The Eyebright's Dimension

Chapter Twelve: Combat on the Island

To win a Combat, the teams had to either have every member of the opposing Cloud either knocked out or surrendered. They also had to win the Leader’s official surrender. If they refused to surrender, a one-on-one battle would ensue. One might think a Leader might never surrender, but they often did. Losses after a one-on-one battle meant a larger sink in rating, and maybe even a negative one. Taking prisoners were encouraged, as opposed to knocking out an opponent. There was a point system as well as who won the Combat. One could win the Combat but lose the Contest, so Clouds were very careful in their planning. The Combat was broken up into five rounds—two on Thursday and two on Friday, the traditional Combat days. They had no classes on those days, and were free to watch any Combat they wanted to. The Final Round was done on Sunday. Combat Contests were watched in the amphitheater. The center of the amphitheater had a magical imprint of the battlefield island, so everyone could see the action. They were live, of course, and announced by two students; each battling Cloud could choose a student to represent them.

The first round however, was not the entire Cloud. It was the Select Band, or the top fifteen students in each Cloud. The Sylph Select Band was divided into three teams, with two Council Members in each team, and nine other students, the best of the best, also in the Band. The Second Round was typically a Council battle, although any six students could fight. The Third Round, when only eight teams were left, was an all-Cloud battle, as was the fourth round.

Final Round was always the traditional unknown battle. Sometimes it would be a one-on-one, or another all-Cloud battle. One could never be too sure what it would be.

The First Round had been against Alicorn, a half-decent Cloud. Calixte and Kael were in one team, along with three others, whom Kasity recognized but could not name. Gaudier and Channer led the second group, and, although she knew all the others in the third group as the top students in Sylph, she didn’t know them personally.

Kasity was sitting toward the top of the seats with the rest of the first years. The first fifteen minutes of the battle had been very boring—mostly defense setting, magical flexing, and sensory magic. The battlefield had been restricted—it was not the entire island, merely a small portion of it. Alicorn made the first offensive move, and, within a couple minutes, they were in the middle of the fray.

“And Calixte has just aimed a very nice spell at Alicorn’s main shield, ooh, there it goes!” Lander was commentating with a girl named Ridona, a round-faced fifth step from Alicorn.
“And there! Nice shot by Alicorn Leader Ryser, Council Member Yetta is down,” Ridona cried, to cheers from Alicorn.

“Her group is moving on without her, it seems Devan, Ground Patrol Leader, has taken her place,” Ridona continued. “Team One, led by Calixte and Kael, are moving in, seems like bad tactics, congesting the area—”

“Alicorn’s defense is falling fast. They had some pretty hasty shields there, ooh, all demolished, except for one,” Lander retorted.

“Alicorn is putting up a great defense, despite the brutal spell work. Wait, but there’s another attack from the side coming!”

“Calixte and Kael combined their efforts…and they have broken in! Alicorn is being decimated. Gautier is coming in for the final hit, and is that surrender? …it’s over!” Lander gave a big whoop. Ridona swore rather audibly amidst Sylph cheers.

“Yetta doesn’t seem to be in great condition. Will she be able to participate in this afternoon’s Council battle? Her designated back-up is seventh step Briombi, and she doesn’t look too great, either,” Ridona said nastily.

Lander ignored her. “Everyone, remember to come back out at two-thirty to support Sylph, who’ll be moving on to the next round: the official Council Battle! Back to the Dwelling!” With a cheer, all the Sylphs, except the first steps, flew up to their Dwelling in one big silver-blue whooping mass. The first steps, left behind again, sighed, and began their laborious ascent, chattering about their first contest. They had never finished the climb up the cliff so quickly. Kasity could fly (or flitter, at least) short distances, and she took advantage of her ability to shorten the climb. The Dwelling was full of celebration. The Select Band had arrived before the first steps. Gaudier was talking to a gaggle of sixth steps; Channer was lounging in the den, his arm around a pretty seventh step; a crowd surrounded Yetta, who was relating her injury in a long-suffering voice to the eager group. Shant ducked down when he heard her mention the “idiotic first step in her division”.

