Marc Arden and the Siphilon Academy

- The Limnoula (Part 2)

Dom pointed out to Marc that they arrived. They streamed out of the woods and into a wide plain. Somewhere off to the far side, Marc observed the remains of what used to be a small shed.

While on the horse, Dom used his Diochete to elevate small mud huts out of the ground. A tent for each one of them.

"Alright Marc, it's your turn. Help me set up camp."

"What do I do?"

Dom shrugged, tapping a finger to his head. Marc cast around for ideas, then brought out his hands.

He instructed Dom to stack some planks of wood on the ground. Dom obliged. Marc finished it off with a fireball, erupting a blast bonfire.

Golden light pierced the darkness. Suddenly, Arcane appeared from behind some clouds and rushed down. With a final beat of his wings, Arcane landed inside the bonfire and yawned. Curling into a ball and closing his eyes.

"Well done Marc! Now we know how to get Arcane to descend. Baby phoenixes are incredibly skittish at night. Fire probably calls out to them"

Marc attempted to dismount Conflagre, preparing for the inevitable task of waking Scarlett up, but just as he shifted, Scareltt immediately leaned off his back. Marc stretched his neck and looked back. Scarlett was wide awake.

"Hey! When did you wake up?"

"The mention of my name, I think. The bonfire looks amazing by the way."

Scarlett slipped off Conflagre and headed across to help Dom unpack Paderon.

Marc just dumped all his bags off Conflagre and onto the ground. He then set off to explore the plains. He'd yet to see the pond. He lit up one of his palms with a tiny fireball and searched through the darkness, aided by the light.

"The pond's that way!" Shouted Scarlett. She was pointing exactly opposite to where Marc was exploring. Marc jogged back to her side, trying to spot it.

"How do you know it's there?"

"I guessed." Replied Scarlett, shrugging.

Marc walked closer, increasing the light intensity in his fire, and just as Scarlett said, the pond was there. His light passed cleanly through the water, making it sparkle.

Just then, Marc got a great idea. He took off his shirt and dived into the pool of water, summoning Fire from within, channeling it just underneath the surface of his skin. Ice cold water struck Marc from all sides, but within minutes, he started to maintain a steaming hot pool.

He swam a few laps in the warm water, his eyes closed in blissful relaxation. After a while, he resided into a corner of the pool and sat there, looking at the stars across the sky.

"I hope you didn't forget about me!" Came a voice from the camp. Dom appeared, grinning.

He took off his shirt too, and dived gracefully, he swam underwater, showcasing some neat strokes for a few minutes before surfacing.

"Ah! Good work with the water Marc! There's nothing like a warm bath before bedtime."

"What's Scarlett up to?" Marc questioned him, keeping his voice even.

"She settled to reading a book by the bonfire. That is after she properly unpacked the stuff you dumped…"

Dom's tone was tinged with disappointment.

"Ah yes. Sorry about that." Marc avoided eye contact with Dom.

"Young Siphilons are disciplined greatly by our Academy. And I expect nothing less from my proteges. Siphilon minds need great discipline to carry out certain tasks."

Marc felt ashamed of himself. He decided to be more responsible for his actions.

Dom sighed and prepared to leave,

"Now I really need to sleep, and I advise you to do too. We need all our energy for tomorrow's training." He said, words slurring slightly in exhaustion.

Together, the two men left the pond. Scarlett looked up from her book when she sensed them approaching. She raised her eyebrows at the two of them but didn't comment on the fact that they were both shirtless.

Dom took out some strips of dried beef from one duffel bag and handed some out to his proteges. Then after eating hurriedly, he retired into a hut.

The moment Dom left, Marc and Scarlett shared an awkward moment. Scarlett tried to strike up a conversation but Marc was clearly too tired to converse. Soon, Marc finished off his dried beef and headed into his hut, leaving behind a disappointed Scarlett.

*

The next day, Marc woke up far too earlier than he would've liked to. He left his hut to a pleasantly lit sky and lush green plains. The pond glowed in turquoise blue water. Arcane was nowhere to be seen.

