niles…?”
Niles gave what he hoped was a mysterious look. “I am a man of many hidden talents.”
“You should go there with us sometime so you can hear him,” Birgit invited.
Before the princess could respond, the announcer interrupted their conversation, hyping the crowd up for the final round of the tournament. Modest applause followed the introduction of the elf, Jabari, but Prince Advick’s introduction was answered with a nearly deafening roar of approval. Considering elves had been the villains in the play they’d just watched, this did not surprise Niles. The match started as usual, but before either of them had even cast their first attack spell, Jabari stepped off his circle.
“What was that?” Niles asked in surprise.
The princess sighed. “That was a cunning political move. The elves are guests here at the academy, so beating the prince would have made their host look bad. However, losing to him would have made the elves look weak. Forfeiting the match in such a fashion could be taken as a polite gesture of respect, but it also leaves in doubt who is the stronger. The elves are a sly people. You would do well to use caution when dealing with them.”