The first steps stood only for a moment, alone and awkward, for Lander called, “Hey, Kas, Aidan, all you first steps, come join the celebration!” Smiling, they trooped over to the second and third steps, feeling part of the group at last.

In the end, Briombi replaced Yetta in the second Council round against Golem. The battle took less than three minutes—a new record. Everyone was eagerly anticipating the all-Cloud Contest tomorrow, and wondering what the Final Round would be.

“What did they do last year for Final Rounds?” Kasity asked Rissy Thursday evening.

“They had a one-on-one battle,” replied Rissy, her brow furrowed, trying to recall the different Final Rounds.” There was an one all-cloud battle, ooh, they had a really neat weaponry one, Gautier did this really neat trick with a saber. Everyone said that one battle got him the Leader position. Oh, they had a flying battle, when the entire thing was in the air; that was cool, too. I guess you’ll never know what we’ll get.”

******

The cool air was misty, and hanging low over the boat as Kasity headed to the Island for her first Combat on the Island. Kasity, huddling together with her Division, squeezed Karynn’s hand tight. Lander and the boys were silent. Aidan looked green. Rissy and Synnove were sitting together, both pale. Rissy's red hair and freckles were bold against her face. Synnove was twisting a long blonde lock over and over again. Only Calixte and Eunae looked calm, and, with a little surprise, Kasity realized that this was Eunae’s first Combat, too, and envied her composure.

The island loomed ahead of them, and, then, quite unexpectedly, the boat graveled on shore. Gautier stood up and cleared his throat. “Right, Sylph, we’re up against Cockatrice. We haven’t played them in about three years and their tactics have changed a lot. Their leader, Nyssa, isn’t stupid. She’s been Leader since she was a sixth step, and this is her last year. However, there are some recurring trends in her attack plans. One: she concentrates her force generally in one good attack. So we need a strong defense. Two: she likes sending out small teams in a spy formation. So, Devan and Kael, your two teams will be vital for this. Devan, I’m putting you and your Patrol in charge of making sure there’s no sign of sneak attempts at the prison. I want guerilla tactics. Channer, Yetta, Calixte and I will make up the main force. Okay. I don’t know what the terrain will be like. I don’t know what anything is going to be like. So I’m relying on Team Leaders to make good, smart decisions. We’ve never lost to Cockatrice before. Let’s not make it a first.” Gautier clapped his hands, and the subdued crowd murmured, “Sylph!” in one voice. Then they trailed out onto the sand.

The two Aerials took off immediately and turned invisible against the grim slate sky. Calixte motioned to her Division and they gathered around her, stamping their feet in the sand. It was chilly, and Kasity rubbed her bare, goose-bumped arms. She caught a glimpse of the magic-manned boat slowly heaving its way higher up onto the shore and tethering itself to a gnarled tree sticking out of the sand.

“Alright, you heard what Gautier said,” Calixte said briskly. “Into units. I think this would be the forested area. We did a lot of practice in this sort of terrain, should be no problem. I want Unit 1 north, Unit 2 west, and Unit 3 east. I’ll be flying overhead. I want any abnormalities or strays reported directly to me, all right? Unit Leaders, if you think it will help, I want you on air patrol, too. Gautier has gone over a lot more with me than he just went over with the entire Cloud. We’ll be receiving a signal from the Patrol once the main clash starts, and we must be well into the forest, waiting and searching. The signal will be a long flute whistle. It’ll be impossible to miss. I want the Unit Leaders to talk to their units privately, but well, we shouldn’t waste time diddle dawdling. Off we go!”

