Page 70 of The Divine Shallows
After a few fleeting seconds, the blood-eyed eel recovered and began slithering through the choppy waves toward Lillia’s shield. While its massive body rotated, menacing tail poised to attack, Lillia registered what the blood-eyed eel intended to do. Lillia braced her arm just moments before the eel swung its monstrous tail with a brutal strike. The tail careened with explosive force, striking the three candidates with brutal precision. A deafening crack reverberated through the air as their raft was sent hurtling backward, crashing into the arena wall with a thunderous blow that caused the structure to shudder and send rubble tumbling down.
The air reverberated with the impact, and Elyria instinctively shielded her eyes from the flying debris. As the dust settled, she discerned a massive fissure in the fractured arena wall.
Upon witnessing the destruction, Elyria shook her head in disbelief. Surely, they could not have survived such aviolent collision.
Yet, to her astonishment, Elyria observed their raft bobbing forcefully on the water’s surface, Lillia’s protective ward still intact, and the three candidates unharmed. The resilience of the Mirthwood sorceress’s barrier was remarkable; most would have shattered under the sheer force of the impact, bringing certain doom. With a furrowed brow, Elyria pondered the possible explanations. It could either be that Lillia had reinforced her ward right before impact, or that she had revoked the amount of physical damage inflicted by the blood-eyed eel. Given abjurists’s capability to nullify or dampen both magical and physical abilities, it was plausible that Lillia had employed both techniques.
Meanwhile, the blood-eyed eel, frustrated by its failed attack, regrouped, and launched another assault on the three warded candidates. Unleashing a torrent of coppery acid, the creature flung it at the protective barrier, causing Lillia to strain as she channeled more power into bolster the ward’s integrity—now sizzling from the searing assault.
Elyria was so engrossed in observing the unfolding scene that she scarcely noticed Galen, the claret-haired Darkmaw candidate, nearing the blood-eyed eel on his raft. However, the raft was no longer the crude structure it once was; it had transformed into a sleek catamaran, effortlessly gliding through the waves. In Galen’s hand, he wielded a vast coil of rope, collected in a remarkably short span of time—an impressive feat given its length, likely spanning hundreds of yards.
As Galen neared the engaged blood-eyed eel, he hunched over his catamaran and heaved a contraption forward. Elyria sucked in a breath as she saw him stabilize a spear catapult on the forward cockpit of his catamaran.How had he managed to construct such a device amidst the chaos?Loading an iron spear into the sling, he aimed it expertly at the creature’s spine. The iron spear gleamed with a flawless polish, starkly contrasting Kerrick’s rough sand-forged weapon. It seemed as though Galen had sourced it from an expert blacksmith. With a calculated haul backward, the Darkmaw warlock released his grip on the catapult, letting hisiron spear fly.
As the heavy iron javelin soared through the night sky, it struck the blood-eyed eel with a sickening thud. The creature let out a pained wail before crashing beneath the dark waves. Galen leaped up with a triumphant whoop, met by thunderous applause from the spectators. His celebration was short-lived as he began gathering the rope at his feet, coiling it around his shoulder and forearm quickly.
Observing this, Elyria could only wonder how he acquired all his arsenal. Then it dawned on her... Galen was an artificer—a warlock crafter, a magicsmith. The realization struck her as the pieces fell into place.
With the threat of the beast no longer on them, Iva directed Lillia to stabilize Kerrick’s torso. Iva was still hunched over Kerrick; her membranous alabaster wings were spread open protectively. Her delicate hands hovered over Kerrick’s marred and mangled upper body. The Skyborn candidate’s eyes were closed as concentration contorted her face. Tendrils of moonlight began creeping down her arms and slithered to her delicate hands. The wisps of moonlight then drifted towards Kerrick’s destroyed shoulder and seeped into the wound. Kerrick recoiled and cried in pain as the moonlight saturated the surface of his tattered flesh. Slowly, the ravaged flesh began to regenerate as Iva siphoned more of her magic into Kerrick’s wound.
The charred flesh gradually began to reconstruct itself, with cords of muscle intertwining back into their former state. Kerrick’s cauterized arteries, charred bones, and blistered ligaments were reborn, returning to their original form. Such a level of restoration magic was truly remarkable. Typically, this kind of magic was only performed by the most powerful fey in the Healer’s Keep in Prymont.
Iva continued to channel her magic into Kerrick until his bones were fully mended, his skin unscathed and unbroken. It was only when Kerrick’s complexion regained its color, and his fading aura was restored that Iva slouched with relief.
Witnessing Iva’s extraordinary powers, Elyriacould not help but recognize her potential as a sought-after divine sorceress. Having a healer of this caliber in one’s arsenal would be considered a great asset by all seven realms. She knew that restoration magic was indisputably one of the most coveted classes of magic, with the ability to heal physical and magical ailments, recover what was once lost or destroyed, and regenerate nearly anything—the only limitation beyond a restorator’s magic was death.
