A Tale From Lanoria: The Princess of Barough

Chapter 4: Battle Mage

As the dust started to settle, Killian raised his hand and shouted, "Next!" 

But none of the mages stepped forward. Instead, they just looked towards the minotaur as if they realized something the old man hadn't. Killian quickly looked back to where the minotaur was, and his eyes opened wide. It seemed the minotaur had missed Donovan. The tip of the large wooden club was stuck in the ground, right next to Donovan. To Killian, it was clear the minotaur had made a near-miss.

"Lucky! Now just give up, Donovan! I don't feel like picking pieces of you off that Minotaur's club!" Killian shouted.

Donovan, however, had his rusted sword out and was still drawing shapes of Oriana in the dirt. Clearly, he wasn't worried about the gigantic creature before him. 

"Hmmm... No, I think they're more perky," he said to himself before using his boot to clear away the drawing. Pressing the tip of his sword into the dirt, he began to draw with it again.

"Oh my, he is alive!" Celsy blurted out as she witnessed the event. That made Oriana turn her head back towards the battle. She was pleasantly surprised to see that the minotaur had completely missed him, as she politely clapped.

His actions infuriated Tyir and the minotaur. It was obvious that Donovan didn't care much about what was happening, as if the colossal mage was playing some sort of game. In a fit of anger, the minotaur swung his club down once again. Donovan could be seen almost disappearing and reappearing next to where the club struck the ground. That was until part of the club snapped off and came soaring right towards the Minotaur's head.

When the wooden club struck the minotaur in the face, it shattered into a thousand pieces. With a loud thud, the beast immediately fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Ugh, my courtmage would have dispatched that beast quickly!" Tyir grunted and rolled his eyes.

Down below, one of the mages observing the fight commented, "It makes sense why he managed to dodge the club. He is a seasoned battle mage. He appeared to have chosen acceleration over fortification. Being able to watch someone perform the acceleration spell so expertly is truly a treat."

Killian believed that he had been deceived. The seasoned knight could see that Donovan hadn't even started to display his entire might yet.

Oriana had a completely different reaction than everyone else. Donovan had managed to take out the creature without spilling any blood. Her heart was pounding with excitement as she watched him win without shedding blood. As if a fire had been lit under her, the princess jumped up and got closer to the balcony rail once more. Leaning out, she could see that the Minotaur was still breathing. A sudden and strange urge came over Oriana. 

"I'm going to meet that mage,"

"Wait, Princess! They haven't even started the rest of the competition!" Celsy all but shrieked, worried about Oriana's safety.

"They may finish the competition. Until then, I will meet the one who has already completed his task." Oriana said.

Tyir looked at Oriana in alarm. "Are you serious, Oriana? That mindless oaf is no better than an orc! A simple, brutish creature! He is not worth your time." He was baffled that she wanted to meet the mage by herself.

Oriana rolled her eyes. "You are just being hard on him, Tyir."

"He moves with the grace of a turnip and probably smells as if he has pissed himself on purpose! You shouldn't sully yourself by meeting such a lowly peasant!"

"I'll be fine," Oriana assured them. "You don't have to be so cruel towards him. Especially someone you haven't met."

As the two of them conversed, a different guard hurried towards Killian and let him know the princess was on her way down. Killian gritted his teeth at what he had been told. It seemed that Oriana only wanted to meet those who had defeated the Minotaur. So far, that was only Donovan.