Lens Section 2

Lens Section 2

By: Asa Montreaux

Chapter 3

The whole group was gathered in the living room.  The blinds were shut, but the sun still shone so strongly that it lighted the home effervescently. There were lights on in the living room, though they were dimmed, to help preserve the aura of seriousness they wanted the meeting to have. 

‘So Frederick, what do you have for us?’ Zyphries said.

‘The Black League have not been in this area. So if we had figured they would attack us at our base camp, it is highly unlikely. Now, have they discovered where our base camp is? That is also highly unlikely. But in this case, it is possible. We detected no Black League wizards following us on our entire journey back from Len’s home. But could they have found out through other means? It is possible.’

‘But how, Frederick?’ Juniper said.

‘Well for one, it may have been through the duping of local members of this area. Asking them if they have seen wizards, or any wizarding activity. Though, we have not allowed any magic to be seen outside the home, and we have flown, it has been only under a shroud. The glimmering spells are of course 100 percent effective. As far as any other information they might have seen, or maybe there was something they might have overheard when we were out and about, the forgetting spells are obviously also 100 percent effective, and wipe the townsfolks minds of anything they might have seen before they can document it.’

‘And how is the forcefield?’ Zyphries said.

‘Yes, the other protection we have is the barrier around the land, the forcefield. This will always show our home as empty and dark, no matter what is happening inside. And no one aside from our team is ever able to enter inside.’ 

‘Excellent. And the mindsight protection?’

‘No one is able to read the mind of anyone on the premises. And there is a thousand spells in place so one of the Black League wizards does not read your mind out there, so they don’t read it anywhere. But magic has many facets, so many facets, that we can’t be sure they haven’t found our base. And this being our main one, we’re banking on a lot of years of them being wrong, and not being right. But for now, I obviously suggest we hold the fort here. We can be relatively certain we will not be attacked here.’

‘Alright. Excellent. Now, what are the movements of the black league.’

‘They are in the South-west now, we’ve tracked them in Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana. They are not building in size, but are preparing all their wizards to use the darkest of magic to defeat us, and move forward with their plans to makeover the world in the mould of the black way of magic.’ 

‘Where are they mostly camped, now?’

‘We think in New Mexico. It was only a couple days ago we had confirmation of them in southern New Mexico, more than half of them, and we have good reason to believe they are still there.’

‘So, if we were to try to surprise them, and take them out once and for all, would this be where we would do it?’ Zyphries asked.

‘Yes, this would be the area we would carry out an offensive in. For sure.’

‘And what kind of numbers would we be expecting.’

‘Five to six wizards. No more. Approximately half of the black league.’

‘And are we certain of this number?’

‘I would put it at about 90 percent certainty.’

‘I see,’ Zyphries said. ‘Then let me think about this for a minute.’

‘There’s no way they could be prepared. Is there any way they could know?’ Lola asked.

‘There is absolutely no way. As we covered, they can’t intercept any of our communications,’ Frederick said.

The group was silent for a moment. Then Zyphries spoke again, seemingly having reached a decision. ‘Then now is the time. We must do it while they are unaware of an attack coming. We must do it before they establish a well-fortified camp, and prepare for an attack. We must execute a strategy before they have time to develop a strategy of their own.’

‘But Lens is not prepared. And if we take more time, we will be more prepared,’ Juniper said.

‘Yes, that’s right. If we give Lens more time. We’ll have another member we can use. And I think he’ll be a strong wizard. In fact, I can feel it.’  

‘Yes, but we cannot undervalue the element of surprise. And if you wait too long, it is gone. Forever. I estimate there will be future battles. And we will be able to use Lens then,’ Zyphries said.

‘I agree,’ said Juniper. ‘Though a surprise attack still ensure definite difficulty. But if those are their numbers, we are more than able to stand up to that. We can win. After all, our goal is to thin their numbers, not to take their position or anything.’

‘I agree,’ said Frederick. ‘Their position is hardly valuable. To anyone. To us, it is just the place they are going to be.’

‘We need an advantage. Maybe this is it,’ said Lola.

Zyphries held his hand to his chin, and scratched it pensively. He looked around the room, examining the expression of everyone in the room.

‘Then it’s settled,’ he said. ‘We’ll leave at daybreak. We’ll be planning most of the evening. And then an early day.’

No one said anything, and then Zyphries added, ‘Alright, meeting over.’