Calixte took into the air and disappeared. Lander, Eunae and Synnove shook hands and, their units trailing behind them, set off. Lander stopped when they were a good way into the underbrush. Kasity now understood how much good all their horrid practices had done—she could now navigate herself expertly through the thick trees and bushes. “Kasity, you’ll have to do a lot of the attacking,” Lander said, leaning against a tree. “Aidan, I want you to be able to sustain a shield, even if the one you make isn’t really strong. If you cooperate, the two of you can do a lot, okay? We’re about as far in as we should be. I would bet we’re not alone in the forest right now, but our area is empty. I can sense it. So get up in this tree and wait for the signal. I’ll be patrolling in the sky. Remember, signal Calixte before you signal me. Okay, Unit, before you move out…” Lander suddenly buzzed Kasity magically, and she flinched. It didn’t hurt; rather, she had an odd sensation in the pit of her stomach, and suddenly felt weaker. “That didn’t hurt, did it? I know you’ve been told that it doesn’t cause physical injury to be attacked on the Island, but many first steps have been decimated because they can’t attack others even with this knowledge. But now you know how it feels, and both of you had better be able to do get some good hits. That doesn’t give you license to attack each other, though. You can still drain your energy, which will lose points for the Cloud, and you definitely won’t feel good once you leave the Island. If you do feel all right, I’ll make sure you don’t. Now, unit, move out!” Lander sped up into the air and vanished, too. Aidan definitely looked sick, now.

Kasity ignored him and jumped into a tree with lofty, think branches with ease. Aidan came up a second after Kasity did, looking pale, but determined not to let Kasity show him up. They sat in silence for a while, both staring out into opposite directions. Then they heard it—a low, unmistakable whistle reverberating through the trees, and, afterwards, a horrible battle cry. Aidan shuddered next to her.

Kasity subconsciously took out her sling and loaded it, her hands moving stiffly in the morning fog. Suddenly, she spotted a dense shape somewhere in the distance. It shuffled, and then disappeared. Kasity dug her nails into Aidan’s arm and motioned toward the shape. Aidan frowned, and peered out further. Kasity knew he was sensing for any disturbance.

There’s something there, Aidan thought at her.

Kasity rolled her eyes. Of course there’s something there, she thought to herself, and Aidan narrowed his eyes. Kasity suddenly realized that their minds were pretty much linked, for now. She hadn’t exactly mastered the entire thought-thinking telepathy yet, and realized she couldn’t control what Aidan heard and didn’t hear.

Took you long enough to figure that out, sneered Aidan in her mind.

Just contact Calixte, alright? Kasity replied, annoyed.

Aidan did so, still smirking.

Unit three reporting, Aidan said importantly. Unidentified soldier in the underbrush.

Kasity could hear Calixte’s response in her mind, too. Apparently Aidan couldn’t control what Kasity heard and didn’t hear, either, because she could feel him straining (and failing) to keep Kasity from hearing the message.

Kasity, get a little closer and get a headcount. Aidan, you keep sensing them out. Sometimes magical intuition is a better indication of numbers than sight.

Aidan resumed his meditating position and Kasity set off, flitting carefully from tree to tree—-she didn’t want to crash into a low-lying branch and alert the enemy to her position.

She could see clearly now what they had run up against. It looked like a division because there were eight of them together, obviously grouped in units of two. (Sylph was one of the only Clouds that had divisions of ten students.) Kasity could feel the complex shields they were holding, and their attacking power—-but for their entire prowess, they were struggling through the underbrush, and Kasity smugly thought of their own grueling terrain practices with pride. She vaguely wondered why they didn’t just take to the air, but a sudden whistling noise in the air answered her question-—Kael’s Patrol was doing their job very well.

I think it’s a division. Eight opponents, Kasity thought to Calixte.

I was just about to say that, too, said Aidan grumpily.

We’ll have to take them out, Calixte replied, I’m going to notify the Patrol about a possible attack. Lander says he’s going to swoop in from the air unnoticed and attack. Kasity, you’ll have to get a couple good shots in while Lander distracts them. Aidan, defense is all yours. Just confuse them for a couple minutes until Rissy’s unit gets here. We can’t let them gain any more ground.

