L'Académie du Conseil [en]

[Aurel]

The young man chilled under the cold breeze. No matter how he looked at the situation, he could find no easy way out. He would have to go in, like he did before. And like he did before, he would surely fail. Yet it did not matter anymore, the time for hesitation had passed.

Without delaying any more, he jumped from the cliff and began dropping at ever-increasing speeds towards the beach, which still seemed to lie kilometers away. During the fall, he barely had the time to think, let alone doubt his bold decision. She had had the guts to jump directly into their lair, what excuse could he then find to avoid the unavoidable ?

A few heartbeats later, he sent a powerful pulse downwards, slowing his fall just enough to avoid crushing his legs when landing. Still, he felt a sharp pain throughout his body as he touched the sand, throwing dust all around him.

He was in !

As soon as he landed, despite the growing pain in his legs, he started running. He had to use the surprise he undoubtedly had cast amongst his enemies by dropping from the sky above them. And so he ran, to get as far as possible before actually having to fight his way in.

After a few seconds, powerful magic blasts started raining around him. He dodged some of them, soaked the rest by summoning protective power under his skin, and just kept running without fighting back. He knew they were too many, he knew that to stop and fight would mean his end.

And so he jumped above his barely awake enemies, threw a few bolts towards what he assumed to be the most heavily guarded areas, but did not wait to see the result of his strikes. He was going fast, really fast, thanks to his magically enhanced legs. Already the greatest part of the defending army was behind him, and he entered the caves built around his goal. He could feel the power source right in front of him, only a few hundred meters away...

And then he felt a stabbing pain in his back, and dropped heavily to the ground. All his power left him, and he could not bring enough energy back to his disabled limbs to get back up and flee. Completely powerless, he listened to the approaching footsteps.

Lost again, Logan. I told you the sheer amount of power you can yield would never be enough to get past me.

He groaned in pain, still feeling the pressure of her power against his back, even unable to answer.

You are a shame for this academy and for the Great Council, added the young woman who had stopped him. I really don't know why they still keep you...

And then he felt the weight on his back disappear. He stood slowly and stared defiantly to his opponent.

Still, I surprised you. Your defenses were not fit to counter a threat from above, and I almost reached the power source before you could stop me. No matter what you say, I know I can amount to something here. I know I can get better. So watch your back...