horse, landing softly thanks to her Levitation spell.
Next, Lucretia turned to the Treefolk. Ree activated her Mana Sink spell, which shot out with a fat twhorp sound. The Mana Sink took a motorcycle-size chunk out of the Incarnate, and all of a sudden, the Treefolk were forgotten, the Strega turning her attention directly to Ree.
Ree slid to the side, using another rock outcropping for cover as Lucretia retaliated. Ree pumped some mana into her Levitation spell to get limited flight, taking to the sky and firing the Mana Sink again. Lucretia tried to slide her Incarnate out of the way, but the Artillery form was the slowest.
The burst of counter-magic took another chunk out of the Incarnate, and Ree plunged back down to the battlefield. Ree fired one more Mana Sink, but this time Lucretia didn’t move, pressed from the other side by a team of Elephant riders, a rare unit span.
At last, some luck on my side.
The ground rushed up at her, as Ree dropped down on Lucretia’s Incarnate. She kicked on her Levitation spell to avoid going splat, and landed on the back of the Incarnate. Lucretia’s magical form clawed at its back, trying to tear Ree off its vulnerable neck.
“Take this!” Ree shouted, charging up a final Mana Sink spell, and unloading it into the back of the Incarnate’s head. The spirit exploded, sending Ree flying back and up onto the ledge.
She’d taken a beating, but beaten wasn’t dead. Ree pulled herself up with her staff and saw that Lucretia was gone.
1–1.
“Form up!” Ree shouted to her forces, which were making short work of the opposing units, no longer bolstered by the Incarnate.
The Mana Sink spells hadn’t filled her Incarnate pool at all, since it was magic used to cancel magic, so she waited for her pool to refill and then applied buffs to the Elephant riders.
The sky went redder than normal as the big volcano nearby erupted. Soot grew thicker in the air, and bursts of lava started raining from the sky.
“Cool!” Ree said, dodging the burning hail. The battlefield hadn’t done this in the beta.
Out of the volcano, riding a flow of lava, came Lucretia, already in her Incarnate again.
“How the hell?” Ree said as the crimson-and-molten-red spirit came crashing down at her, reversing her mass-driver maneuver.
“Move back!” she told her troops, pumping some mana into her Levitation to move back.
Lucretia’s Incarnate crashed into the ground in a three-point landing, then unleashed a gout of flame, burning Ree’s nearby troops, including one of the war elephants.
Ree raised a shield while her troops repositioned, tapping out her mana pool once more and finally filling her Incarnate pool.
But just as she was about to begin the ritual that would summon her Incarnate, Lucretia melted the ground beneath Ree, sending her dropping into an end-of-the-world crevasse.
“Shit!” she said, activating her levitation spell. But with no mana left, and no ground to stand on to cast the spell, she was stuck floating toward cover.
Lucretia’s Incarnate stomped to the crevasse and filled it with flame.
“Two–one, girl!” the Strega yelled, haughty.
Ree blanked out after another moment of burning pain.
“Shit,” Ree said as she reappeared at her side’s base camp. NPCs sat and stood, wounded—these were filler characters; they’d never actually been combatants, just added to make the battle seem more epic, more real. What she wouldn’t give to be able to stuff spears in these soldiers’ hands and send them out to battle.
She shook the burning pain off for a moment, the fictional strain of the battle seeming uncomfortably real. Much more of this and she’d need to sleep the fight off for a weekend. And if she lost, then Lucretia would walk free for everything she’d done.
And that would just not fucking do.
Ree’s Incarnate spell was ready. She had her own personal War God coming.
The Guardian wasn’t the toughest spirit, or the most damaging. But it was
Next, Lucretia turned to the Treefolk. Ree activated her Mana Sink spell, which shot out with a fat twhorp sound. The Mana Sink took a motorcycle-size chunk out of the Incarnate, and all of a sudden, the Treefolk were forgotten, the Strega turning her attention directly to Ree.
Ree slid to the side, using another rock outcropping for cover as Lucretia retaliated. Ree pumped some mana into her Levitation spell to get limited flight, taking to the sky and firing the Mana Sink again. Lucretia tried to slide her Incarnate out of the way, but the Artillery form was the slowest.
The burst of counter-magic took another chunk out of the Incarnate, and Ree plunged back down to the battlefield. Ree fired one more Mana Sink, but this time Lucretia didn’t move, pressed from the other side by a team of Elephant riders, a rare unit span.
At last, some luck on my side.
The ground rushed up at her, as Ree dropped down on Lucretia’s Incarnate. She kicked on her Levitation spell to avoid going splat, and landed on the back of the Incarnate. Lucretia’s magical form clawed at its back, trying to tear Ree off its vulnerable neck.
“Take this!” Ree shouted, charging up a final Mana Sink spell, and unloading it into the back of the Incarnate’s head. The spirit exploded, sending Ree flying back and up onto the ledge.
She’d taken a beating, but beaten wasn’t dead. Ree pulled herself up with her staff and saw that Lucretia was gone.
1–1.
“Form up!” Ree shouted to her forces, which were making short work of the opposing units, no longer bolstered by the Incarnate.
The Mana Sink spells hadn’t filled her Incarnate pool at all, since it was magic used to cancel magic, so she waited for her pool to refill and then applied buffs to the Elephant riders.
The sky went redder than normal as the big volcano nearby erupted. Soot grew thicker in the air, and bursts of lava started raining from the sky.
“Cool!” Ree said, dodging the burning hail. The battlefield hadn’t done this in the beta.
Out of the volcano, riding a flow of lava, came Lucretia, already in her Incarnate again.
“How the hell?” Ree said as the crimson-and-molten-red spirit came crashing down at her, reversing her mass-driver maneuver.
“Move back!” she told her troops, pumping some mana into her Levitation to move back.
Lucretia’s Incarnate crashed into the ground in a three-point landing, then unleashed a gout of flame, burning Ree’s nearby troops, including one of the war elephants.
Ree raised a shield while her troops repositioned, tapping out her mana pool once more and finally filling her Incarnate pool.
But just as she was about to begin the ritual that would summon her Incarnate, Lucretia melted the ground beneath Ree, sending her dropping into an end-of-the-world crevasse.
“Shit!” she said, activating her levitation spell. But with no mana left, and no ground to stand on to cast the spell, she was stuck floating toward cover.
Lucretia’s Incarnate stomped to the crevasse and filled it with flame.
“Two–one, girl!” the Strega yelled, haughty.
Ree blanked out after another moment of burning pain.
“Shit,” Ree said as she reappeared at her side’s base camp. NPCs sat and stood, wounded—these were filler characters; they’d never actually been combatants, just added to make the battle seem more epic, more real. What she wouldn’t give to be able to stuff spears in these soldiers’ hands and send them out to battle.
She shook the burning pain off for a moment, the fictional strain of the battle seeming uncomfortably real. Much more of this and she’d need to sleep the fight off for a weekend. And if she lost, then Lucretia would walk free for everything she’d done.
And that would just not fucking do.
Ree’s Incarnate spell was ready. She had her own personal War God coming.
The Guardian wasn’t the toughest spirit, or the most damaging. But it was
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