Marc fished for his bag of sweets, groaning after realizing he had given it to Scarlett. He didn't have peppermint gum to distract him from thinking about the impending training the very same day.

He retrieved his sword from its sheath, sneaked out of his hut and walked off to a dying tree - with only branches and bark remaining - beside the pond. The pond had an eerie cloud of mist lingering over the water, something that wasn't visible at night.

He started hacking at the tree, trying out different techniques to swing the sword. He held loosely but quite balanced, so every shot he landed caused the sword to sink deep into the frail wood. He wondered if the risk of an opponent disarming him was too high, but a loose grip on the handle allowed him to be more flexible with his sword.

He started perspiring but kept at it, grinding against his protesting limbs. His thoughts strayed to his mother and sister, who he had vague memories of, from his dreams. The unfair fact that he had been torn away from them was enough to fuel his anger.

He began siphoning the anger into his jabs, soon disfiguring the tree badly. He collected all his strength for one final s***h, aiming to cut down the tree into a stump. He huffed in a breath and lashed out.

The sword flew towards the tree and at contact, the tree instantaneously hardened. The solidity of the wood broke Marc's swing and the impact was enough to disarm him and push him to the ground.

He looked up at the tree, alarmed. The entire tree blossomed with leaves, flowers, and fruit. And the bark had no signs of the damage Marc had inflicted on it.

Marc stood up called out loudly, "Very helpful Dom! Knocking me down on my last hit!"

"I was just testing you. Never leave your guard down, you never know when a tree could be your enemy!"

Marc turned and shook his head at Dom.

"Rise and shine old man, today's the day you lose to me and Scarlett!"

"Scarlett and I." Corrected Dom.

"Whatever." Replied Marc.

"Marc!" Warned Dom.

"Okay! Alright." Blurted Marc.

Dom headed back to his hut to retrieve his sword, which he apparently kept close to him always, even in his sleep.

"Let's do a few fights. Take this as an opportunity to learn a few techniques and improve yourself with the sword." Dom advised.

Marc shrugged and held his sword out, lowering himself into a stance.

"Good positioning! Which is very vital in sword fighting."

Dom assumed a different stance though, and lowered his sword, much too low for Marc's liking. Dom beckoned Marc closer, inclining Marc to begin the fight.

Marc began his first attack by lunging front and bringing his sword down in a deadly arc. Something he tried a lot when striking the tree.

Dom responded by thrusting his sword up to parry Marc's attack, knocking the latter's sword into the air.

Heat flooded into Marc's face in shame. He quickly retrieved his sword. Over time he grew more cautious with each strike. He always positioned himself carefully before entering the next attack.

Dom disarmed Marc a few more times before the two men gradually took the fight to the pond. Now they both fought vigorously, Marc trying to prove his strength and Dom trying to put up a formidable challenge for Marc.

The grass adjacent to the pond was slippery and disfigured in mud.

Dom thrusted his sword under Marc's guard, but Marc responded by parrying it ineffectively. Marc slipped on the mud, losing his stance. Dom swung his sword in a downward arc, intending to disarm Marc once again, but Marc held firm in his grip with both his palms clenching the sword, pushing outwards.

The impact chipped off a jagged piece off Marc's blade, and sliced his palm clenching the blade. Marc concentrate and in seconds the sword was repaired. Marc took the initiative to begin the next standoff.

He slashed low, to trip Dom into losing his footing but Dom deflected the strike easily, countering it with a s***h to the head.

Marc felt really determined to win this fight, so he improvised. He twisted himself around, bringing his sword into a backhanded swirl. The effect was instant. Dom's strike broke off, but even though Dom held onto his sword, he was knocked off to a side, leaving his guard open.

Marc got in close, and brought in a downward arc, trying to mimic Dom's technique. Dom twisted ridiculously fast and brought up his sword. But even with his speed, his positioning left his hand very little time to grip hard.

With a force, Marc disarmed him, knocking him flat onto the ground.

Dom groaned and shifted, spluttering mud and spittle out of his mouth. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, revealing fresh blood from a cut lip.

"Well that was interesting!" Said Dom. "Though you ought to go easy on an old man like me Marc. Nice thinking, evasive improvisation is clearly your style!"

