Dawning Skye

275 Mage Trials: Skye Vs. Tidas

Standing up and dusting themselves off, Skye and Ronnie took a few steps forward. The sun was in front of them, but still high enough that the glare wasn’t so bad. As they walked around the body of the unconscious competitor, Skye got an unobstructed view of her husband.

He had on the same black sensory suit, and his dragon armor nearly matched hers. Tidas’ was rougher and less refined, making it look a bit more authentic than hers. Skye’s armor was smoother, and more form-fitting than her husband’s, but the back looked like perfect rows of scales.

‘I’ll have to ask Athena how she managed that. It must’ve taken her a ridiculous amount of hours to carve..’

The fleeting thought was gone the moment Tidas stood up. The sunlight reflected off of his armor, giving it an almost purplish-blue hue. Making the green of his eyes seem piercing. ‘Or is it just the way he’s lookin’ at me?’

As Tidas stepped towards them, Skye and Ronnie moved along the edge of the track. Ronnie was closer to the wall while Skye walked near him, but between the two..

‘This is all gonna come down to timing.. If I can’t catch him off guard, Ronnie can’t leave! Can I really do this? It’s Tidas, for cryin’ out loud! ...No, no, no! Don’t ye Dare freak out on me now, self!’

‘How many days have I trained? How much blood have Shasta and I spilt?! How many sleepless days and nights did I go through to get to this point?! ...I’ve sacrificed too much to make sure I don’t lose it all. I Will Not Back Down Now!’

A new fire smoldered within Skye’s eyes as she started to build her Earth trait. At the same time, she was subtly building her Tank trait. Making sure that the surge in her Earth magic was the noticeable one.

As Tidas took slow steps towards them, Skye and Ronnie kept to the edge. Their hearts pounded in their chests as they readied themselves for the hard part of Skye’s plan..

.....

“I’m surprised you got past Zas,” Tidas commented as he stepped closer.

“I think he was, too,” Skye quipped with a cocky smile.

Tidas grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was giving off a different aura then: a dangerous one. If he wasn’t Tidas, Skye would feel unnerved by it.

Ronnie gulped hard as his feet dragged through the sandy rocks of the new section of the track. His head nervously jerked from Tidas, to the finish line, then back to Tidas. Seeing it, Tidas tensed..

“Not yet..” Skye spoke slow, but she knew that Tidas could hear her.

“Is that your plan? I assume you’re going to put up a wall between us, or something to that affect, right? ...It’s not gonna work, Skye. Please, just give up,” Tidas asked with sincerity in his voice, but his eyes stayed on Ronnie.

The crowds were almost hushed in their anticipation of what was to come...

“NOW!”

The moment Skye yelled, Ronnie took off in a sprint. Tidas exhaled deeply, stepped forward, then took off towards Ronnie. He’d maybe taken six steps altogether before Tidas was at his side; his blunted dragon sword ready to swing down...

Right as he went to move his arm, Tidas caught a golden flash out of the corner of his eye. Instead of striking at Ronnie, Tidas pivoted on his foot just in time to block Skye’s own sword. ‘How did she get over here so fast?!’

Right as he had the thought, Skye jumped back with an unnatural quickness, then leaped forward again. Her swing was as strong as Zas’, which he was not expecting..

Stumbling backwards, Tidas took his eyes off of his wife for half a second, and she was gone. The moment he’d regained his stability, an electrical pulse from his sensory suit sent a shock throughout the back of his shoulder.

Another pulse hit him on the upper side of his thigh, then another on Tidas’ butt cheek. He jumped at that one, then nearly fell to his feet as the ground began to cave in slightly, with him standing in the center...

The indent was circular all the way around him, with large rocks evenly spaced apart every few feet. Turning his body as he snapped his head around, he almost slipped as the ground beneath his feet suddenly became like perfectly polished marble; making it difficult for Tidas to maintain his balance.

Looking up after catching himself, Tidas nearly fell over again as a hard punch landed right across his face after a golden blur zipped past. The taste of blood in his mouth, Tidas grinned at the realization...

Slamming one foot into the ground at a time to gain stability Tidas amped up his Tank trait to near his max.. That’s when his eyes could finally follower her.

*Gripping his sword, Tidas blocked Skye right as she jumped, and came bearing down on him with her swords. The force of her impact as their swords clashed was intense, verifying Tidas’ theory, and bringing a smirk to his face..

Skye grinned broadly as she came down swinging upon her husband. It was actually really hard not to laugh at the shocked expression he’d first had when she attacked him. ‘Time to kick it up a notch!’

As soon as Skye’s feet hit the ground, she zipped away with even greater speed. As her foot connected with one of the rocks she had spaced out along the edges, she jumped off of it; twisting herself as she sprung forward. As she flew past Tidas, she attacked with one sword while keeping the other positioned to block when need be.

Skye rushed past Tidas in a shimmery blur as he desperately tried to protect himself..

The crowds were on their feet and screaming with all of their might. They couldn’t believe the turn of events! Seeing the princess taking on her husband was dramatic enough, but she was Overwhelming a Pillar! The arena literally quaked as they people screamed incoherently. Completely unsure of who they should be cheering on anymore, the spectators simply cried out for the spectacular show they were witnessing.