*

Later that day, it was time for the second training session. All of the group members would be there, so that each of them could work on their skills. Though it was standard for the group to practice together once a day, it was especially important that they practice in preparation for tomorrow morning. 

Zyphries instructed the other wizards to work on their various abilities for some time, while he and Lens worked on his blasts. He led Lens over to the chalk line in the grass, near the target.

‘Alright, Lens,’ Zyphries said. ‘Here we are. We’re back here again. And today, you’re faced with the same task. Shooting your first blast.’

‘Now, critiquing yesterday, you might think it all comes from the head, just from your mind, but it actually comes from your whole body. Mostly from your mind, but your body needs to be in unison with it.’

‘So, bring your front foot into line with your body, and as you pivot it, pivot your whole body with it. Everything should move together, everything should be in unison. You understand?’

‘I think so,’ Lens said. ‘Yes. The whole body, in unison, okay.’

‘Good. So, when you are ready, it’s time to try again.’

‘Alright,’ Lens said. He stepped up to the chalk line, and placed his foot perpendicular to the target. As he tried to shoot the beam, he moved all his body as one, as best he could, focusing all his energy on trying to unleash the beam at the end. 

When he uncurled the thrust, his hand were extended out in front of him, and he put everything he had into releasing the beam.

This time, the coordination of his movement had a profound impact on the result. While no blast was emitted, for the first time, something was emitted.

A spark, of blue energy, whizzed out of his hands, almost moving towards the target, but ultimately dying three feet in front of him.

Zyphries watched it, as it formed, as it flew a short distance, and as it hit the ground. After, he said, ‘Not bad, Lens. Not bad. You’ve finally created something. Good.’

Lens looked to the grass three feet away to see if the spark had left any remnants. It seemed that, sure enough, it had. There was a little patch of grass that had been slightly scorched, a half an inch or more gone from the leaves of grass. 

‘What is that?’ Zyphries asked.

Lens pointed at the patch a few feet away. ‘There was a real bit of energy. It burnt some of the grass.’

‘Yes, when it’s real energy, that will happen. Good,’ Zyprhies said. ‘Now, for your next attempt, here’s what I want you to try. At the end of your thrust, when you are releasing your blast, or trying to… curl your thumbs and forefingers into a triangle. It’s a little too time consuming when you are in battle to do this, and to be honest, once you are an expert, it doesn’t help at all. But as a beginner, it is one of the most powerful ways to harness your energy, and release it. 

‘Okay,’ Lens said.

‘So, when you are ready, head over to the chalk line, and give it another try.’

Lens went back to the chalk line, and set up again for another blast. This time, he felt centred in himself. He put even more force into the blast. He could feel his body torque, hear wind against his ears, as he thrusted. At the end, he put his hands in a perfect triangle. Then he waited, and in a moment, a much stronger blast emerged. It wasn’t a full blast, but it was about halfway between a spark and a blast. It began making its way towards the target, and seemed to have some steam. Overall, it was a little slow, and a little weak. Halfway to the target, it seemed to dissipate, and die, seemingly disappearing in the air, with no effect on anything.

‘Wow,’ Zyphries said. ‘That one had some legs. Not bad, not bad. Another improvement. Pretty soon you’ll have it.’

Lens tried another few times, though he didn’t make any significant improvement over that blast. At the end, he felt happy with himself, for making a real blast, but still a little disappointed. He wanted to get all the way there, and fast. But this way it would still take a little bit of time. 

After, Zyphries said, ‘Alright, let’s go back to the main group. It’s time for the big training exercise.’ 

‘Okay,’ Lens said.

They shuffled back to the main group, and they all knew where the next exercise was. They all headed to the far end of the hill, where there was a square of chalk, a square about 40 feet by 40 feet. 

When they arrived, Zyphries walked ahead of everyone and then turned around and said, ‘Alright everyone, I know you know what this exercise is, and what this square is for, but let me explain it for Lens.’

‘This, is the ‘Square of Battle.’ Where we face off, against one another, one on one, and hone our skills in a real-life battle. Only stopping short of killing one another.’

‘In the square, you’ll find two lines of chalk, each approximately fifteen feet from one side of the square. When I whistle, the combat begins.’ Zyphries looked at Lens to see if he was getting everything. ‘Normally, we don’t stop the battle. We go until someone is nearly out. Though, if something goes wrong, we do have something of a mercy role. You can forfeit if you are no longer adequately prepared for a battle.’

‘Alright, Lens my boy, are you ready, or would you like to see a demonstration?’