Marc headed over and helped the man up. Together, they proceeded towards the camp where they had a drink of water.

Just then Scarlett came out of her hut, yawning. Her hair was a frazzled mess. Marc tried not to stare. The moment she caught sight of Dom, she widened her eyes in fear.

"D-Did I miss an attack or something…?" She asked in alarm.

"No, you didn't, we were just doing some light training before you woke up." Replied Dom.

"Light training?" Scarlett repeated cynically, eyeing Dom's lip.

"You know what? Let's begin today's training already, go get ready, bring your dagger too. We're doing this at the pond. Marc gave me much to think about."

Marc nodded at Scarlett, who shot him a furrowed look. Marc remained silent, earning an eye-roll from Scarlett. She disappeared into her hut.

Marc picked up his sword and began cleaning it from all the mud, repairing it in certain places when needed.

Dom held out a stick to Marc,

"Light the tip of this stick please."

Marc obliged with a flick of his wrist. Immediately, Dom plunged the fire-lit twig onto his lip. With a low shout, he scowled and dropped the stick away. He began sucking his lip.

Marc stared at him,

"And what did you hope to achieve there, may I ask?"

"I stopped the bleeding and hardened the flesh, lifting off an unnecessary discomfort." He explained.

Marc shook his head, revolted at the thought.

Scarlett rushed out of her hut, hurriedly combing her hair and tying it back. She wore high-quality leather armor. With buckles and straps all over.

"Where did that come from?" Asked Marc, raising his eyebrows in question.

"I carried this around with me when I was alone." She said a dangerous edge to her tone shut Marc up.

Dom picked up his sword and stretched.

"Alright everyone, off to the pond. This time Marc is off alone against Scarlett and me, any questions?"

"Why am I alo-"

"Marc! It was rhetoric." Dom exclaimed with a pained expression.

"Sorry!" Replied Marc, grinning.

Scarlett held a much different grin, more manic. But Marc was none the wiser.

They positioned themselves equally apart around the pond, eyeing each other warily.

"Ready to lose?" Scarlett called out.

"You wish, I already ploughed Dom to the ground, there's nothing stopping me from doing so to you too." Replied Marc.

"Oh! You didn't just say that!" Shouted Dom. "Let the fight begin!"

They started circling around the pond, Marc already forming a plan in his mind. He channeled his inner Metal and launched himself into the pond. Mid-air he crafted a shield, the size of himself, but light enough for him to carry easily.

He brought his shield under him and crashed into the water, causing a big wave to rebound off his shield. He rode the shield as a boat, across to the other side of the pond where Scarlett and Dom stood.

With a roar, the wave ran into Scarlett and Dom. Marc leaped off his shield, landing on the muddy ground. He held his footing and started duelling against the two disoriented opponents. Scarlett was the first to lose her footing against the muddy terrace. She crashed to the ground, dropping her dagger.

Dom had more time to wipe the water out of his eyes. He kicked the mud out in front of him, causing sludge to coat Marc all over. Marc swung his sword against Dom, who parried and counter struck. Marc ducked under the swing and retreated.

He gained quite a bit of knowledge on Dom's fighting style through that attack, but Scarlett still remained a mystery to him. Fighting with mud all over him was difficult and extremely uncomfortable. Marc dived into the pond yet again and relieved himself of it.

He retrieved his shield and exited the pond. Giving Dom time to prepare his ally for the next attack.

Dom and Scarlett ran from opposite sides, effectively surrounding Marc. The latter cursed and readied himself. They both charged at him. Dom reached him first, thrusting his sword towards Marc's abdomen.

Marc responded with a firm block with his shield. Marc pushed out against the lock between his shield and Dom's sword, throwing away Dom's stance.

Scarlett came in from behind and slashed her dagger at his legs. Marc sunk his blade into the ground, right in front of the swing. Scarlett's fist punched the flat surface of the sword, forming a bruised patch on her knuckles.

Marc kicked the sword at the hilt, sending it spinning in the air. Carefully timing it, Marc caught the hilt and used the downward swing to bring the sword into a lethal arc.