After a few passes, Tidas began to get Skye’s rhythm. He replanted his feet deeper into the ground, then braced himself for impact..

The moment Tidas managed to get her to stop, Skye looked down the track to Ronnie, hoping to see the moment that he crossed the finish line... ‘WHY DID HE STOP?! Why isn’t he running?!”

“GO!!!” Skye screamed at him at the top of her lungs...

Suddenly; other competitors were racing out onto the field! A few Hybrid Tanks had gotten past Shasta and Zas, and were now running down the track, except for one.

Skye didn’t know if he just wanted the glory of saying he’d struck down a Pillar or what, but the fool charged Tidas’ backside. Another slipped out from where the side Skye’s team had been on, too. He tried to attack her backside as well..

Not missing a beat: Skye and Tidas broke their stance, and attacked each other’s new opponents. Both competitors had utter surprise all over their faces as Skye and Tidas fought back to back, like they were a team..

Three still ran past them, heading toward Ronnie. When he saw them coming, a giant smirk spread across his face..

Bending over, Ronnie put his hands on the ground and called out; “I hope ye guys don’t have any problems with creepy, crawly things!”

As confusion bloomed on their faces, the three competitors disappeared.. Falling into holes filled with all kinds of worms, beetles, ants, and other things that makes one cringe.

Blood-curdling screams filled the air from both the competitors in the holes, and the spectators. The large screens above the arena gave everyone the unpleasant view of the insects crawling all over the competitors.. A few even lost their lunches at the sight of it.

Ronnie laughed boisterously as he watched them freaking out, trying to climb out of the holes that Skye and his little friends had made. One of them had passed out from shock, but they honestly had nothing to worry about. Ronnie’s bugs were instructed to simply crawl, not bite. No matter what they did, the bugs wouldn’t hurt them.

Shifting his sight, Ronnie looked down the field to Skye and Tidas. They’d made quick work of the two that had attacked them, and had resumed fighting each other. As Tidas began to overwhelm her, Ronnie had to fight the urge to run back.

‘I know Klaus and I agreed to give her the win, but if she goes down, Ima takin’ off! I won’t let her fail getting accepted into the RMC!’

Skye was getting low on magic, but she pushed herself further. She and Tidas dashed past each other faster than the naked eye could see, but she could tell he was going to overwhelm her soon..

Right as the thought crossed her mind, the rock she’d stepped on to launch herself shifted from the force she had applied. Instead of landing in the middle, her foot landed off to the side, throwing her balance.

The quarter of a second was all Tidas needed to max out his trait, and close the gap between them. He tapped his sword against the back of her lower leg, setting off her sensory suit. It sent electronical pulses into her leg, making it momentarily useless.

Skye dropped one sword, and fell over when the numbness hit her. She cursed under her breath as she went down. ‘Damn it.. There’s only one thing I can do now..’

Immediately rolling to her side and lifting her sword, Skye blocked Tidas’ attempted final blow. Straightening his back, he kicked the sword from her hand, then stood over her for a second before speaking.

“Yield, wife. I don’t want to have to swing my sword at you again,” Tidas asked while trying to catch his breath.

As he stood over Skye, another competitor got through Shasta’s side. An elk with a person on it’s back came charging at Tidas, who simply smacked the elk’s antlers away. Effectively making the elk toss the person of off of it’s back in the process.

When Tidas looked back down at Skye, a devilish smile was spread across her face as she held her hand up. He’d instantly lifted his sword, but it was too late..

“Don’t ye remember, husband? What was me first trait?” Skye questioned as she pointed up.

Right as Tidas’ eyes went up, Skye’s finger pointed down. She’d had an oversized water bubble hovering over the arena since she’d touched the water in the first section of the course. It had drained quite a bit of her magic to maintain it, but it was worth it.

The dumbfounded expression on Tidas’ face was priceless to her, as well as the face he made when the ice-cold water hit him. He’d instantly lost half of the breath he’d hastily taken right before the sphere of water hit him.

It was just like the ones Skye had used against the Nomads in Warrick Forest. Tidas swirled around until it looked like he was ready to drown, then Skye pushed his head up above the water. He coughed and sputtered as he gasped for air, then looked at his wife.

With a small smile on her lips, Skye asked; “Do ye yield, husband? Or would ye like to go for another swim?”

Tidas coughed a final time, then grinned at Skye as he said; “Aye, wife. I yield.”

Tidas’ words echoed through the nearly silent arena before it erupted with cheers and applause. The crowds had been spellbound by Skye’s attacks. No one had a clue that she’d achieved a forth trait, and she had bested the Commander of the RMC...

As the crowds cried out her name, Skye released her husband from his watery prison. He plopped onto the ground with a squishy thud, then looked up to his wife with a smirk.

“Go win, love. You deserve it.”

Skye beamed at her husband, relieved that there were no hard feelings about her beating him. It was the one thing she feared more than losing.

Skye winked at Tidas, then took off as she called back to him; “Okay, I love ya! I’ll be expectin’ a victory kiss after this!”