[h1][center][color=silver]Ferrin Astra[/color][/center][/h1]

Okay, I tried not to laugh.

Really, I did.

Okay, maybe not that hard.

The man had already turned his back on me and started walking away, when I started laughing. It was a loud laugh, but free of any mockery or scorn. A laugh that only madmen and those who have endured bittersweet memories know. It rose and fell out out of me, loud and unchained. I had nothing more to say to the man, although I got the feeling that he had understood why I laughed. Actually, I'm not sure why I laughed. There was nothing particularly funny about what he said. I didn't say anything more to Nero, there was nothing more to say.

     Yeah, I caught his name. Lets go back slightly. He was trying to bait me with some crummy insults, and by turning his back. As he did, I could easily feel the spell he had ready, like a cold snake slithering down my arms--er, sorry arm, considering I can only feel one. (...yohoho?) But, I digress. The moment he took his eyes off me, I prepared and cast a pair of simple spells. The first, put an illusion of me, right on top of the real me. A bit odd, but the next spell, also of illusion, this time rendered the real me invisible. Both spells had a hint of aether, making them stronger and hearder to pierce, and with the case of the illusion-me, more life-like. With that, I slipped around him, with a good view of my doppelgänger, but out of the path of the spell he oh-so-cleverly was preparing. As I did so, I reached out with my telepathy lightly, seeking any hint of his next and accidentally managed to glean his name from him. With this simple set-up, I would be able to see, identify, and avoid his magic, then counterattack. 

But alas, he had some measure of decenty and left without casting it.

   My laughter came in here, and if he had looked back, he would have seen two of me, then one fade and disappear. It took a bit, but the laughter settled down into a dull ache for missing friends, but one I dealt with every waking moment (and even some non-waking moments.) so, I put it aside and resumed my study of the magics on display.

[@Lugubrious]
[hr]

     The man was still on my mind as I watched the impresive display of lightning verses fire. His magic had a odd feeling, and one I didn't know, which puzzled me. Not tooting my own horn here, but I have been exposed to many magics, and know many by feel, and those I don't, I can figure out with a bit of thought, after all, almost all magic can be broken down into it's base elements, and with the knowlage of each of those, I can decide what a magical makup of a particular spell is. Useful knowlage, when one is potentially going up against opponents who can cause spontaneous combustion, tear apart mountains, crush you under thousands of tons of rock, or cause you to start spouting bad poetry. (No, seriously, I ment a wizard who's magic could do that, and it lasted for [i]days[/i]. I thought I could never speak to another person again, for fear of embarrassment.) 

    But I couldn't identify even a part of it, which intrigued me, and left me the question: What was it? I had a growing suspicion that it was not magic at all, but something different entirely. [color=silver]"So, mister Nero."[/color] I muttered, all cool like, with a spiffy accent. [color]"There seems to be more to you than meets the eye."[/color] But after a moments pause, I added, [color=silver]"Then again, there is always more to anyone than you first experience, take me for example."[/color] I pulled my Gauntlet our of my pocket, and gave it a through inspection. I flexed my fingers and made a shiny fist. I put my hand back in my pocket and tried to go back to watching the match.

     It didn't last long, though. That Nero's words had struck a slightly numb, but still feeling, nerve. I wasn't going to blow up, or anything, but I felt restless, and a little uneasy. On top of that, the amount of magical energy in the air was making my headache intensify. With a slight flurish, I turned away, and wove through the crowd out of the colosseum, and into town.

     Not a few steps out of the entryway, I walked a across that same, silvery cold magic. Hesitating, I glanced at the ground, but saw nothing unusual. I then, walked along it, noticing that it seemed to escribe a massive circle. I filed away the information, just in case it might be relevant. Wandering in no particular direction, I headed away from the arena. Suddenly, I felt a nauseating magic, like a wiff of rancid perfume, pass by me. It was horrible, and had me gag slightly out of reflex.

What the hell was that? It had to be awfully strong for me to feel it over the general buzz of magic in the city, and from, I would guess, a long way away. With a shrug, I followed it, like a hound on a scent. Maybe this would lead me to my mystery man (or woman).