Scarlett surprised him by sliding through the mud, getting straight into the arc, but Marc couldn't do anything to stop it.

Scarlett brought out her dagger and clasped one hand on the handle and the other hand at the tip of the blade. She caught Marc's blade to a resounding stop with the center of Falcata. In quick succession, she used her momentum to kick Marc's legs out under him.

The kick surprised Marc but not strong enough. Marc fell to one knee, using his front foot to push him into a backward roll, heading directly back to Dom.

He swung against Dom's strike but was too slow to lock his weapon in, being pushed backward by Dom's force, but the latter applied too much force and flew sprawling to the ground in front of him. Marc seized the opportunity to ram his elbow into Dom's face, making him groan in pain, and throwing him out of commission.

Marc was winded as he turned to face Scarlett, inhaling in great rasping breaths. She swung her dagger and he caught her wrist, just before she brained him. Dropping his sword to lighten his load, he closed the distance before Scarlett could fling herself away.

They were face to face, Marc holding them in a lock.

"Hey. Which part- was it- where I lose?" Marc asked her, trying to speak in between breaths.

"This part right here!" She replied angrily, no doubt annoyed that she'd gotten into a terrible position.

Marc loosened his hold slightly, wondering if he'd squeezed too hard. This was his mistake.

Scarlett freed one of her hands and slapped Marc, and immediately pushed him away, sending him stumbling backwards.

Scarlett brought out Falcata and flew towards Marc, eyes wild. Marc struggled to regain his balance, disoriented. He barely managed to catch Scarlett into another hold. This time he was more careful.

He left enough space to maintain his footing and held on to Scarlett firm.

Reacting to the space given, Scarlett twisted out of Marc's hold, stepping onto the mud trap behind her.

She skidded across the mud and landed with a crunch on the ground, her momentum dumping her into the pond.

Marc whoop of delight turned into a look of horror.

He searched through the foamy pond for Scarlett, waiting for her to resurface. His vision took a roll. Fighting against Dom and Scarlett at the same time depleted his energy stores within minutes.

He was just about to jump into the pool of water when it started swirling. He stumbled backwards as a hurricane rose out of the pond, the unmistakable silhouette of Scarlett deep inside its core.

Marc looked wildly around for Falcata, spotting it near the pond. He desperately clasped the handle and concentrated on the blue jewel in the center of the handle.

Vast amounts of energy swirled deep inside it. Immediately, Marc consumed it, gasping at the unfamiliar feeling of his energy rush.

Scarlett drove the hurricane straight at him. Hurriedly, he lit himself on fire, desperately increasing heat and height. Soon he grew to into a respectable size of a human fireball, but still too small compared to Scarlett's hurricane.

The two elements crashed against each other, causing steam to fly into the air. A muffled cry emanated from the hurricane, and Scarlett channeled the steam straight towards Marc.

The uncomfortable blowing was enough to disorient him. He lost control of his fire and Scarlett immediately extinguished it - but she didn't stop there. Scarlett began to douse Marc with huge loads of water.

"This part right here!" Repeated Scarlett angrily. She let go of the hurricane, spewing all the water contained in it right at Marc. He felt his breath give away, and soon he was about to drowned.

Scarlett dumped all the water on Marc and gasped to a stop, staring at what she'd done.

She started sobbing and ran away, into her hut.

Marc trembled in exhaustion. Tethering between unconsciousness and reality.

Marc vaguely sensed Dom standing up and panting, assessing the situation. The last thing he witnessed was Dom's face over him, before passing out.

Marc ran through the jungle, tearing apart vines desperately. He sensed the beast right behind him. As he was running, he spotted a tree with a small cove underneath it. He dived into it, effectively shaking the beast off his trail.

He lay there, panting for breath, when he noticed the plants moving. They had already wrapped Marc around with strong vines. Marc pulled, trying to break free from the creepers, but they just held on tighter. He tried to burn them away but couldn't summon his fire.

Soon he was so hopelessly entangled that he couldn't even move. He panted, terrified. The vines reached his face, expanding into his throat, lower and lower. Marc started choking for breath, crying out for help.

His voice elapsed into silence.