Ariadne's Test - Part II

[Muryllis]

Floating thirty feet above the practicing grounds was a metal room suspended with magic. Hanging from the side, where there was a door allowing passage inside, was a long rope ladder; Muryllis was lazy, as usual, and decided not to waste his limitless energy pulling his student up to the room himself. Inside the room, which was massive - at least a hundred feet by a hundred feet - there was a battle field set up, high roof and canvas mat included. Other than that, the room was absolutely bare - except for a large sack sitting in a dark corner, almost inviting someone to come over and open it. It didn't move.

When Ariadne came up, she would see her instructor, Muryllis, the Master Spellweaver of the Aesir court. So far, he had taken her through a few couple of challenges - more annoying than worthy of being called 'tests'. Folding a crane? Pathetic.. but folding a hundred, with her instructor sitting next to her, folding three hundred or so with fluid ease? There was no doubt in his mind that she was ready for the worst, for the most annoying things he could possible come up with for this second test. Then she had defended sandwiches from man-eating ants... he laughed at the thought, an aspiring elementalist digging a trench and filling it with water - but she had proven herself, she had gotten this far, and now he would push her to the limits and beyond before finally declaring her capable of carrying the burden of a learning elementalist. 'WATER!' she had shouted with glee, and he could sense the desire burning her, her need to pass this test and go on to bigger and better things.

"Naa, you're not getting out this easily, he muttered, waiting for the girl to come through the open door and be given the final trial. "Lets see you dance... "

[Ariadne]

Ariadne was on her way onto the practicing grounds once again. Waiting for her second part of her test. She hoped that it would be far more interesting than the other two. The tasks her instructor had given her had no comparison at all so she couldnt put two and two together. As Ariadne opened the door she heard him speak." Lets see you dance." Ariadne laughed as she heard this. Her laughter declaring her entrance.

"I dont think so Instuctor Muryllus. I didnt come here to dance I came here to pass my test." She replyed to him with a smile.

[Muryllis]

"Haha, pass? We'll see about that!" The door slammed shut behind her, and the sound of magical locks clicking furiously inside it were audible throughout the massive chamber. "You may stand where you are; that'll be best for your safety." The dull thud of his boots echoed ominously around them as he stood up and strode to the worn, darkened sack. Opening it up, he let the contents fall to the ground: four hundred folded paper cranes, a quarter of them not of the best quality he could have hoped for. They suddenly snapped into perfect formation: columns ten deep, four groups total; they were arranged as if for battle. He grinned, this time with true mania.

Holding a hand out, palm down, he began to speak quietly, his voice amplified by the structure of the chamber; an eerie blue glow eminated from his palm, seeping down into each individual crane. "Your final task consists of a single, two-part goal. Your objective is to fight me in a duel of magical skill; however, to be able to even approach me, you must first defeat my well-trained guard. The word was so distinguished, it rang like a sinister bell throughout the massive room; one could even hear the walls rumble.

"The room measures one hundred feet square, and the ceiling is another two hundred feet high; perfect for dive-bombing, wouldn't you say?" Magic kept pouring from his hand into the cranes; some of them had begun to move around, but they all stood in perfect formation. Little red flickers had appeared beneath their wings, and bigger purple ones beneath their feet. "Your first task is to defeat - if you can - four squadrons of fine Royal combat cranes. Most of them are made for bombing and launching stinging bolts of magical energy. Some of them, however," a few of the cranes, numbering only between twenty and thirty, lost their red and purple lights, now taking on a yellow glow of their entire bodies, "tend to... explode, if you will."

"If you manage to finish with them, I shall become a valid target; you shall then duel me in the ultimate test of skill. Ready? I thought you were," he concluded, once more denying her the chance to protest. The ambient light in the room dimmed, and all that could be seen was the neat order of the hundreds of paper cranes; their attacks were meant to simply zap the girl (with various 'shocking' degrees, ranging from a light zap from the red beams, to a more potent sap from the purple bombs, to a flaming ball of paper from the yellow suicide bombers. "I assure you this shall be both fun and exceptionally challenging. You may begin."

At a snap of his fingers - invisible in the fluidlike darkness - the rows of colorful lights began to move around, and one could hear the rather frightening sound of hundreds of paper cranes flapping around as they made their way up to the ceiling. Once they were there, the four squadrons grouped up - five or so suicidal pieces of paper to each squadron - and began fluttering crazily, some going in for the kill, others cycling between high and low before trading spots for the attackers. "Good luck to you; I trust you'll truly need it," the old man's voice cackled, ringing in Ariadne's ears and reverberating throughout the structure.

[Ariadne]

Ariadne stood in the middle of the room. Her eyes gazing upon everything. She looked at her Instructor as if he was crazy."How can a level three mage. Defeat her OWN instructor?" Ariadne thought to herself. As her eyes looked upon the paper cranes as they flew around the ceiling. "Making the cranes and protecting the sandwiches was easy...but this..No way." Ariadne mumbled to herself as she wondered how to defeat the cranes first and then her instructor.

[Muryllis]

((o rly? Kk then, reply to x₁ with x₂))

"Stop whining and start acting," the instructor called across the hall; several of the bomber cranes were beginning to form up for a dive, and a couple of the suicidal ones were approaching the girl from behind. "Flapping your lips won't get you anywhere near a victory, Miss Ariadne."