200 - The Formidable Arielle Blacksoil (Patreon)

Former General Ossov Dia of the Rittersaal army, was watching the most incredible thing he’d ever seen in a while.  

He had not sat in a tournament hall for some time, though he was once an avid attendee. Every single tournament season, he would attend all the games, even the student ones, and stay until it was all over. He'd had to stop a few decades ago, because it turned out that watching such things fed into proclivities that almost cost him an entire fortune and his family. 

But now that he watched the fight before him, that familiar thrum of excitement returned in full force, the tingle underneath his skin, the scratching at his brain. He could not look away as their powers clashed in a flurry of slashes and cracks, reds and blues, heat waves meeting ice. 

When an explosion hit the edge of the enclosure, his heart bounced. 

“My heavens,” his seat neighbor, Professor Carlin Tallow, said. He, too, had leaned forward to watch the battle that played out before them, which was almost too frenzied to be contained in the small space provided. "I didn't expect this."

Ossov silently agreed, because neither did he.

He'd heard of the Calor Princess, and had been impressed by how she had led squads at the tender age of sixteen. But he'd truly never seen her in action before. And the other girl was a complete mystery. Watching her cast those slumber spells on the other adepts had been novel enough, but even he hadn't predicted that the two newbies' fight would escalate to this level. 

An explosion yanked Ossov and half his row to their feet. The girl had flung Selena back, although Selena's lightning whip had still managed to make a mark. 

He remained standing as they chased each other once again, almost faster than he could make out. They paused to share words, and then the chase continued.

And then the Calor Princess was brought to her knees. 

Oh ho. 

How exciting. 

How did the other girl do it? Slow her down and trap her? How did one catch lightning in a bottle?

Ossov was dying to know the exact spell form she used.

The girl drew first and second blood in quick succession, bringing her up to speed. Princess Calor continued putting up a valiant, tumultuous fight.  

This was the most interesting battle he’d ever watched in some time. 

Though he had given up gambling after losing his career and nearly his fortune to it, his finger itched. He wished more than anything right now he could place a bet, although he didn’t quite know who he would bet on.

“The Calor Princess,” Professor Carlin said. 

“What?” He didn't take his eyes off the match as he uttered his response.

“It’s the Calor Princess that will win. She has been dominating for the most part.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” the man on the other side of Ossov remarked, and Ossov himself had to agree. 

He’d been watching the fight closely, and while the little girl hadn’t been on the offense as much as Gregor, he wouldn't necessarily say she was being dominated either. 

Even with all the chaos, she'd watched the air calmly, as though evaluating all of Princess Gregor’s movements, even while Gregor was invisible. 

She'd smiled to herself at times, and hadn't seem particularly surprised or discomfited by most of the attacks. In fact, she had caught a few of them before they happened, sometimes putting up shields without even looking, a mili-second the attack even appeared. 

It was a little chilling, her battle instinct, her unflinching calculating expression during the entire fight. 

Watching her avoid and parry that lightning whip, and command ice of all things with the expertise of a veteran…

She wasn't a true fighter. Her moves weren't as controlled as they should be, her escapes were sometimes clumsy, and she'd missed quite a few openings.

Nevertheless, for a beginner, she was incredible. 

He could count on three fingers the amount of people he knew who could command ice with such ease.

He thought she might have cast wordlessly a couple of times too, which was a skill only known by the most skilled and practiced mages. 

The girl was no beginner. Despite not being a warrior, there was a good chance she could win. 

In fact, Ossov would have bet on her if he could.

As the fight ramped up, he took his seat again and clamped his fingers to the edge. His heart raced in tandem with their strikes, because both girls had drawn second blood, and it was now time to see who would cast the final blow. The Calor Princess waged war. The other one–Anelle? Adelle?–drove it back.

The force of their attack battered against the protective boundaries, and people started calling for an end to the match, while others shouted them down, arguing that it should continue. 

Ossov himself was one of the latter. He didn't want it to end. This was better than whatever other boring matters they might have on the agenda, like black market batteries and charm patents. 

The fight took another turn when clouds of darkness began to swallow wind. He didn't know exactly how. He’d never seen some of those spells before and didn’t know how they operated. All he knew was that the arena turned into a kaleidoscope of colors and darkness pushed back against light and somehow amidst the chaos, she remained standing.  

Heavens, what was her name?

He’d wished he could bet on her just one more time. 

“Put an end to this." Ossov was distracted by the commanding voice, and he saw that Elric Earthbinder was now standing next to the speaker. “Now.”

“I agree," a Pyronis monk said. "This is too far."

