//------------------------------//
// Log 26- The El Trials (Wind) 
// Story: Of Magic and Machines 
// by FrostTheWolf 
//------------------------------//


Of Magic and Machines- The El Trials (Wind)




Unknown Location

        Shortly after Nicko left the ruins of the fallen dignity Perkisas, the Rune Slayer and his Displacer now stepped into a familiar plane of existence as the Rune Slayer noticed the floating cubes surrounding him and his displacer staring into the void that looked as if space itself was being torn away. Pieces of debris that looked like asteroids were floating around a blue fissure that looked like a sun as a collection of floating cubes similar to the two that Glave would normally toss in the air from time to time were floating all around him. Nicko had been here once before when he first met his displacer along with Lord Dyntos, the god of the forge.





        “Back in your domain again?” Nicko questioned. “I thought you were in a hurry for me to finish these trials.”

        “I am…” Glave replied. “But I thought it would be best for you to gain some rest and also ask me any questions if something is confusing you. Consider it a small break.” Nicko was glad for that, but now that he mentioned it, a new thought had emerged in his head. It was something that came to his mind and something that he only realized now upon thinking about it a little more deeply.

        “Thank you… But may I ask you something?” The Rune Slayer then said, having his Displacer turn around to look towards him. “You said that what was in store for me for when I finished these trials was a surprise… but during the last three trials, you had me up against nearly impossible odds that could almost straight up kill me… I know that these trials are suppose to test me, but what the hell are you even trying to test?”

        The void dweller sighed, putting both of his cubes away as he looked at Nicko. To the spellsword though, he could not see the grin that was under Glave’s mask as he looked back at the Runic swordsman. “It is to test your limits… and see if you can go beyond them. The trials are my way of seeing if you are ready for something that no other displaced in your world has the opportunity to do just yet.” He explained, showing a new sigil to the Rune Slayer that he was unfamiliar with. “The strength to transcend.”

        “Transcend?” Nicko asked, looking back at Glave in confusion as the void dweller let out a deep sigh.

        “You wanted to find a way to master your powers, yes?” The keeper asked, getting a nod in response from Nicko. “Well, along with everything you know now, Transcendence would allow your awakening skill that you used in the last trial to reach new heights. Now… for making it halfway, let me give you a reward.” The two cubes in Glave’s hand began to glow and to the Rune Slayer’s surprise, his skill book that contained Starswirl’s notes and everything else also glowed along with it. Hastily, he flipped the pages of the book… and found himself something that he never thought was possible.

        There were new skills imprinted in the pages of the book. Not ones that he would write that was a copy of something he had seen or some other variation, but a series of four new skills with two other ones that looked to be sealed off. Upon reading it further, he soon discovered that these skills would increase his power greatly and allow for him to unleash his moves in a variety of different ways.

        “The two skills that are sealed, Liberated Will: Rune Slayer and Specialization you will earn upon completing the trials. Luckily, I’ve decided to speed up the process,” He said, looking at the Rune Slayer. “I’m combining the last two trials together into a single one. Along with that, you demonstrated some of the skills that I was looking for with the Trial of Wind when you were facing Perkisas.” Nicko himself breathed a sigh of relief in that moment, but then heard Glave finish what he was saying. “However, it does not exactly mean that you are done just yet.”

        “I had a feeling that there was some kind of catch.” The warrior replied as he leaped off of the floor and proceeded to ask the first question that came into his head. “So what will the rest of the trial consist of?”

        “I’m sending you to a village in the skies above Saddle Arabia that goes by the name of Casulo to meet the village elder,” Glave explained, having his cubes emit a azure light that took the form of what appeared to be a grown pegasus stallion with a brown beard and was in white combat garbs, a turban with two golden feathers going around the back of it, hanging by the back of the pony’s neck and has an aquamarine sword that was long and hooked around like a crescent. There were several other ponies in different types of clothes that the Rune Slayer could recognize from before he was displaced. “His name is Karu and I told him to be expecting you. He will test your skills in combat to see if you can move on to the final test I have for you.”

        “And I guess that you want proof of my victory?” Nicko asked, thinking that the answer to the question was obvious, but he still wanted to know anyways. It was better for him to walk into a situation with as much information as possible instead of missing important bits and pieces that could really affect how he would perform once the trial began. It was one of the things he had to do on occasion because his autism heavily impacted his memory from time to time.