‘I think I’d probably prefer a demonstration,’ Lens said. 

‘Very well. Frederick, Lola, step in the square. Let’s get ready for a battle.’

Frederick and Lola stepped forward, and moved towards opposite ends of the ring. 

Once positioned, they stood facing each other. They looked at each other seriously, and it seemed to Lens they both really wanted to win.

‘Alright,’ Zyphries began. ‘So we are ready for our first battle. Now when you two are both ready, signal me. Lola raised her hand to signal she was ready, and then Frederick raised his hand to signal he was ready.’

‘Excellent. Now, here we go.’ Zyphries whistled, and the contest began.

First, Frederick backed off the line, and Lola began a maneuver. She swept her hands up in the air, and suddenly a cloud formed in the air above Frederick. And a strike of lightning landed right on top of him. Frederick put up his hands, and a shield of blue energy formed, and he blocked the lightning bolt, though staggered backward, and buckled his knees a little. 

After the move was deflected, Lola started preparing another move. Frederick waved his right hand in the air, as if he had swatted Lola’s hands away, and her hands flung out of place, and Frederick prepared his move. 

Frederick held his hands out in front of him, and waved them up and down. 

The ground beneath Lola started to disappear, and two walls of blue energy appeared behind and in front of her. They bent to the contours of her body, and began to quickly enclose her.

Lola sped into the air. And as she flew, she morphed her body some, becoming thinner, and like a creature without vertebrae.  

She barely avoided the edges, and once through the top, she levitated in the air, and fired a strong yellow blast at Frederick. He blocked it and then fired a blast of blue energy at her. She blocked it as well, and then flew a few feet to the left, and prepared a new attack.

A hound appeared in the air, it’s mouth ajar. The mouth grew and grew, and it continued to expand as it lunged at Frederick. 

Facing being swallowed, Frederick, ran and then slid past the fangs and the edge of the mouth of the dog. It was the fastest longest slide Lens had ever seen, and Frederick ended up nearly twenty feet away. He turned around and shot three beams at once, each of which Lola blocked. 

There fighting went on for another number of minutes, then Frederick came up with a big move that put the match on the verge of being over. 

Frederick began a pulling motion in the air, and he repeated a phrase several times. Habres soas levas, Habres soas leves, Frederick had repeated. 

Lola’s eyes shut partially, and she was pulled towards Frederick. She was paralyzed, and could not defend herself. As she neared him, Frederick prepared a blast. He shot it as Lola was just started to come back into control of herself. It hit her in the torso, and she fell to the grass.

For a while she couldn’t move, passed out, and the move had effectively ended the match.

After ten seconds or so, Zyphries said, ‘Okay, that’s match. Frederick wins.’ He headed over to Lola to attend to her.

As he bent over, she was able to open her eyes by now, and she looked at him, grimacing in pain, but smiling slightly at the sight of him. He pressed his hand to her head, and emitted healing energies into her. Shortly, she curled herself, put her feet on the ground, and stood up. 

Frederick ambled over to them. He examined Lola, looking at her to see if she was alright. ‘You alright. I didn’t mean to do anything but knock ya out. I swear.’

‘I believe you,’ Lola said. ‘I’m alright. Feel better already.’

‘Awesome,’ Frederick said. ‘Though I must know, how does it feel to lose?’

‘Not that good. Not that good. But I’ll get ya next time.’

‘Well maybe. We’ll see. I think I have the most victories between us though.’

‘Well I guess I’ll just have to work a little a harder. You’re not that hard to beat.’

‘You might say that, but the data says otherwise. But like I said, we’ll see.’

‘Alright, you two, shuffle out. It’s time for the next battle.’ Zyphries looked over to Lens, and he motioned him over to the square. ‘Lens,’ he said. ‘You’re next. And Juniper, you two.’

*

Lens was to take on Juniper in his first battle in the square.

‘Now,’ Zyphries said. ‘This will be the first battle for Lens, and only the latest in many for Juniper. So, she is going to go slightly easier on Lens, on this very, very rare occasion. We do not go easy on our opponents in the square. So Lens, consider yourself lucky.’

‘And in the spirit of her going easy on you Lens, you will get first move. She will not block you, and she will allow you to make your move.’

Lens held his hand up to make the whistling noise. ‘Now, if we are ready, here we go.’ It looked to him that both opponents were ready, so he sounded the whistle.