The speaker seemingly agreed too, as, to Ossov's everlasting disappointment, he lifted his hand, activating the nullifying spells. 

The storm disappeared, and both girls stood in the panting silence.

To his shock, Selena Gregor looked much worse off than the other girl.

Even as her opponent lifted her hand to show a minuscule cut on the back of it, the Calor princess practically glared at her before she vomited.

"What's her name?" Ossov leaned in to ask the professor, whose memory was like that of a hawk. "The young master-to-be."

"Arielle Blacksoil."

"Ah yes." Arielle Blacksoil.

Wait, Blacksoil? Was that not a Mossborne name? Did an Earthbinder marry a Mossborne?

Interesting. Perhaps that was where her resilience came from.  

As conversation carried in the middle of the arena, it was Professor Carlins' turn to lean in and whisper, "Look at Lord Antigones' face."

Ossov glanced over at the right time. Lord Antigones was seated next to Mr Barnes, who owned a research facility and Dominik Deitrich, who was a son of Otto Deitrich, the head of state of Rittersaal.

All three men looked stupefied, although Antigones looked particularly annoyed. Angry almost. 

Ha.

It seems things were not going according to plan for him. 

Ossov didn’t know what that was about but he did not like Antigones, for both personal and business reasons, and his annoyance was like the cherry on top of the succulent cake that was this fight.  

Arielle Blacksoil. 

He needed to remember that name. He had a feeling she would shake things up around here. Someone, not him, could probably bet on that.

***

Lia Li sure wasn't entirely sure what just happened, but she was sure glad that she’d begged out of her fight earlier. 

Even before recent events, she’d heard about Arielle Blacksoil. 

Her youngest sister attended Erynwall and had told her that there was a girl there who was very quiet and quite strange. She didn't speak up a lot but had picked fights with some of the more powerful seniors, like an Antigones and an Earthbinder, and she had won both fights amazingly enough. She always ate the same thing at breakfast and usually had the same expression on her face. She didn't look people in the eye and avoided conversation, sometimes to a rude degree. 

"Very strange girl," Kya had remarked.

But she’d also said the girl was very skilled with magic, and there was talk that she'd consorted with a demon to get that skill.

Lia had not been truly interested in the gossip, nor had she been interested in Arielle Blacksoil, until her father remarked that a way had opened up for her to become a Master quickly.

She was nearly at the level of rank ascension, and had planned to stop her advance, but her father was obsessed with having another Master in their family and thought perhaps one day she could even become a powerful Archmage like her second uncle, Gio. 

Obviously, her father was delusional in those aspirations, but she had agreed to take on this match just to test what this Arielle Blacksoil was made of, so when she challenged her later on, she would know exactly how to beat her. 

That plan instantly changed when she'd seen her drop Magnus and Fallon Winthrome like flies. 

Although, in hindsight, her first sign should have been her cousin's presence at the meeting itself.  

Gio did not show up for assembly meetings, even mandatory ones. She heard he barely showed up for council meetings too, and even now that he was here, he was in disguise, strangely enough. People glanced at him now and then in curiosity, but the hall was filled with too many people to truly know everyone, and with all the changes made to the assembly lately, they likely assumed he was someone new. The assembly chamber would not allow him in if he was not meant to be here anyway. He wouldn't even be able to find the room. 

So they assumed he was merely a stranger. She was the only one who knew who he really was, thanks to her bloodline ability to see through most illusions. 

And as she'd stared at him, burning with curiosity, he'd looked over at her, winked as though telling her not to say anything, and then looked away again.

It had taken everything for her not to gawk like an idiot. The move had shocked her to her very marrow. 

It was just that her uncle barely acknowledged her. Well, he barely acknowledged anyone, and that included his family. She had been to dinner at his father's estate a few times, and the tension whenever Gio was in the room had been enough to cut a knife. She had tried to say 'hello' to him once and make casual conversation, and he'd walked right past her like she was air, while her father pulled her to the side and told her never to do that again, because the last thing she wanted to do was annoy the most powerful Archmage in the world. 

She didn't even think he knew who she was, but she knew so much about him. He’d ascended to Archmage after a historic battle challenging and unseating the previous number one, soaring up the ranks quicker than anyone he’d ever seen. After that, he'd been the most talked-about man in the universe. Lia had been in school at that time, and her friends and even professors were constantly asking about him, people forming clubs dedicated to worshipping him, because as crazy as he was, he was also the most eligible bachelor in Ascendant society. 

She supposed his looks played a role, as well as the power he held. 

And Lia could understand. If he were not her uncle, she likely would be the same. 

And her awe of him was probably worse because he barely acknowledged her.