        “One of the crystals that represents their tribe and also is a representation of a wind el shard should be sufficient.” He said as he snapped a finger and a doorway soon opened to the desert ravine that Glave was taking his Displaced, along with changing his appearance so it resembled the normal appearance of a Rune Slayer and nothing fancy this time around. “I wish you the best of luck… Try out your new skills if you get the chance.”

        “Easier said than done.” The Rune Slayer groaned to himself as he walked through the gate. Out of the total six skills that he had received; two of them were sealed off, one was a passive trait, one was an active skill and the other two were what they were described as special active skills in Elsword. One can tell the difference because the Special Active and Hyperactive skills were the ones that always showed the character’s portrait upon activation. However, this wasn’t like the game, despite some of the similarities these last few trials had.

        The four skills he did know were as followed. Enchant Break, Triple Saber, Overs Geyser with the passive trait being called Magic Coating… which provided a boost to Nicko’s abilities to resist all types of elemental magic. Enchant Break was an active skill that was essentially the Rune Slayer’s way of backhanding an opponent… or go by the name of a song by the Prodigy. But it did more than just leave a brutal bruise on the opponent… If the attack were to connect with an opponent, the skill would have a foes resistance to magic drop all the way down to zero. Triple Saber, the first of two new special active skills, could be seen as an alternative to his other primary skill Splash Explosion. The only difference was that upon activating the rune, three magic swords from different directions home in on the rune and shatter it, with damage being delivered from both the rune and also the swords.

        Just as he was about to read over the final skill though, a voice caught his attention as he placed the book away and looked up to see the pegasus chief that Glave had only talked about a few moments beforehand. His arms were folded and his gaze was completely stern and strict, causing Nicko to start acting serious as he formally bowed to him. “Great Chief Karu… It is an honor to meet you.”

        “So you are the Rune Slayer that I have been hearing about…” The pegasus grumbled, unfolding his arms for a moment. “To be honest…”

        “Don’t say it. Don’t you DARE say it!!!”

        “I never thought one of your kind would come all the way out here to see me,” The chieftains response was way different than what Nicko honestly thought he was going to say. Like completely different. Which had him breath a momentary sigh of relief. “After all I have heard in Equestria about the humans that lived there, I was to assume that your kind was a species of troublemakers and misfits.” Nicko knew right away that somehow, this guy must have been talking about Amy, Molly and Jane. It would be of no coincidence since most of the international incidents that involved Equestria somehow involved the three of them.

        “If you mean my friends, then let me assure you that I am not like them at all, sir.” Nicko replied as he then noticed the chief's sword that was holstered at his waist… and the motion of the stallion’s hand that was grasping hold of the blade’s grip.

        “Around these parts, actions speak louder than words,” The chief remarked as he unsheathed his blade. “But first, I would like you to state your name. One such stranger said that a person like you would come… but he never said who you were.”

        “My name is Nicko…” He simply informed the stallion as he drew his own weapon and looked back at him. Judging from the stallion, the notion in his head right now was that this stranger that Karu told him about must have been Glave. “Did this stranger say anything else along with me coming here?”

        “Why yes… He also mentioned that you had come seeking for something. Perhaps like this?” Karu replied, taking a crystal out of the leather pouch on his waist as the stallion saw the spellsword nod his head. “I can give it to you… however, in order for you to obtain what you seek, you must prove to me how strong you through a trial by combat.” The stallion readied himself as he lifted the blade above his head as currents of air began to flow around his hands, wings and the weapon’s crystalline edge. The Rune Slayer himself got ready, bringing out his own blade as he firmly gripped it’s edge and stared down his opponent. However, all this did was cause the chief to move first as a vertical slash caused Nicko to step backwards and drop down to dodge the blade fully.

        “Holy Sh-! That was fast!!” The spellsword cursed mentally as he barreled to the right and dodged the next two attacks, parried the third that came shortly afterwards and used Sword Wave to not only try to hit him, but also to push his opponent back. He had almost forgot about the fact that with this pegasus being like the boss in Elsword, the blade had an extensively long reach along with the fact that his main attack was a three swing combo that could catch others off guard unexpectedly. However something did not seem right. Normally, Nicko would be able to see the impact of Sword Wave on his opponent every time he used it... but when the dust settled, the spellsword did not see a scratch on him at all… and he was sure that he had a direct hit.