Juniper uncurled her hands, made them ready to attack or block, but made no movement. She stepped back a step from the line.

Lens stepped forward from the line he had been on, and shifted his body to start a blast. She was about the same distance now as the target. He put everything he had into it, and although he was in a battle, he made a triangle. The blast was slightly stronger than any he had sent before, but still failed to make its way to the target.

Then it was Juniper’s turn. In the spirit of keeping it a little easier on Lens, she only sent a blast. 

Lens watched her preparing and unleashing the blast, and he was ready, more or less, when she sent it. 

Zyphries had explained blocking, and apparently, if you could make a beam at all, you could block. But there was no telling what would happen when you try it for the first time, and in the stress of a battle.

As the beam approached, he held his hands out with his palms facing one another. 

He only had a few moments. It seemed he’d need to block, or it might hurt a lot. The beam formed, though it was weaker than the other team member’s beams when they sent them. 

But it did the trick. Only a small fraction of the beam, got through the shield. And it hurt a lot, it stung, but Lens was still in the match, and he hadn’t really lost any strength despite the pain.

Having made a shield, he felt more confident. This time he really wanted to send a good beam. He stepped into it hard, and thrusted with all his might. He made the triangle at the end, and he saw the beam curl out of his hands. It was powerful, powerful for the first beam that was even full. Though he couldn’t see, the two team members on the sidelines marvelled at the size and power of it. It reached all the way to Juniper.

When it reached her, though, she blocked it, rather easily. Then she sent another beam almost immediately. This was one was harder, and it got through Lens’ shield more so, and hurt more than the last. This time he felt a little less strong, but it didn’t matter. Juniper had already made her next attack, and the ground beneath Lens had begun to turn into quicksand. 

Lens tried to run out of it as quickly as he could, but it was too late. Already his feet were sinking, and soon he could hardly move.

He started sinking into the sand, and soon he couldn’t see his shins anymore. At that point, there was nothing he could do, but just be swallowed into the sand.

As his torso, and then his neck disappeared in the quicksand, Lens wondered if he was even going to survive this. Hopefully someone would pull him out. This game wasn’t supposed to kill you. Then, his head was gone. He knew he couldn’t breathe sand, and soon he passed out.

He had no idea how long it had been, but probably not very long. Zyphries had pulled him out, and was kneeling next to him, healing him with his hand on Lens’ head.

‘Lens, hey, you alright?’

‘Yea, yea.’

‘If you’re wondering how long you’ve been out, it hasn’t been that long. Any weird feelings?’

‘No, none whatsoever.’

‘Well then, there’s nothing to tell you other than that you’ve lost your first match. So that’s a bit of a bummer.’

‘Yea, it is. I don’t really like to lose.’

‘Well, this was a tough match. Can you live with this one?’

‘I can, and I think I can.’

‘Good, excellent. When you’re feeling better, you let us know. Then we’ll start the next match.

Lens lay on the ground for a little while longer, then when he was feeling better, he got up and stood with the group again. They chatted about the two matches that had already happened, and then Zyphries felt it was time for the next match. 

‘Alright, guys, you ready? This time, I myself will be stepping in the ring. It will be myself against Lola. Lola, are you ready, my dear?’

‘Of course. As ready as you are.’

‘Most excellent. Alright. Let’s do this then. When we are all ready.’

Zyphries walked over to the square, and took his place on one side, and Lola took her place on the other side. When Zyphries was in the ring, Juniper blew the whistle.

Both players readied themselves, and after they seemed prepared for the battle to start, Juniper whistled. 

Off the bat, Lola threw a strong beam that Zyphries deflected, then she unleashed a spell that made a huge wave of water. As it rushed towards Zyphries, he made a spell by holding his out in front of him and then splitting them apart. It created a large void, which opened up in front of the wave, and swallowed it up. All the water fed into the void, and disappeared. Then Zyphries unleashed a very powerful spell of his own. With a motion of his hand that involved flicking his wrist and twirling a few fingers, everything around Lola went completely pitch black. There would have been no way for her to see. Then, pulling his hands out to the right, and sweeping them back, Zyphries made a huge gust of wind. 

Lola could not see what he was doing, and was caught off guard by the win, and was driven to the ground. In the meantime she seemed to have thought of a spell, and suddenly a night vision lit up in front of her eyes. Bright spotlights shone from her eyelids, and she seemed to be able to see not just where the beams shone, but all around. She had gotten to her feet, but she was staggering slightly, affected by the blow. 