[hr]

    It took me awhile, I got lost and had to backtrack more than once, but eventually, I found the source of the magic. I heard it, long before I saw it. A deadful screach that was more roar, along with the sounds of explosions, and what sounded like a building being demolished. I lept up to the top of a building to survey the chaos. There were several mages locked in combat with what appeared to be a monster made of shadow. Definatly the work of a strong shadow wizard. It apeared to be hell-bent on destruction, so negotiations seemed to be out. Some wizards were keeping it busy, and doing an admirable job of keeping the civilans safe. Off to my left, I could make out the tramp of Rune Knights on the move. Quickly, I weighed the best course of action.

    Those wizards were doing well, and with the Rune Knights backing them, they would be able to subdue the thing, but that would cost time, and it might have a trick or two up its (metaphorical) sleeve that could alow it to escape, and continue it's rampage. Or, I could lend a hand, and in the process, have to deal with the Rune Knights, who undoubtedly still wanted me for questioning over the Iron Enigma incedent. (Which wasn't my fault, really.) 

Eh... No brainer.

I decided to hit it with all the power I could in a massive sucker-punch, and hopefully finish it off in one blow. Of couse, I had to be careful not to immolate the others around it.

I held my Gauntlet out infront of me, took a deep breath, and gathered my magic. I reached for the destructive might of fire, and the purifying power of light, and gathered them together. I took time to refine the magic, forcing my will on it, and envisioning what I wanted it to do. A ball of red-yellow formed in my palm, like a miniture sun, its heat could easily be felt.

Heres some magic 101 for you: magic comes from emotions. Fear and hate count, but so does love and kindness. The stronger the emotion, the stonger the magic, but its not limited to the kind a wizard calls. There is more magic in a baby's first laugh then any firestorm conjured by a wizard. I have been noted to be a passionate person, maybe thats why destructive magic comes easily to me.

    Focusing my will, I poured my emotions into the spell. Anger? yeah, lots of that. Frustration? Ugh... Don't even... Stubbornness? More than you. Pride in my power, too. By now, the spell had grown in power, and the little ball of nuclear sunshine in my palm was so bright it was hard to look at. It danced and glowed with yellow and red. Then I added the final touch. I gathered pure Aether, and infused it with the matix of the spell. Immediately, the ball shrank, to the size of a pin head and gave off a silvery-white, ethereal glow. 

My preperations complete, I looked down, to see a dome of some kinda of material-- was that [i]bone?[/i] start to rise in a dome. [i]Great, I thought, that will complicate things slightly.[/i] I thought. I held the magic on a tight leash as I did one other thing. I infused my telepathy with Aether, and let out a mental shout to all below me. [color=silver]"GET AWAY FROM IT, OR RISK DEATH!"[/color] To those on the receiving end, the effect was like some one suddenly shouting in your ear out of dead silence. I gave them a slow count to ten, before I moved in.

The dome was rising quickly, and with a snarl, I took a running leap toward it, my Gauntlet trailing an odd silvery Mist, and in it, a small silver sun. 

[i]I have to make this perfect...[/i]

My voice rang out, (enhanced by aether, a slight side-effect) louder than it should be that everyone could hear it. 

[h3][color=silver]"Aether Enhanced, Fire and Light magic:"[/color][/h3]

[h2][color=silver]"Hel[/color][color=fff200]ios[/color] [color=ed1c24]Vapor[/color][color=silver]izer!"[/color][/h2]

I shouted, as I cast my magic, my Gauntlet pointed toward the beast, through a rapidly shrinking hole in the top of the bone dome.

There was a moment of silence...then an explosion of light, sound, and force ripped through the silence. 

The explosion was enormous, it completely engulfed the beast, and burned so hot, the tempature of the entire block rose by several degrees. It didn't vanish, like a normal explosion, I kept it burning for several seconds, by suppling it with magic, while also making sure most of the heat and flame traveled upwards in a column, even though it cost me a great deal more energy to do so. It burned with a silver, blue and white light. There was also a rush of air from the force of the explosion that could knock a full grown man off his feet. After it dissipated, the ground was scorched black in a huge ring, with a slight crater, and ash fell slowly.

All in all, it was big, it was flashy, and more than a little bit of overkill.

Perfect.

I fell through the resaulting hole in the top of the now-destroyed dome and landed easily, then casualy asked, [color=silver]"Oops, I might have overdid it. Did I immolate anyone important?"[/color]

[hr]

[@Natsume Honnaji] [@Expolar] [@Raijinslayer] [@lunarlors34] [@Silvan Haven] [@Prince of Seraphs] 
(That everyone?)