        “It’s going to take a lot more than that in order to defeat me!” The stallion said, planting his hooves on the ground as more air was beginning to form around him. This, made Nicko realize exactly what he was up against. The Great Chief used wind, that was obvious. But how he used it was another story entirely. He soon had a good feeling of how exactly Karu was able to dodge his blows, but not get hit by his own attacks. The wind around his blade allowed the pegasus to reach out to extensive lengths and damage him for a considerable amount, but the chief also used the same wind as a small buffer around himself to protect him in case of harm and also an accelerator to quicken the stallion’s attack speed and reaction time. Something that Nicko had not seen before and needed to figure out a way to get around it if he didn’t want his opponent to dice him up into tiny pieces.

        But to do that, he had to come up with some sort of plan and quickly. “Crap, he’s too fast for me right now…” He thought to himself, pondering something in his head as he reflected back on the previous trial. “Hmm… maybe I could use the same method from before to match his speed… I guess it’s my only shot at this rate since I am running out of options.” The Rune Slayer needed to be faster than his opponent if he wanted to counter any of the numerous attacks and abilities that Karu had at his disposal. Like in Elsword, most of Karu’s abilities were attacks that revolved around Wind and his blade. Including an attack that resembled Bloody Accel, a skill that a Blade Master would know and use all the time. But, Nicko remembered one thing about it that might help him.

        If he could time his attacks to hit his opponent when he had any openings, then that could result in him getting the upper hand in this fight. That and also the new powers that he had at his disposal. The first step he needed to take though, was to outmaneuver Karu’s attacks. A task that was somewhat challenging and also somewhat irritating in the beginning, but also provided an opportunity to test one of his newest skills.

        The Rune Slayer waited til Karu was preparing to charge his next strike, allowing for himself to prepare as well as he used Splash Explosion to launch himself forward the moment that the Chief unleashed his attack. Once behind him, Nicko used the same skill again to get within striking range of his opponent… then, as the crimson aura that was the Spirit of Destruction was triggered, he unleashed one of the newest skills in his arsenal as a rune formed on Karu’s back and three swords of magic materialized in the air before going forth and striking the rune.

        “TRIPLE SABER!!”

        The attack, combined with Nicko’s Spirit of Destruction, dealt a heavy blow to Karu and successfully broke through his defenses as the pegasus stumbled backwards onto the ground. But Nicko’s opponent was not done yet… Not by a long shot. Using the air around him, he was quick to returning to his feet as Karu used a conjured twister to kick up some dust and interfere with Nicko’s field of vision. But the chief was doing this for more than just that as the force of the winds began to intensify and the Rune Slayer began to notice what he was doing.

        There were four tornados around them as the spellsword’s opponent began to pull his hands together, causing the force of the twisters to move Nicko closer to his opponent. Causing him to realize what the chieftain was doing. He was using Wind Shock, the primary attack that the same boss would use in Elsword. He had little time to react as he held up his blade in defense, still feeling the backlash of the winds around him cutting his arms as he was pushed to the edge of the floating platform they were fighting each other on.

        On one knee and with blood dripping from some of his wounds as they were slowly healing themselves, Nicko looked up to see Karu staring him down with his sword on his shoulder and him looking back at Nicko… Unimpressed. “Do you yield now, little one?” That comment… triggered something in the Rune Slayer that would soon determine the outcome of the battle as he began to stand back up on his feet, the aura around him still visible as magic began to form from his hands.

        “That’s it…” He growled. Knowing that the previous time his attack with Triple Saber was effective to break Karu’s guard was one thing… But he also had the feeling that the chieftian would not fall for the same trick twice. Gritting his teeth, he curled his wrists and cast Splash Explosion on his feet as he shot himself forward. Karu’s first reaction was to turn behind him and openly slash his blade, but was surprised to see that nothing was there. The Rune Slayer wasn’t anywhere around him, nor was there anything to hide behind. So where could he be?

        However, when he realized Nicko’s strategy, it was too late. The Chieftain looked up at the last possible second to see a powerful force of flames and magic glowing from the Rune Slayer’s blade as he slashed forward in the air towards the ground below. The impact triggering his newest… and most strongest skill that he knew.

        “OVERS GEYSER!!!”

        The impact of the Rune Slayer’s sword was followed by a shockwave of both fire and fury as dozens of flaming swords rose from the ground. Shredding through his opponent’s defenses and disarming him of his weapon. Earlier in the fight, Nicko knew two things upon observing Karu’s attacks and abilities and used them to his advantage. First; despite his reaction time, the chieftain did not anticipate any form of aerial attacks from his opponent, and Second; despite how Karu did use his wind powers for defense, he could not defend himself from any attacks that would come from underneath him.