Through extensive training, Skyborn warlocks and sorceresses could even concoct potions that pushed the boundaries of what was naturally possible, bordering on the metaphysical. While they may have lacked physical strength, they more than compensated with their intellect and magical prowess. In terms of fey biology, the scholars of House Skyborn were unparalleled, able to even exploit their opponents’ bodies in combat. A restorator’s magic had the potential to stifle another’s airway, stagger the body’s ability to clot off a wound, weaken bones until they snapped, or exhaust muscles to the point where they could no longer contract. Elyria understood that only a fool would underestimate Iva’s strength because of her slender frame. However, it seemed that Iva had chosen not to showcase this aspect of restoration magic to the spectators thus far.
Despite her disdain for Kerrick, Elyria could not help but envy how quickly his ally came to his aid. But envy had no station here as the wounded blood-eyed eel erupted from the depths, bellowing belligerently.
Elyria whipped her attention towards the ominous beast and saw that Galen had already positioned himself nearby. The monstrous eel’s beady crimson eyes locked onto the claret-haired Darkmaw candidate and his catapult, recognizing him as the one who launched the spear—all its fury now directed towards Galen. Galen was prepared for this, maneuvering his catamaran behind the beast with the spool of rope in tow.
With the rope primed in his grip, Galen flung the cordslike a lasso around the eel’s head with deadly precision. His aim was true as the rope snared the blood-eyed eel’s neck, and Galen quickly pulled it taut, securing and fastening the lasso while the beast thrashed violently. In a matter of seconds, Galen had subdued the eel, though it continued to rage and thrash, its fury aimed towards Galen and his unprotected figure atop the catamaran.
The blood-eyed eel unleashed a vicious shower of acid towards the Darkmaw candidate. Elyria’s spine tensed as she witnessed the copper sludge hurtling straight towards Galen. The volume of acid was considerably larger than what Kerrick had faced. If Galen suffered a more severe injury, would Iva still have the reserves to heal him? Could she mend that extent of damage?
The coppery substance coated Galen in a sickening layer, but to Elyria’s surprise, he remained unharmed and unfazed.How? Was he immune to the acid? Through the rain, Elyria squinted and noticed a faint glow emanating from the rope slung around the blood-eyed eel’s neck.So that’s how.Galen had enchanted the rope. One of the ropes must have been imbued with magic to neutralize the eel’s acid.
A smirk blossomed on the Darkmaw candidate’s lips, but his hubris was short-lived as the blood-eyed eel screeched and whipped around, aiming its monstrous tail straight at Galen’s catamaran. Panic flashed across Galen’s face as the beast’s tail poised to strike directly in his path. Making a split-second decision, Galen released his enchanted rope and hurled himself into the dark waves to avoid the impact. He narrowly evaded the eel’s tail, which came crashing down seconds later, shattering his catamaran into pieces.
Immediately, Elyria noticed that the faint glow enveloping the rope around the blood-eyed eel’s neck had disappeared. It seemed that the Darkmaw warlock’s enchanted rope only functioned while he was channeling magic into it; now it was just an ordinary rope.
Galen’s claret-red head popped through the water’s surface as he clambered for a piece of the catamaran that drifted near him and seized it.
The blood-eyed eel spotted Galen and lunged. Elyria watched Sylas’ face pale.
Galen lifted the fragment of the catamaran above his head and his magic coated the surface. It transformed into a thick wooden shield just in time as another thrash of the eel’s tail slammed down. Galen’s makeshift shield shattered at the blow and the impact sent him flying in another direction. He landed with a crash into the depths again as the beast lunged towards him once more.
This time, the blood-eyed eel maneuvered so quickly Elyria barely registered it. The creature closed in on Galen, shooting forward and capturing him within its jaws. The eel clamped down Galen’s torso and he let out a hysteric scream as the fangs of the eel pierced his flesh. The Darkmaw warlock was bleeding from his abdomen profusely, and his blood began dripping down the throat of the blood-eyed eel. Pain rippled across Galen’s face as he yelled again while the sea creature tossed him in the air and caught him by the leg.
Dangling from the eel’s jaw, Galen struggled as the creature clamped down on his lower limb—a sickening splintering sounded in the air and Galen’s leg shattered from the jaws of the blood-eyed eel. The claret-haired warlock cried out in agony, desperately attempting to free himself from the beast’s grasp.
In the next instant, Sylas released his grip on Elyria, leaving her to steady herself on the turbulent waves. His face contorted in panic as he thrust his arms forward, unleashing a torrent of magic so potent that Elyria dropped to her knees from the sheer force. Her body plummeted downward, and she barely managed to catch herself with her arms. Fighting through the fog in her mind caused by the proximity to Sylas’ magic, Elyria shook her head to clear it and lifted her gaze upward. Confusion etched across her features as she beheld the scene before her.
Beside her, Sylas still stood with his hands thrusted forward, butsweat dripped from his entire body as he trembled. She followed his line of sight, mystified.
Galen remained unscathed on his catamaran, preparing to launch himself into the air and seek refuge beneath the waves. The blood-eyed eel’s tail hovered ominously above, mere moments from striking his vessel. But how?
Wait.Elyria blinked.This already happened.