Kasity saluted in her mind and prepared her slingshot once again. Aidan had his eyes closed, his face set. Then, an unmistakable whoop echoed through the air and Lander appeared, flying shots like crazy. A shield erupted around Kasity—Aidan and Lander had done their parts. Now it was time to do hers. She fired with stiff hands, and missed. Her second bullet found a mark, and so did her third. By her fifth bullet, the confused division started to regroup.

“Unit One, after the annoying fly,” yelled out the Division Leader, referring to Lander. Lander shot up through the leafy canopy and disappeared from Kasity’s view. Two other enemy soldiers followed him through the trees. Kasity frowned. If this was a typical Ground Division, why did they have fliers?

“We’re under attack from another location. Defensive tactics!” the Division Leader shouted. Kasity shot him in the head. He cursed and looked around. Other than he, there were only six other soldiers left. With a grim satisfaction, Kasity realized that although she hadn’t knocked anyone out, many of them were visibly weakened. Don’t fire, Aidan warned. They’re sensing us out.

Kasity held her breath as she saw the Division Leader take in a sharp intake of breath and look shrewdly toward the tree where Kasity and Aidan were perched. He took a step forward and—-fell. Apparently knocked out.

"Eunae," Kasity breathed.

Eunae, scoffed Aidan. I don’t think so. Maybe Darin, or Synnove—

But Kasity wasn’t paying attention to him anymore. She was firing bullets as fast as she could. Another arrow came out of nowhere. There was no sign of Eunae, but Kasity was positive it was she. Who else in their Cloud could possibly take people out with mere Sensory magic? Kasity had heard stories about Eunae's prowess in that field from Rissy and Synnove many, many times. The two soldiers left huddled together, looking terrified.

“We surrender!” one yelled loudly. Aidan grinned as if he had been the one doing damage. Hazy magical bonds appeared in the air and tied up the two remaining soldiers. Eunae came striding into the clearing, her face grim.

“You two can come down, now,” she called.

Aidan made a series of disbelieving faces. Eunae, I can’t believe it, he thought to Kasity.

Eunae looked at Aidan and laughed. “You should believe it. Tell me, where is the rest of the army?” Eunae suddenly asked the soldiers, more threatening.

Kasity glanced at Aidan, who was bright red, and then back to Eunae, who was attempting to arrange her face into a more overbearing manner.

One soldier paled. What is she doing? Aidan wondered, and even his thoughts were a little huffier. Kasity didn’t have the faintest idea. They had just gotten rid of a Division (which was no small feat); there was nothing else to say. The rest of the army was back, clashing in the main fray.

“Up ahead. We’re the rear guard,” one finally trembled.

“It seems you two have stumbled upon the rear guard of a body of soldiers attempting to sneak up on us,” said Eunae calmly. “You two should take the prisoners back to the Camp. I will have to join up with the rest of my Unit so we can tackle the main body. We can’t let them get any farther.”

Kasity and Aidan saluted and headed with the prisoners to the Camp. The prisoners seemed visibly disgruntled by the fact a pair of first steps held them captive, but the battle was over even before they reached the Camp.

Back at the Dwelling, Kasity and Aidan were the heroes of the Cloud. Lander boasted loudly, surrounded by other admiring students. “That’s right; my Unit discovered the sneaky little—-”

“Very clever tactic, huh?” Rissy cut Lander short of his long reminiscences, sounding disappointed that she missed out on most of the action.

“Eunae was magnificent,” Kasity admiringly said to Karynn, but Eunae merely smiled.

“Of course, she can’t deny it,” Kael said, sounding amused.

“I wish I had been there,” Karynn said wistfully. “We didn’t get to do much, just a couple minutes into battle and we were already escorting prisoners from Channer’s defense.”

They were all in a very good mood—-their next opponent, Gwyllion Cloud, would be an easy battle. At three, when they boarded the boat for the second time, Kasity couldn’t help but notice how less threatening the Island now seemed. She still sat with her division; but she and Karynn dangled their arms over the side of the boat, peering into the watery depths, speculating about the horrors and wonders that might lie below.