"Lumos!"

A flick of the wrist and her meek cry brought forth a blinding array of light particles that coursed up the length of a thin wand before coalescing into a strong, but gentle luminous globe at its tip. Her heart was pounding, head turning and eyes swiveling about in their sockets to try and see something, ANYTHING at all. Her foot shakily moved forward, the sound of her shoe against the granite stonework echoing off the walls all around. She felt a bead of sweat fall onto her shoulder, but moved forward with wand aloft and the light of lumos shimmering ahead. A tall structure jutted out from the floor in front of her, barely lit by her spell. A pillar she surmised, but a quick glance up saw that it was not adhered to the ceiling, nor connected to any archways. Intriguing spirals were wrought across the masonry, drawing Evalyn closer through sheer curiosity. Tiny reliefs, symbols and even astrological signs ran across this pillar, but most eye-catching was a tiny glowing spot above alchemical symbol for iron.

Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth, she knew the tell-tale signs of ancient magic by now and knew full well she was to touch the pillar. Her wand twist along her palm to be held in a reverse grip as she took in a deep breath and ran her finger against the emblem. Sensation like crawling ice crept through her body, causing her to gasp and step back away from the pillar, but soon that chill was forgotten in the wake of heavy rumbling that began to rock the room. "Be still." Evalyn whispered to herself, tensing up as she looked up and ahead to the still-shaking room's center and saw a lone figure beginning to rise from the floor. Light began to filter into the room from seemingly nowhere, a cool, blue glow not all that different from that which oft accompanied uses of ancient magic, only much brighter and much more stable.

When all was still and the room was lit, there stood an iron colossus in the shape of a medieval knight. It stood silently at attention, a sword twice again Evalyn's size gripped tightly in its hands with the tip embedded onto the floor. She cast her stare upwards into the being's visor, seeing only blackness that only served to heighten the dread she felt. As if reacting to her gaze the figure stirred, sending a low rumble through the room again as it lift its sword from the ground and held it aloft.

"Come then." The witch calmly said in challenge, sliding easily into a combative posture and steeling herself for the upcoming fight. "I mustn't fail..."
Without further delay the fighters burst into action, their respective weapons brimming with potent magics. Evalyn moved with surpassing rapidity; evading wide sweeps to and fro before following up with a twist from her wrist and a shout that loosed a potent burst of energy unto her opponent's metallic frame. "Bombarda!" she cried again, but her spell was cut short by the opponent's blade descending upon the girl. The colossus had swung with the deadly grace of a trained swordsman, but even still his blade only struck granite when its quarry danced away from the impact. Evalyn doubled under her foe and, lunging suddenly, cast a shimmering 'Confringo' into the warrior's knee. At the spell's crash, which sounded akin to a firecracker, the knight was forced to bend, falling upon that afflicted knee as Evalyn darted away.

"Duo Diffindo!" She cried, spinning her wand like a baton to loose a pair of whistling blades. Their flight was unerring, each blade drilling into the wounded joint to add further pressure upon it. The knight loosed a furious howl, accompanied by a spiralling torrent of wind that blew the young witch away. Fiery pain shot through her small body as it crashed helplessly against the rough pillar behind her; she grit her teeth and spat a mixture of blood and dust onto the ground beside her as she wearily lifted her head to see that the knight was now on its feet.
And charging.

There wasn't enough time to evade, her mangled wand-arm lay limp and motionless, unable to conjure a life-saving barrier. With her options limited Evalyn put her hand to her lips and conjured a potion of similar color to the granite she lay on; and drank. In an instant Evalyn's skin took on a rocky texture, just in time to resist the gargantuan broadsword that crashed onto her back. Evalyn groaned, the crash sent shocking agony all over, she felt squeezed and as though her eyeballs were popping out of their sockets. But she was still alive, and whole. "So long..." squeaked the girl, feeling the cracked and shattered ground beneath her as she forced herself to a stand. "As I'm breathing..." Another bottle touched her fair lips, this time a vivid green color that fell down into her throat. Wiggenweld potions were not terribly appetizing, especially not when its flavor was mixed with blood; Evalyn was far from complaining about that.

"I have a chance!"

The wand dangling at Evalyn's side emit a calm azure glow. Her arm began to twist, shoulder resetting itself through the effects of the potion and her breathing becoming more balanced. She pointed her weapon at her soulless foe, gaze flared up into her enemy's eyeless stare and uttered a quiet demand. "Fall." Magic erupted from Evalyn's body, surrounding her in a pale light so brilliant that even the stone colossus was given pause. A tear opened up in the space above the iron giant and magic screamed out from the opening therein. Light flashed and the creature was struck by lightning so intense that it shook the chamber and several pillars apart from the force alone. The colossus buckled, staggering backwards and dropping its gigantic weapon onto the floor, along with much of the armor that covered its ethereal body. "Bombarda." Evalyn chanted, spinning her wand like a pinwheel to launch a ripple of power that slammed into the staggering giant and cascaded explosive power upon it. That was the end, the being fell to its knees and began to disintegrate, falling to ashes and blowing away despite the lack of current in the room. She had done it; the first trial was complete.

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Pub: 14 Jun 2023 07:46 UTC
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