Until today that was.

While she watched, he did not look back. She noticed that his eyes were trained on the battle arena.

After Arielle Blacksoil won her first fight, her cousin had done something very strange. He'd smiled. 

And then he'd done it again after she won her second. 

And her third. 

And now her fourth. 

Lia did not know what the smile meant. Her father told her that Gio's smiles were rarely a good thing, but it was clear he was interested in the girl. Perhaps she was the reason he'd shown up here, although that was strange to think, because Gio Li had never been interested in anyone, to her knowledge. 

Except, apparently, Arielle Blacksoil. 

What a unique name for a unique person.

Despite her previous feats, Lia hadn't expected her to win against Selena.

And it was clearly a win, considering Selena looked like she was about to keel over, while Arielle looked calm and expressionless. 

It was truly remarkable, and a mark of luck that Lia had not fought because she would have lost embarrassingly. She would have been thoroughly humiliated, and her father would have been furious. She thanked whatever deity had given her the wisdom to stand back and watch. 

Especially since, watching her fight Selena, Lia had seen a weakness that she didn't think many others had noticed. 

Arielle Blacksoil was a formidable opponent, but there were holes in her strategy and execution that the right opponent might be able to exploit. 

In fact, Lia's other bloodline skill would exploit it perfectly. 

And maybe, just maybe, she could snatch a Master's role out of her.

Two different voices instantly warred within her, one telling her she was crazy for even thinking of taking on a beast like that, and another telling her that this would be the best opportunity to do so, while the girl was still untrained, and while she had not yet become aware of her deficiencies.

If she beat her, even if it was by taking advantage of her weakness, Lia would instantly become a Master. She would satisfy her father's greed, and maybe, just maybe, she would finally get her Uncle's attention.

The question was, should she attempt it? It couldn’t be for at least a few weeks, because there was a limit on how many challenges a Master could take within a given timeframe, and though these were not officially challenges, they counted towards the quota. 

She glanced across the room at the other Li, her third cousin Bressan. He too was watching Arielle, and he likely had the same thought Lia did. 

Maybe there would be others seeking to exploit the same weakness that Lia had found. She would have to wait to challenge her but not for long. Hopefully the girl did not change too much in a few weeks. 

It would be a massive risk, of course, but the reward was just as great.

Whoever took down the formidable Arielle Blacksoil would instantly become famous. 

***

She was a child.

A literal child. 

And she, along with another who was only a few years older than her, had turned what should have been a friendly duel into a tsunami of chaos with magic unlike what Hexus had ever seen.

He’d been in the assembly for nearly a hundred years. He'd been a speaker for sixty of those years.  He had seen a few friendly duels in his time, and it was typically a showcase of skills, sometimes dull, sometimes interesting, but rarely particularly surprising. 

Yet, as he watched both combatants pull off things he’d never seen before in his many years of leading the assembly, he realized that they might be looking at a new era of mages. 

Particularly with her. Arielle Blacksoil. 

Her casting had been unspeakably good. Perfect, in fact. He did not note a single flaw; each spell came together with remarkable harmony, and she had enough skill to adjust spells after casting, something remarkably few mages could manage.

He was not one to listen to gossip, but it was hard not to when news of her had been buzzing in the assembly ever since her unconventional ascension was announced. 

Even before that, Lord Wesley had brought up the name a few times, raving about a new prodigy he’d discovered, although most thought he was exaggerating. 

Every few years, Lord Wesley was sure he’d met a prodigy unlike any other and each time, they all ended up being talented students but far less than anything he’d spouted. 

But this one…

This one who’d stood in the center of the storm, casting spells he’d never seen before, with perfect symmetry that suggested she commanded the essences as easily as she breathed. 

She'd ended fights before they even began, yawned in the face of her opponents, and not only kept up with but actually nearly overwhelmed one of the most prodigious talents they'd seen in years, the Calor Princess. 

They had not told him that her casting was this flawless, and he had not expected those combat skills from her either. He’d been under the impression that her spells were still fairly elementary, although she had a skill for sensing essences around her.

He even thought the council might be overplaying their hand by pushing for her ascension so soon, simply because they were in a panic about the demonic uprising. 

But it seemed, if anything, they had downplayed her. 

Even Lord Wesley might have downplayed her, as he stood next to his nephews now, arms crossed with a self-satisfied smirk. 

So this was why he’d so eagerly called for the duel, Hexus thought. 

Perhaps Lord Wesley knew that others did not fully buy that his new prodigy was truly as exceptional as he said she was. Perhaps he knew what they’d thought, and wanted to put any doubt to rest. 