All the same, she readied a spell that created discs in the air with spikes all around them. They rained down on Zyphries, but he literally disappeared. His spell teleported him to the far side of the square. Suddenly, he redirected the discs at Lola. 

She was able to repel all of them away, but in the meantime Zyphries had made a spell that made her disappear from where she was, and thudded her to the ground ten feet away. Upon impact, she could not move, and Juniper began a count. 

After five seconds, the match was over. Zyphries had won.

Once again, Lola was down. Juniper went and attended to her. Luckily, she awoke quickly, and walked off with the group. She recovered as they prepared for flight back to the house. 

Chapter 4

They sat and discussed the battles some more. They laughed about some of their tumbles, and about Len’s very first match. For a while they discussed some of the more intricate maneuvers used, and they were all particularly impressed by the moves of wise old Zyphries. 

The surprise attack against the Black League was tomorrow, and the team sat discussing strategy. They didn’t want to be detected as they flew in. Several different spells could be used to create nearly complete undetectability, but the quick movements of flying, especially with the necessary elements of quickness, and surprise, made it impossible.

‘With a group shimmer, coupled with our individual shimmers, we will be very nearly undetectable. That should give us all the cover we need to really get in, and get the mission accomplished,’ Frederick said.

‘But what would help us a little more? If we had just a little more protection, I’d feel our chances were vastly improved,’ Juniper said.

Zyphries chimed in, ‘There are a few spells I can think of, but they don’t work well with the shimmering spells. They would interfere with their workings.’

‘Well what spell could we run,’ Lola said.

Zyphries had another idea, ‘I’ve suddenly thought of another spell,’ he said. ‘This one would hardly affect the glimmering spells at all. Though it doesn’t offer as much protection as the other spells we were discussing.’

‘And which spell is that,’ asked Lola.

‘It’s a time travelling spell,’ Zyphries explained. ‘If we time travel our movements back twenty minutes, which is what the spell does, then they will not even know we have left the house as we are arriving. The trick will be to keep our flight time below twenty minutes. Twenty minutes from the time we take flight until we attack – it’s doable, it’s doable.’

‘That would work. Are you sure it’s going to get past their spell blocks?’

‘Yes, because I will make the spell before we leave. They will be unable to tamper with the effectiveness of the spell if we set it up ahead of time.’

‘Well,’ said Juniper. ‘That’s brilliant.’

‘Yes, I think that’s good as well. I think that spell might be the perfect addition.’

‘Good,’ said Zyphries. ‘Looks like we’ll do that one. Lens, do you have anything to add.’

‘No,’ he said. ‘All the protection we can get. That one sounds good. Let’s do that one.’

‘Then we are all agreed,’ Zyphries said. ‘Very well. That will be the one I will make. I will make it before we leave.’

‘And I will make the glimmering spells,’ said Frederick.

‘Excellent, excellent,’ said Zyphries. ‘That just leaves the matter of what we will use to distract them when we arrive.’

Frederick had an idea for this, ‘What if we use an invisibility spell, so we don’t catch their attention at all?’

‘That could work,’ Lola said.

Juniper had one more idea. ‘What if we used a mind wiping spell. So that when they do notice us attacking them, which they will, even though we are invisible… Let’s wipe their minds of having been attacked. We’ll take better positions, and then attack again, and they’ll be unprepared twice.’

‘I like that,’ said Frederick. ‘That was better than my next idea.’

‘What’s that?’ asked Lola. 

‘Nevermind,’ said Frederick.

‘I think that would work,’ said Zyphries. ‘We’ll go with that. That should give us significant enough cover, and make the attack successful. The element of surprise, combined with good strategy. I think at this point we are ready.’

‘Good, then we’ll be ready tomorrow morning,’ Frederick said.

‘Yes,’ Zyphries said. ‘Yes, we will.’ 

And with that, they ended the meeting, and hung out quietly, spending the time before tomorrow relaxedly, but a little anxiously.

*

At dawn, Zyphries had the entire team ready for flight. The sun had only slightly risen above the horizon when they took off to New Mexico. 

The air was crisp, and they flew in roughly a triangle. Lens was holding Zyphries hand, just off to the right of Zyphries. The leader of the group directed them through the skies at top speeds, and it seemed they had crossed a thousand cities in ten, fifteen minutes.

All in all, the journey took 15 minutes. When they approached the site in New Mexico, Zyphries slowed their approach, and guided them all down with signals at a gradual pace. 

