One of Kaelthar’s clones stopped mid-fight and looked up. He had discovered that soone was on the airship above, and Kaelthar’s powers were failing because the connection between his rings and the mana supplied by Yukihi was gradually weakening until the clones began to fail.
The clone stretched his hands towards the sky.
Isabela saw this and wanted to get as far away as she could, her instinct screaming that sothing was going to happen.
But then the mory overwheld her.
"Dad, what is it to be a good knight?"
Little Isabela, six or seven years old, lay on the bed that was too big for her while her father sat on the edge adjusting the blankets.
"A good knight..." her father thought, smiling in that way she loved, "...is soone who protects what they love, even when it’s difficult."
"Are you a good knight, Dad?"
"I try, little fla."
"And you’re strong?"
The father laughed, that deep laugh that made his chest vibrate.
"I was so strong that they called the Lord of Flas... before you were born and stole all my fire."
Isabela had laughed too, not understanding but feeling the warmth of that mont, and fell asleep thinking that one day she too would be called sothing great.
A trail of fire crossed the field; it was Isabela advancing, not going in a straight line, sliding through the soaked mud and cutting at a low angle directly at the clone’s ankle, who was still looking up distractedly.
Her blade passed cleanly; the clone fell to his knees, not understanding what had happened, and Isabela gave him no ti to react. She concentrated mana in her hands and activated Ignition directly on the clone’s face, exploding him from the inside out in a ball of red flas that illuminated brightly for two seconds before extinguishing.
Kaelthar tilted his head, observing with genuine interest for the first ti since the fight had begun, and the other clones stopped attacking randomly to surround Isabela in a coordinated manner.
She began to fight for real then; only trails of fire could be seen wherever she went, her sword cutting in precise arcs while she breathed in a controlled manner, inhaling deeply through her nose and exhaling slowly through her mouth between blows. This required discipline because the sword technique she used depended on synchronized breathing with the movent of her entire body.
The clones coordinated their attacks, blocking everything she tried, and Isabela retreated, panting, sweat mixed with rain running down her face as her mana plumted to critical levels.
Kaelthar stopped the clones with a gesture, standing in the center of the destroyed field, observing Isabela with those light gray eyes that showed nothing but cold calculation.
"Isabela Valtherion."
"How does he know my na?"
"Eighteen years old. Growing up under extre stress. Elental affinity above the historical average... You’re not a general yet. But you will be."
Isabela frowned, confused and suspicious at the sa ti.
"What do you an?"
Kaelthar took two steps forward, calm as if he had all the ti in the world.
"Join . At thirty, the world will call you General of Fire."
"Don’t doubt the Gars. We know things that haven’t happened yet."
He tilted his head slightly.
"I know about your mother. You barely spent any ti with her before she died, did you?... I can bring her back."
Isabela felt sothing tighten in her chest, the temptation hitting hard because it was real; she barely rembered her mother’s face properly, only fragnts of mories that hurt too much to revisit.
But she looked around, saw the dead guards scattered on the ground, the devastated field, the crumbling mansion, and rembered Haru and Kira up there trying to save Yukihi.
She took a deep breath.
"I’d rather die young... than serve wrongly."
Kaelthar didn’t smile, but there was sothing akin to respect in the way he looked at her now.
"Then die well."
He raised his hand, the clones advanced, and the fight resud with renewed brutality. Isabela fought beyond her limit, each movent costing her mana she no longer had, beginning to fall behind, the clones pressing from all sides until she knew she wouldn’t last another ten seconds.
And then the do cracked. Fissures spread across the surface of the do while a sharp sound echoed throughout the entire field. Kaelthar and his clones looked up at the sa ti, realizing the source of the crack.
"Haru!" Isabela scread, watching the airship plumt from the sky in an uncontrolled fall. "HARU!"
She ran away, ignoring the clones that tried to block it.
The airship was coming faster and faster. When Haru jumped from it at the last second before impact, everything exploded in a ball of fire and twisted tal that swept through half the courtyard, the shockwave knocking down everyone who was still standing.
...IN THE VILLAGE
The villagers only noticed from afar what was happening at the Vandris mansion; it had always been like that, that mansion constantly hard the city with the collector’s crazy experints, but this ti it seed worse than usual. The explosion had been large enough to be seen from any point in the city, and people looked at the hill where the mansion stood with a mixture of fear and curiosity.
Isabela woke up coughing and fuming, erging from the impact zone and being carried in the arms of one of her guards. They ran down the hill towards the village while the other ca from the opposite side, carrying the unconscious Yukihi on his shoulder and Kira, who was also unconscious but breathing.
The rain finally stopped, and the sun began to peek through the heavy clouds, illuminating the destroyed battlefield they left behind.
Isabela looked back one last ti before they descended the hill completely, searching for Haru, but saw nothing but smoke and rubble.
"We did what we could, Ms. Isabela..."
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