>>6196414You start slowly, just as Emíl and Lukas did. Unlike Emíl, however, you are on the full defensive from the first blow; a century ago you could at least keep up with her, but ever since leaving home her skills had come to exceed yours by far. But this is likewise only a prelude to the real fight.
When you feel the moment right, you whisper the word to trigger our first spell, and the world goes dark for a moment as Dimension Door carries you from the field. You reappear all the way across the yard on a rooftop, looking down on the grounds. Like Eva you must now trade space for time; summoning is far and away the most spell-efficient means of inflicting damage upon an enemy, but most such conjurations have long casting times, during which one must hold their place while concentrating, no easy feat with a powerful mage-hunting cleric already close enough to attack. While you begin your own first summon, you see that Anya does the same, declining to give chase with the Ring of Flying you once crafted for her.
Anya’s Leskylor appears first. The golden-white celestial tiger takes its place amidst a rush of golden light, and it gives a mighty roar as it unfurls its white swan wings. Your own summons follow a moment later, a trio of Arcadian Avengers, the spirits of warrior women from the realm of natural law, resplendent with their skin of gleaming silver. Your next spell is Heroism, a waiting move - from here the question is who can best conserve their spells while staying out of the range of a hostile Dispelling. You’ve both used several high-level spells already, and one can only expend so many on training on a given day.
But what Anya chooses to do next blindsides you. Holy fire engulfs you in a Flame Strike. Pain wracks your body as half your clothing is torn away. It’s entirely like her to use a fifth-level spell to goad you. Still, you can’t heal like a cleric and aren’t as tough as one to begin with, so you’ll need to shapeshift before taking another serious blow, and risky as it may be you need to approach Anya again as well to interrupt any further spellcasting.
Summoning might be the more efficient means of spell combat, but shapeshifting is a close second, and therein lies your speciality. You touch the Ring of Change on your left hand and focus on a new form. The whole process takes not much more than a second. You bend forwards as your whole body swells, arms becoming legs, neck growing long as your clothes and items merge with the sea-blue scales sprouting from your skin, and you’re in the air and flying hard across the yard the moment your wings are made manifest. Anya has only moments to look alarmed at the sight of a two-ton adult Sea Dragon barrelling down upon her.