From the sky they could see the encampments of the Black League, grouped together in a circle. Zyphries looked disconcerted. Lens saw that their were roughly five or six tents. Did that mean there was only one wizard per tent? Lens hoped so. That must have been the case, that’s what their numbers indicated.

As they neared the ground, Zyphries motioned for them all to stop up, and wait for his approach. He said, ‘Be quiet everyone, and be alert. I think there may be a few more than we expected.’ The White League followed his instructions, and they moved towards the camp behind Zyphries, anticipating a slight surprise.

When they were near enough, Zyphries gave the command for them to initiate the battle. Frederick wiped the Black Leagues minds of the sounds of the approach, and then they flew quickly into the camp. From there they shot beams at the tents, obliterating them.

Suddenly all the tents were gone, and a couple enemy wizards lay on the ground, injured. Though there was something wrong. As they looked around, there was not five, or four, or three wizards left, there was ten. 

Zyphries said, ‘Hang on guys, were in it. Full attack!’

An intense battle commenced. The opponents shot beams back and forth, and unleashed wicked, and powerful spells. The team used every maneuver they had used in practice the day before, plus a few more. And the Black League used terrible sinister spells, making Frederick spit dead worms, splitting Lola in half, capturing Juniper in a cage. 

Zyphries was able to quickly heal Lola back into one, and then go back to fighting. Single handedly, he had defeated three wizards, but the Black League attack was proving too difficult. They were quite outnumbered.

They battled hard, for longer, until Lola was injured again and Frederick went down. Zyphries shot a healing spell at Frederick, and he slowly got up. Then he said, ‘Alright, retreat, retreat! We’re out numbered.’

The White Leagues flew into the air, and hurried away from the Black League wizards as quickly as they could. Within a few minutes, they were miles away from the camp. Two wizards had followed them, but gave up on orders from others on the ground, who signalled it was not worth the effort to pursue.

Once they were safely away, they continued to fly on the path to home, travelling silently, solemn with the relative unsuccess of their mission.

Once they were closer to the house, Frederick thought it might be okay to say something. ‘Well, that could have gone better? What spells could we have used differently?’

Everyone was hesitant to answer, but eventually Zyphries said, ‘There’s no beating around the bush. It didn’t come down to spells. It came down to how we were unprepared, and how they had more numbers than we thought that we would have. We nearly had to retreat as soon as we got there. It was because we wanted to come away with something, rather than nothing, that we stayed in that battle as long as we had.’

‘Well, sorry for mentioning it,’ Frederick said. ‘But we seemed to have hung in for a while despite the numbers difference. I mean good for our team.’

Frederick thought he had been positive, but no one responded to this comment. Soon they were near home and they touched down on the front lawn. They travelled in slowly, Zyphries shutting and locking the door after them, and then flicking on several protection spells, which had made loud noises being set up, but surely worked very well. Then he walked into the sitting room with everyone else, where they sat only talking occasionally as they recovered, more independently thinking of how the match had gone well or badly. 

After a while Zyphries decided it was time they have the group discussion about the mission. ‘Alright, now that everyone has had a chance to rest a little, and think over what went wrong, let’s discuss as a group how the mission went,’ he said.

There were quiet for a moment, then Lola said, ‘Well, we were outnumbered, that’s for sure. I mean that was kind of the main thing. We can’t really skip over that.’

‘Yes, and we can go over the planning, and where our intelligence was wrong later, but now let’s discuss the actual battle, and how it transpired,’ Zyphries said.

‘Well, it hadn’t gone as badly as I thought it would, once I saw we were outnumbered,’ Lens said. ‘I mean we kicked ass.’

‘I’m not sure we kicked ass,’ Frederick said. ‘But I mean, heck. If we had fought like that, and there was the same amount of them that there were of us, we’d have won for sure.’

‘I agree,’ Juniper said. ‘We could have gotten all of the dark wizards, instead of just a few.’

‘Well there is no question we fought hard,’ Zyphries said. ‘And there is no question we had trained hard. And in that way I am proud of our team.’

‘I am proud of you all as well,’ Juniper said.

‘The only question, is how do we split them all up in the future? Because I think they saw it coming. They didn’t know when we were coming, I think,’ Frederick said. ‘Or where we were coming from, but they had an idea about approximately when we would come. And they hung together in anticipation of it. Now what do we do to split them up again?’

