.Elementals.

-37-

The first trial, I had a slight idea what it was from a glance I got at what Belladonna was doing yesterday night when I headed to my room and I hoped it wasn't that.

Right now there was an elevated platform with five wooden thrones for the royal family on it with a lower platform with benches for others that would be judges to sit in, us mages were lines up between the thrones.

"People!" The queen's voice rang out. "The trials start today!" There was many that started cheering. "Many of you came to fight for my daughter's hand as the champions of your people, I have also brought two of my own champions! Mages!" Em and I stepped forth next to her, still looking into the crowd. "The marshes man and the silver dragon shall also compete!" I heard a few scared whispers as we stepped down from the platforms in sync and faced the queen. "I will let head mage Belladonna explain the first trial!" She sat down and only then stepped forth Belladonna.

"The first trial will be a trial by Alernia!" So I was right. "As you all know it is a highly poisonous flower with a distinct smell. It will make the one consuming it hallucinate and play with their mind but it is also known that a strong minded individual can fight through the haze of it, that will be the first trial, before gathering here the servants gave you each a vial, I will ask of you to empty its contents into your mouth after laying in the grass as the effects are almost immediate. The competitors that make it through the haze before the sunset go on, those that fall too deep in the haze or don't wake in time will be disqualified. To help the queen in her rule we need strong minded individuals."

Soon all competitors were laying with us, Em right next to me.

"Uncap the vials!"

A strong smell of Alernia wafted over the place instantly, this is pure concentrate that's why there is so little in the vial.

"Drink and let the trial begin!"

I heard a huge amount of coughs as it was really bitter and acid at the same time, I shivered at the taste.

I glanced up from where I was at the princess, she tried to hide her worry, I smiled a little as if to tell all would be alright and closed my eyes.

I yelled in surprise as the ground was gone from under me and I fell through the air.

My back slammed into the ground again.

"Gods." I rolled on my side and sat up, I was in the castle, a purple-pink fog floating through the air in clouds, through the window the fog was so thick I could see nothing but pure purple, the purple of the princess' eyes.

"I need to find the exit." I whispered and started walking, Alernia almost acted like a Shade without the evil intent, in the way that it created another reality in your mind but it didn't manipulate your memories or anything and there was an exit to both, the Shade it was realizing you were caught by it and here it was finding the door that lead out.

But here it was slightly different.

I side stepped what I knew would be a Shade and created a large enough blast of fire to incinerate the whole hallways.

What was different here was that Alernia would make your mind fight against escaping its grasp so it wouldn't be as easy as walking around and finding the exit, I'd need to fight for it.

My own mind sending a Shade after me, how evil.

I walked, my boots clicking against the stone flooring, wondering what my brain would come up with to stop my progression.

I jumped back as out of nowhere a hairy arm reached for me and a yeti pulled itself into existence.

I might already be close to the exit and for me it would have felt short but many days could have passed so I must hurry.

I felt my magic flicker, the Alernia setting in completely, numbing it out, this was why it was outlawed to grow and own them, it could help kidnap anyone if you somehow get them to consume it.

I jumped back again and grabbed a crystal torch off the wall.

"Come on big guy aim here." I taunted my own mind as it bellowed at me and fists the ground before barreling towards me.

I ran at it and jumped to the side at the last second, foot pressed against the wall and kicked myself off it to flip over the creature and slamming the crystal in the back of its skull, the pointed end sticking through its mouth.

I landed in a crouch and heard its thud against the ground as I jogged on.

"You are kidding me." I sighed as I next me with the fake, Shade infested reality, me.

She said nothing, this time voiceless as the bite marks that were on my fake reality lover were on her now, eyes weirdly blue, she was me after all but I never saw myself with other eyes.

The red scales shone in the light as she pulled out her sword and aimed it at me in silence.

I reached in my back to grab my staff that wasn't there before and spun it once to position my hands on it.

None of us moved as we stared, it was almost amazing how different this fake version of me looked compared to the real me.

I snapped my staff up in a lever movement almost, the end of it hitting the sword blade away and with a spin on myself to add to the momentum of my swing, catching the fake in the side with the staff, hearing glass shatter instead of bone breaking, this fake was as brittle as glass as it never had time to exist long enough to be more.

With that knowledge, I spun again and slammed it down on her shoulder before pulling on my right hand to pull the end of the staff towards me with it pressing on the neck of the fake and making her stumbled closer.

I hopped a little, enough to set my right leg back and knee her in the stomach with it, slamming the staff down on her back before making an arm lock with the staff to make her drop the blade and lastly force her to the ground.

I freed the staff and smashed the back of her head in with it.

A staff can be mightier then a sword in my hands, a small movement of my hands can create a huge movement on the other end and adding a body spin to it can be devastating.

I got on my feet and kicked the door with glowing edges open, I am not going to like the next part.

My body arched up before I yanked myself up and threw up dark blue liquid, I trembled as it dripped from my mouth and nose, it having been so violent it got up there too.

I looked around to see I wasn't the first but there were enough asleep to tell me I was in the given time.

"Here." I looked up and accepted Calypso's outstretched hand and took the handkerchief she gave me, wiping my face and where it had gotten on my clothes.
This was all the Alernia that reacted with my stomach acid my body rejected since I escaped its clutches.

I looked around to see my fellow mages walking up and down the lines of contestant, keeping an eye of each, a bottle of the antidote on them for if someone didn't wake up in time.

"How long?" I asked, covering my mouth and spat in the hanky to get the taste out of my mouth before burning it away with a burst of fire.

"one and half slice of sun left before the sunset." I nodded with a smile.

First trial in the pocket.