literature

Otherworlde: Preparations

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Cressida walked past the rows upon rows of shops on Moonseed Lane, reviewing all the notes she had taken in preparation for the tournament. Every so often, she would have to step aside for another student running down the street, no doubt preparing for their own matches or trying to get to class on time. The witch had spent hours in the library, researching and studying as though the battle was a test. And in a way, it was – Cressida relied heavily on her knowledge and planning for everything she did, whether it was an assignment or a battle.

Chrono Dele Alistair was definitely not going to be an easy opponent to defeat. Elementalism was a field of study well-suited to direct combat, and he seemed to be highly skilled at it. The potion bombs Cressida bought from her professor could mimic the effects of elemental spells, but she only had a limited supply. Everything she did had to count. The witch quickly, almost frantically, flipped through her notebook, looking for the information she needed. The elements all had their strengths and weaknesses. That was what she needed to exploit.

Water beats fire. Well, that’s quite obvious. For that matter, I used that against Quinlan. She was quite glad she had succeeded at that. She still had the burn scar from where Quinlan Rasplamsati’s fire spirit had scorched her arm.

But at a high enough temperature, fire can boil water and turn it against the user, or simply evaporate it. Chrono was a user of water and ice, it seemed. Could that be useful? The fire would have to be extremely hot. It could melt ice, certainly, but could Cressida’s opponent control the liquid water as well? Ice is more dangerous than water. Better safe than sorry. With a swift motion, Cressida drew a large check mark on the page. A few fire-based potion bombs could certainly help, even if she wouldn’t use them in the battle. It was important to be prepared, after all. Especially for Cressida Hawthorn.

Now for the gemstones to put into the bomb. Fire agate. Sunstone. Ruby, carnelian, garnet, red jasper, amber… basically anything that had a flame-like appearance or color. Sunstone and fire agate seemed like the best choices – from what Cressida had read, they had a very powerful association with fire, and probably wouldn’t be too expensive. She suspected that she was going to spend most of her money on this tournament, buying potion bombs from Helmy and gemstones from the shops on Moonseed Lane. Perhaps I ought to start selling potions after this, she thought, remembering a conversation she had with her friend Stephiros. Or even during this, considering all the money I’m spending now. She circled the names of the stones she wanted to use, and turned to the next page of her notebook.

As she walked, reading and making notes, another student raced down the lane, brushing past the witch and knocking the notepad and pen out of her hands. He – or at least, Cressida assumed the student was male – didn’t stop running, didn’t even look back. He probably didn’t even notice I was there! Cressida thought angrily. “You idiot!” the witch shouted at the figure disappearing into the distance. “Pay attention! I am trying to FOCUS!”

No glance back. No indication that the student even heard what Cressida had yelled at him in her fury. No apologies, either. Of course, I wouldn’t have apologized myself. The student was probably new, some idiot who had overslept and was late for their class. With a huff, Cressida stepped off the road, slipping into a doorway to finish her plans.

Water. That’s the main element he controls. It certainly wouldn’t do to give Chrono anything else to use as a weapon, so water and ice would not be much help. Unless he called up a wall of water and she needed to freeze it… but she had plants on her side. She could probably root herself in the ground, if need be, like her stinging plants had done in her first battle. She swiftly crossed out the page of her notebook with a large X. She had a few aquamarine stones left over from her previous match. If she needed water at all in the first place, she could use those.

Earth… what would that do in a potion bomb? Make it explode into dirt? Rocks? Shrapnel? She would have to ask Professor Helmy about that. Chrono was a user of wind as well as water – as she found out when her hat suddenly blew off her head as she was following him one day. She had chased after her hat instead of following the other student, and she hadn’t been able to find him after that, but he didn’t even seem to notice. He didn’t even seem to notice that she had ever been there at all. How odd… I thought elementalism required focus. That time, it had seemed almost subconscious…

But if she could produce something heavy from the potion bombs, she could get projectiles through whatever gusts of wind he might create. Not to mention, it could possibly be used as an insulator. Earth bombs would be a good idea, she decided. She checked the list of gemstones associated with the element. Good thing Professor Helmintio gave me that assignment about gemstones! Cressida thought with a small grin. Right. Agate, jet, celestite, hematite, green jade. Those all work. Agate and hematite wouldn’t be too expensive. And she could perhaps use the hematite in potions afterward, if she had any left over. She made a few more marks in her notebook.

Just then, the door opened and pushed Cressida out of the doorway, the witch catching herself before she fell on her face. Her notebook and pen lay on the ground once again, and another student left the shop. This one was just as fast as the first one, if not faster. Honestly, did they just teleport around? She knew several people here at the academy could do that. But this was the second time she had dropped her notes! Did someone curse me with bad luck? she wondered, frustrated. If it was Quinlan again, I swear I’ll – oh, I don’t know, I’ll hit him with another hallucinogen or something! She was definitely starting to develop a strong dislike for Hexing.

Cressida knew she would need to finish these plans, though. She had to get her work done, though, no matter how many times she was interrupted. For that matter, she still had one more assignment to finish for her Potionmaking class. Perhaps Professor Helmintio will give me a better grade because I’m giving him lots of money, she thought with a chuckle. It didn’t seem like the type of thing Helmy would do, but it was still an amusing thought. Still, she resolved to figure out how to create those potion bombs herself…

Air. That’s the last one. Typically in the form of wind. This seemed like something very useful indeed! She could push Chrono around the arena, or deflect projectiles with it. Of course, he could easily do the same to me. Perhaps more easily, for that matter. There was something strange about the Windmancy that Cressida knew Chrono used, but she couldn’t quite identify what it was. She would probably be using a lot of wind-based attacks of her own, though, and made a large check mark on the page.

Now for gemstones… ugh, could this be less expensive? Cressida checked the list. Citrine. Okay. I like citrine. She had used citrine in a potion bomb to great success in her battle with Quinlan. Topaz, opal, amethyst…? No, I think I’m going to stay with citrine. That one was good. She circled the name of the gemstone.

Cressida closed her notebook – and looked behind her for other students – as she left her spot by the door and headed for the shop that had the gemstones she needed. The prices were quite high, but as long as she could afford everything in the first place, money was no matter. Not if she defeated Chrono. Not if she won the tournament. She could always make potions and sell them. It would give her some more experience at potionmaking, too, and that was always a good thing. Cressida walked back to her dormitory, he face beaming with confidence. I hope you’re ready for this, Chrono, she thought. If you’re not prepared, you’ll be in for a lot of trouble…

Then again, it worked the other way, too. Preparation was everything. At least in Cressida’s opinion…
CRESSIDA STOP SPENDING ALL YOUR MONEY.
1435 words.
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BlueBlueFox's avatar
|"D Cressida it'll take more than bookwork to bring down a mage, especially if everything is in theory
Also ha
Chrono probably didn't notice her because he's kind of spacey.
|D