‘I’m not sure there’s anyway,’ Lola said. ‘Now that there’s basically a war, they’ll expect attacks always.’

‘I quite agree,’ said Zyphries. ‘Any ideas, and other thoughts about mitigating this?’

The room was quite for some time. Then, input came from an unexpected source. 

Lens spoke up slowly, ‘Well, if we just could somehow split them up. Like not all the wizards themselves, but the main ones. If we could just get Orlo on his own, then maybe we could beat them.’

‘Get Orlo on his own,’ thought Zyphries out loud. ‘Well, that is an option that could work. But I am not sure. I think he would have a few people with him at all times.’

‘We can take that many then. A few people, that’s enough,’ said Frederick.

‘But they will be the strongest wizards. They will be trained and prepared specifically to protect him,’ said Juniper.

‘I agree,’ said Fredrick. ‘But what is our other option?’

‘I’m not sure,’ Juniper said.

‘Maybe,’ Lens said. We have to take them down. ‘And then shortly thereafter, we will have him alone, or with wizards who are not trained to defend him. He’ll be vulnerable then.’

Everyone contemplated Len’s suggestion. Then Zyphries said, ‘You suggest we take out the guards, and then go for him. Interesting, interesting. This may be our only option. I agree with the point there will be only a couple guards protecting him. Because I know their names.

‘Lancaster, and Soran,’ he said. ‘They are strong wizards, though not as strong as Orlo. It will be possible to beat them, but not easy. It will not be easy at all.’

‘I say we go for it, absolutely,’ said Juniper.

‘I agree,’ said Lola. ‘It’s our best shot.’

Zyphries looked around the room. ‘Frederick, what do you say?’

‘I say that’s our best shot.’

‘Excellent,’ Zyphries said. ‘Then I think that’s what we need to do, is take on the main foes, and separate Orlo. To take him down last, and take him down finally.’

Frederick looked at Lens and said, ‘Good job, kid. Great idea, we’ll win for sure with that one.’

‘Thanks,’ Lens said. ‘Means a lot.’

‘Well with your strategy and your budding power, you’re a real valuable addition to the team. And you’re a potentially great wizard in the making,’ Juniper said.

‘Again, thanks,’ said Lens.

The group seemed all agreed that it was the best idea, and it seemed they only need to set out to just that. Whether it was mission, or two, to take down the guards, and then Orlo, they didn’t know. And perhaps only time would tell.

*

The next day, everyone was demure, recovering from injuries, and thinking about how to defeat the guards in their own personal way. There was time, time to get better at the things they didn’t seem to be as good at as they thought the first time around. For Lens, there was an ample number of things to approve upon. Lens needed to continue to build all of his skills as a wIzard, in fact.

Zyphries was ready to practice with him, and expressed that he felt it was very important for Lens to continue training his magic, so that he could be a valuable member of the group, and so that he could reach his potential as a wizard.

‘Lens,’ he said. ‘Many a great wizard began just as you. With powers, that seemed nothing more than a proclivity to strange mishaps, that went on to have powers equal in strength to that of the sun, or of even bigger stars in far off galaxies.’

‘So, here today, you could take leaps and bounds, to reach unimaginable ends… eventually. One day, I think you will be a wizard of great strength. Possibly, you will be one of the greats.’

‘I really just want to get better. But I’m glad you believe in me.’

‘Good. Alright, let’s go.’

They flew off to the practice field, with Lens being carried by Zyphries. When they reached it, they got right to work, Zyphries leading him to the battle square.

‘Now,’ he said. ‘This is the most important thing of all, is conjuring your power. Every spell will require this. And the more energy you can conjure, the more power you will be able to unleash. Make sense?’

‘Yes, for sure. That makes lots of sense, it really does.’

‘Well. When you’re ready. Hit me with the best beam you can, Lens, go on.’

‘Okay,’ Lens said. He powered a beam, and when he felt it was ready he unleashed it on Zyphries.

‘Not bad,’ Zyphries said. It was twice as large as the last one, or anyone, Lens had ever sent.

‘Lens, I believe you did that one with only pure force. You will have to use your mind, and your own energy, to unleash the true power of the beams. Focus on something enormous, Lens. Focus on the Universe. Try to make a beam that size. And more importantly, try as much as power as there is in all of the universe.’