Well, in that he'd succeeded.

No one who had watched that display could ever doubt the girl's talent. 

“Arielle,” he heard Elric say as he moved towards his ward, while the Calor Princess retreated. “Are you alright?”

“Yes,” she nodded. “Just tired.” She glanced behind him at Hexus. "Sorry for taking it too far, Mr. Speaker."

The apology surprised him.

She'd said it in a flat tone while looking at his collar, so he wasn't sure she was genuine. However, she seemed to have good manners. It showed clearly in how gracefully she'd handled that win, bowing to her opponent rather than gloating. Though she had yawned in Magnus’ face, she had apologized instantly.

The bow had earned some of Hexus' respect, at the very least. 

Elric used a healing spell on her even though Hexus had already healed her. 

He then fussed over her some more, asking her if she felt any pain anywhere else on her body, cataloguing each limb and organ, until Hexus had to clear his throat quite obviously to get his attention. "We need to proceed with the induction."

“Oh. Right.” Elric had clearly forgotten about that, as has most of the people standing probably. It was like they thought they were watching a tournament or something, and it seemed like they were still tuned in, their energy still heightened from everything they’d seen.

“Please take your seats,” he announced, and he heard grumbles as they obeyed. 

Elric also stepped out of the clearing as Hexus returned it to it’s former state and three representatives from the council came forward to swear her in. 

Usually it was the most senior member of the council who led this, but the Legendaries were often unavailable, and getting Gio Li to perform administrative tasks was like pulling teeth, and frankly it was simply easier to assign it to the next in line, Keiran Tallow. 

"Wait."

The voice was magically enhanced to overpower the entire room, and the speaker stared towards the source. 

He was surprised to find Gio Li stepping out of a second-row seat of spectators and strolling down the stairs. 

Murmurs of shock reverberated around the room, because everyone was just as surprised as Hexus to find that Gio Li had been at this meeting. He didn't even see him arrive, and now he was walking with his relaxed gait, hands in pocket, his shiny boots silently clipping across the marble floors, the room once again deathly silent as a result of his presence. 

It was like prey freezing at the sight of a predator. 

Gio was unpredictable. During one of the assembly meetings about two decades ago, someone had inadvertently insulted him, and he’d nearly brought the entire building down on them just to prove a point. He’d gotten a temporary suspension for it, but he didn’t seem to care. 

Perhaps because a few weeks later, his suspension was lifted prematurely so he could deal with a monster infestation in the Argi forest. 

He knew he was too powerful to replace, and that emboldened him to continue to be as he was. All they could do right now was manage his moods and try not to set him off.

They remained silent as he finally stood in front of Arielle, staring down at her.  He smiled, and it sent a shiver down Hexus' spine. He felt a sudden paternal urge to put himself between Gio and the girl.

Arielle Blacksoil didn’t seem afraid of him, although her lips had a significant downturn. 

“I’ll do it,” he said. 

"What?" Hexus said. 

"I'll induct her."

Archmage Keiran raised an eyebrow. “You will?”

“Why not?”

“Because you never do.” Keiran, despite being quiet most of the time, was nothing if not honest, and he was one of the few who truly stood up to Gio. “What is this about?”

“Move,” was Gio’s response. 

Keiran did not move. Both men stared at each other, with…not animosity, but definitely no amount of affection. 

“Keiran,” Archmage Pel put his hand on Keiran’s shoulder and said, “Technically, he should be doing it anyway."

“And he has shirked his duty this entire time, only to finally remember it today of all days." 

Gio chuckled and shrugged carelessly. “I figured I should do the honors since Arielle and I are close."

“Close?” Keiran turned to Arielle, suspicion in his eyes. "What does that mean?"

“Well, Elric and I have become friends in recent times, haven't we, Elric?” Gio's voice carried as he looked to the man. “I mean, we hunted demons together so we’re practically best of friends now, right? So she's like a sister to me, isn't she?”

Gio's smile was like that of a shark, his words sharp and unconvincing to anyone watching. 

Elric seemed to reject Gio's assertion with his very being, confusion and distaste in his expression. 

But he didn't deny it, and he didn't stop Gio as he placed a hand on Arielle's forehead. 

"Go on," Gio told the rest. "Begin your chant."

After a moment of hesitation, they did, although they really didn't seem happy about it. They began to ritual chant to summon the glow out from within, activating her system once more, and elevating her status, unlocking her advancement. 

While they did, Gio stared down at the girl. 

“Welcome to our world, fellow outsider,” he said. 

***

AN: 200 Chapters! Woo! Arielle's new system screen debuts in the next chapter. Thank you so much for reading!