| | | | Fire. Death. Both quite the dangerous school of magic, and one of which being extremely controversial since Malistaire's assaults on the Spiral began. With fire, or Pyromancy, a Wizard such as Valerian could burn large patches of soil, call upon the forces of the universe, or summon fierce beasts of flame to destroy their opponents. With Death, a student could rip the life from another, selfishly giving it to themselves, and waste away every living thing on the planet.
...Or, they could use it as young Dawnstrider did. With his flames, he would shield and protect his allies from the three 'first' schools of magic and their attacks. He could empower his allies, while utilizing the fires of Pyromancy to halt a powerful, debilitating strike before it even came.
And with the power of Death, he could preserve the natural order of life. He was young, alive, and yet creatures of the dead and resurrected beasts intended to take his life to fuel their own un-life. So, in response, the boy could take back what he rightfully possessed, while giving himself and others a defense against the undead creatures.
And yet, for all the good, even heroic uses of his Pyromancy and Necromancy, he was still looked upon with some level of fear. Possibly because he wore red and black, to signify his following of both Fire and Death schools, or perhaps because his hood covered the majority of his face, which combined with his following of the schools to create the image of someone to avoid.
Which might explain the utterly terrified looks as he jumped out of his chair in the library, shaking and looking around wildly. Everyone stopped and stared, then glancing to each other, asking if they should leave. The door burst open, and a Death student ran in, panting. "There... Malistaire is out there!"
The boy was thrown aside by a skeletal figure, brandishing a scimitar as he entered. The younger students were frozen in fear, and when they seemed to wake up, they just scuttled backward, away from the creature. Several of the older Wizards though, Valerian included, pulled their staffs or wands to them, and aimed at the creature.
A Life Wizard was up first, creating an absorbing shield around a Thaumatergist. The Ice Wizard placed a Fire and Storm shield over the Theurgist, and a Sorcerer enacted his elemental shield over himself. Valerian glanced over, shaking his head. He was far more open to attack than the Ice Wizard, and yet here he stood, completely unprotected.
Almost just to spite them, he wove his wand in the sigil of Death, and a shield emblazened with a skull floated around the physically open to attack Life Wizard.
Just in time too, it seemed, as the Skeleton rushed at the Theurgist, striking hard. The shield broke, and the Skeleton's blade barely scraped the side of the Life Wizard's robe.
He pulled back, and the Life Wizard summoned a powerful Leprechaun, which almost basically destroyed the Skeleton. The Ice and Balance Wizards held off on attacking, but at Valerian's feet, a golden orb appeared. He nodded, and waved his wand purposefully in the symbol of fire, and with a final flick, it exploded forward.
Four flames from across the room shot out, then approached slowly together, causing all in the circle to stare in wonder. And, by magic, the flames connected, circled, and gave birth to a Sunbird. It flapped quickly, squawked, and reeled backward. Then, it sliced through the air, the wing of it utterly shattering and burning the Skeleton's bones to dust.
It dissipated out of existence, and Valerian lay his staff on the ground, glancing over the group. The Life Wizard averted his gaze, seemingly embarrassed that he hadn't assisted the Pyromancer/Necromancer in the fight, especially when because of him, he survived the battle almost without a scratch.
A scream echoed from outside, and Valerian didn't miss a beat, throwing open the door and dashing toward the combat. | | | | |
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