Lens thought about it, and he knew what Zyphries was suggesting. He had to really imagine it more powerful. He had to forget about the frame of mind of making a beam, and start to think about pure energy. Lens prepared another beam, and as he readied to unleash it, he thought only of energy, he thought of all the energy in the universe, as if it were visible, zooming around the universe, zig zagging back and forth all around. And then he unleashed the beam, and it made him nearly fall over, the strength of this beam. It caught him off guard. Though he remained on his feet as the beam started moving towards Zyphries.

‘Excellent, my boy,’ Zyphries said. He watched as the beam zoomed towards him. More powerful than anything Lens had ever released, maybe as powerful as some of the other members of the group, such as Frederick, or Lola.’ 

As it finally reached him, snaking across the whole battlefield, he finally put up a block, and deflected it off into the distance. 

‘Well, that was it,’ he said. ‘That was the energy.’

After that, they moved on to something different. He was going to teach Lens spells for the first time. He was so excited, the emotion was entirely palpable. 

They were standing near the archery target, though not on the line from which you would aim at. They were five or six feet from there.

‘Now, Lens,’ Zyphries said. ‘The thing with spells, is you have to focus all of your energy on the conjuring of the spell now, and not the beam. The beam, for you, eventually, will become an unconscious action. You won’t have to think about it. But until then, it’s more of a conscious action, alright?’

‘Okay. So they’ll be easier the more I work at it?’

‘Exactly, the more you work at both spells, and at the beams themselves, the easier spells will be for you. So, what you have to do, is focus your energy instead into the spell. Once you’ve created the beam, you immediately have to start conjuring it into a spell.’

‘Okay, I understand, I think.’

‘Yes, good. So here’s a simple spell to try. The gator spell. Use this spell, and your opponent, or whoever, the neighbourhood bully perhaps, will turn into a gator. You can either say the spell out loud, or repeat it in your mind. While you are practicing, it is a good idea to start out by saying them out loud. You’ll notice that more experienced wizards, like everyone on our team, says them in their heads.’

‘I didn’t know they were thinking spells. I wanted to ask,’ Lens said. ‘I figured like they’d make an incantation or something. So both work as well?’

‘Yes, for a good wizard, both work equally well. Certainly, if you have the practice it can be much quicker to think them in your head, though both work equally the same.’

‘I see. So I’ll need to say them at first. Like when we fight the guards, and Orlo?’

‘Exactly. I’ll teach you a few very good ones, and you’ll be a very useful part of the team.’

‘Alright. So how do I say the first one.’

‘This is one is simple, you just say All alligatora.’

‘All alligatora?’

‘Yes. And when you say it, place your arms to the right of your body. Move them forward, and up, vaguely in the shape of the head of an alligator. As if he was looking up just a little. Just like this.’ He demonstrated.

‘Interesting. Well, okay.’ Lens tried it a few times.

‘Good, now that you have the form, try the spell as well.’

Lens tried the spell with the form. He sort of expected something to happen, though nothing did. It was a weird experience for him to have. 

‘That’s alright. I wouldn’t expect anything to happen the first few times. Now remember, the next step is to focus your energy into the spell. Now as you start the motion, try to do that.’

Lens tried again. When he tried it the first time this set of attempts, nothing happened as well. The next time, though he managed to focus his energy on the spell very well, and though he didn’t have a target, he had been focusing on some grass, and he could have sworn in turned vaguely into an alligator for a moment.

Zyphries saw this too. ‘Excellent, Lens. Now try again, and with as much force as you can. Turn it into an alligator. Focus on that stump. Turn it into an alligator.

Lens looked at the stump and readied himself to try to make it an alligator. He started the movement, and then he said the spell. When they were both finished, he gawked at the stump, wondering if ti would shift into an alligator.

It did shift into an alligator, and the shape held for almost ten seconds, then, the stump drifted back it’s normal shape and form.

‘Lens, that was quite the quick improvement. That was most certainly alligator. As you get the spell perfect, it will turn completely into a alligator. And it will remain an alligator’

‘It’s difficult. I’m not sure I can concentrate like that.’

‘You can, you can. You’ll get it soon enough. Soon enough.’

‘Sometimes it’s feels I won’t get it at all.’

‘Lens? You’re getting so close. And it’s been so short of time you’ve been practicing. Surely you know, it’s going to work out one hundred percent okay.’

‘You think so?’

‘Yes. I even think you’ll be very valuable when we go to face down those thugs, and defeat them, and Orlo.’

‘Awesome. That means a lot. That really does.’

‘Alright Lens, a few more times. Then let’s pack it in and get back to chat with the group.’