squarely on the illusion.
‘Are you ready?’ Anthem asked.
‘Oh, yes, yes,’ replied the illusion, and instantaneously a blast of power exploded from Anthem’s sphere, not towards the illusion as everyone expected, but directly behind, slamming the true magician to the floor.
The crowd all cried out in awe once more as the true old Grand Master was suddenly revealed, with scraps of spell and shadow falling to the floor around him. He coughed and waved his hands in front of his face as his concealment spells literally began going up in smoke.
Anthem clucked his tongue and shook his head. ‘Surely, you can do better than that? That’s the same old trick as last year!’
‘Ah,’ the other Grand Master croaked. ‘I was sure I would have you this time, you canny swine!’ And with that he climbed to his feet with the help of his walking stick and hobbled from the scene.
‘So much for Grand Master Tudor,’ Goodfellow whispered.
Anthem made a great show of yawning and the crowd laughed and cheered as the fourth of the Seven Lions stood and entered the area. He was much younger than the others, with just wisps of grey in his hair, and he appeared muscular and strong. Samuel knew him as Grand Master Gallivan.
Anthem began replenishing his magical sphere and this made Samuel think that Grand Master Gallivan must be quite powerful. Gallivan formed a very strange, twisted stance, with both his hands having their thumbs and forefingers out, as if trying to crush two large walnuts. Brilliant arcs of magic flashed into being between these fingers and the man was surrounded in a halo of white-hot light. Samuel subdued his sense of sight and watched on in awe.
‘Very nice!’ Anthem stated. ‘Such power is truly wondrous to feel. I
With that, a flurry of minor spells struck at Gallivan, disintegrating harmlessly.
‘Oh, come on!’ Gallivan retorted calmly. ‘I’m not going to fall for
Samuel realised these first spells had been to test Grand Master Gallivan’s mettle-like clapping your hands in someone’s face to see if they blink.
Anthem then sent much more powerful magic surging at Gallivan: a series of intense spells in quick succession that flashed towards him. Gallivan, however, easily matched each one, somehow sensing their intent and matching them with counter spells, allowing him to save his spell-shields for later in the competition. The air popped as each spell vanished from existence. When all was done and the spells had vanished, Samuel could feel that some strange magic still remained. He barely noticed at first as his sense of
‘How intriguing,’ Samuel muttered to himself, for the spell began sucking away at Gallivan’s strength, leeching at his magic like a parasite and sending it back into Anthem’s own magical sphere.
‘My turn,’ Gallivan said, and an enormous spell birthed before him. It almost felt as if it bore a great physical weight and Samuel’s eyes opened wide. He felt giddy for a moment and had to hold firm to his seat for fear he would fall forwards out of it.
Samuel just had time to see Anthem raise his hands to protect himself before the air transformed into a maelstrom of fire, roaring and blistering the air. All in the crowd also gasped and many stood ready to flee or else covered their faces, but the flames struck the magic barrier before them and no one could be harmed. For long moments, the scene was a hellish storm of incredible roaring fire that raced around the chamber. When the flames had slowly subsided, everyone cocked their heads or stood from their seats to try survey the scene. As the smoke slowly dissipated, Gallivan could be seen first. He had changed stances and now had his arms thrust out towards Anthem, but he was breathing quickly and his face was coated with a film of sweat. His magic was severely diminished and he looked greatly weakened.
Anthem then slowly became visible as the chamber cleared. He was shrouded by a twisting curtain of smoke. Then, by magic, the smoke fell away as if turned to dust and the old Grand Master began laughing heartily. He surprised everyone when he actually began clapping his hands.
‘Well done, Grand Master Gallivan!’ he spoke. ‘Such a great spell! I was hardly prepared. Where did you come up with that?’
Anthem’s power sphere was now larger than ever, pulsing and seething with raw magic-a good percentage of which was no doubt gained from Gallivan. It now hung above the Grand Master’s head like a huge, devilish halo and was pulsing as if with its own life.
‘I made that one especially for you,’ Gallivan responded, panting and obviously exhausted. ‘I’m just sorry it wasn’t quite what you were looking for.’
‘That was quite an impressive effort, well worthy of something in return,’ Anthem announced and he paused only momentarily to form a spell. There was a hint of sweat beading on the old man’s forehead and Samuel was relieved to see that Anthem was not totally invincible. It seemed he was finally starting to tire.
There was a strange snap in the air, as if some enormous length of wood had been cracked crisply in two, but no one else apart from Samuel seemed to have noticed it. Then, a great gasp came from the crowd as a fiery form began to appear on the floor. Its substance seemed to be gathered from the air around it; blazing flames burst from the air and gathered together more and more until a shape became apparent. It was a hound of sorts, yet somehow formed of fire itself. It had hellish red eyes and, when it snarled, fiery saliva dripped from its maw to hiss on the floor. It surveyed the scene around it slowly and deliberately. Everyone in the audience sat back in their seats nervously. A spell was set about the thing like a manacle and Samuel guessed it was to keep the creature under control, for this was no mere illusion. Such summoned things were powerful and unpredictable. It took an equally powerful spell to bind it to the summoner’s will.
Gallivan’s resolve fell apart at the sight of the creature slowly stepping towards him. ‘Very well, very well! I concede!’ he called out to Anthem, standing up straight and waving his hands in surrender. He was laughing, but with a good amount of desperation in his voice. Samuel could see that he was attempting to form some magical barriers, but his power had waned and his spells could not form true. The man now looked completely emptied.
Anthem nodded with a sly smile and released his spell. The creature at once flashed out of existence, leaving four wisps of smoke where its feet had been touching the timber floor.
Gallivan looked ready to collapse. ‘I cannot face such power,’ he stated. ‘I commend you Grand Master Anthem. You are truly great.’
‘Thank you, Grand Master Gallivan,’ Anthem returned. ‘I look forward to another challenge soon-after you get some well-needed practice.’
With that, the defeated Gallivan walked on wobbling legs back to his seat and virtually collapsed into it.
‘One more,’ Anthem called out to the audience. ‘Then we can relax and have dinner. Grand Master Du, if you will.’
The last Grand Master looked absolutely ancient. He would have been very tall, had age not bent him half- over, and he peered through a veil of long white eyebrows. His wispy white beard obscured his shirt front, and he wore a tall pointed hat, making him appear to be like a magician from some folktale. He half-hobbled on a twisted old cane that seemed entirely unsuitable for the job.
‘Very well, Grand Master,’ he spoke, with a surprisingly youthful voice. ‘Let us begin then so I can put you in your place. It’s time I showed these young fools how it’s done.’
Both seemed to know what was to come, and the two magicians stood opposite each other and began to cast their spells. Strange, knotted weaves began filling the air between the two men. It began simply like that, with each man throwing up a small spell of his own and then one to match his opponent’s. Each spell they cast was slightly greater than the last, so that the magic between them was growing in intensity and complexity. It was almost as if they were playing a game of spell and counter-spell.
‘The Magician’s Game,’ somebody whispered and it was passed along. Samuel nodded to himself. He had heard of this, but it was his first time to witness it.
To all around, the two magicians were motionless, but Samuel could see they were busy throwing out spell after spell to join the great conglomeration between them. More and more power filled the arena as more spells were formed and added to the sum. Some spells countered others and they both vanished, while others locked each