        Overs Geyser worked out perfectly in this instance. It was a lot like an old skill that he was no longer able to use called Rising Wave, but it was a lot more powerful and effective in combat… and this was proof on how capable it was. Now it was Nicko’s turn to look at his downed opponent as he firmly stood tall, despite being sore of all the mana he just used as he looked at Karu with a firm stare before offering a hand to help him up. “Piece of advice… Never call me little.”

        “Heh… My apologies then,” The chieftain coughed as he took the extended hand and had the Rune Slayer help him up. Taking out a jewel in his pocket, he soon handed the gemstone to Nicko. “You beat me fair and square… Therefore, this belongs to you as proof of your victory. May the winds guide you on your travels, young Rune Slayer.”

        “Same to you, Great Chief.” Nicko acknowledged the compliment as he used his magic to return back to the void where Glave was now. When the Rune Slayer returned, all he saw him do was have Glave clap his hands in acknowledgement of his victory.

        “Well done. Now you have one last trial to complete before you are ready for what lies ahead.” That though, caused Nicko to raise an eyebrow as he folded his arms and looked back at his Displacer.

        “Hang on a minute… You told me that there were six trials. If I remember correctly, that one was number four.”

        “Did you forget what I told you originally?” Glave then retorted as the cubes in his hands spun around. “I’m speeding up the process. The El Trial’s of Light and Dark I am combining into one single trial. It does not mean that the trial would be any easier than the ones that you have already faced… In fact, I may be bending the original rules a little because of where you are going.” Nicko just raised an eyebrow, staring back at his displacer in confusion as he tilted his head.

        “What are you talking about?”

        “Your final trial is taking place in a mirror world similar to this one. However, every pony and creature in this world is a human over there. A lot of things have changed and also cause changes to whoever travels between both realms, but with your magic being this powerful, you won’t end up having the same side effects that your friend Amy would have.” Glave explained as he showed Nicko what happened. Apparently, when Amy traveled with Twilight a few years ago to this place, she came back with the side effect of beginning to turn into a pony. However, Selena had been assisting her in hiding that change by providing a disguise spell to hide the changes as they tried to find a way to reverse the effects. “There is also one other catch with this trial though that you should be aware of.”

        “Oh?” Nicko then questioned as he looked back at the Void Dweller. “What’s that?”

        “The past few times I’ve told you what to do in order to complete the trials… This time, you need to problem solve and figure it out for yourself. You’ll have as much time as you need, but remember that time is of the essence and also very precious.” Glave sighed, closing his eyes as his cubes glowed once more and began to fill the room with a bright and blinding light. “Stay safe, Nicko.”



Meanwhile,

        It was a hot and blistering summer afternoon as a group of friends decided to meet up at the small home that belonged to Sunset Shimmer. It had been some time since they had last seen Twilight from Sunset’s world and since then, her group of friends had grown significantly. Now though, they were trying to beat the heat by staying indoors and catching up on how had things had been since they had gone camping in the Everfree Forest for the summer. Some of them though, were by the kitchen table as the one known as Scootaloo was setting up a collection of board game pieces along with some multi sided die.

        “Alright, the game is set. Now pick your characters and we can begin the adventure.” Scootaloo said. “Since I was the one who brought over Castle and Chimeras and everyone may be new to this, I’ll be the Castle master and telling today’s story-.”

        “Wait, why the hell are we playing a kids game?” Her older sister, Rainbow Dash asked as she took another drink of her soda.

        “Oh, you know because you promised and SHUT THE HELL UP, RAINBOW!” Scootaloo snapped, flaring an angry glare at her before one of the other girls spoke up as she was about to write in the journal she had on her.

        “Scootaloo…” Sunset groaned before staring at her friend across the table. “She’s right though, shut up.” With that comment out of the way, Scootaloo sighed as she set out a collection of mini figurines out on the table. She had always wanted to get the chance to do this with more than just her friends Applebloom and Sweetie Belle and right now, besides her, a few others were playing with them while Twilight was out with Fluttershy taking Spike out on a walk.

        “Now, we get to pick your characters,” She described. “We have the Noblesses, the Mastermind, the Infinity Sword, the Crimson Avenger-.”

        “Dibs!” Rainbow declared as she pulled the mini figurine of a certain someone they knew as she grinned a little and looked at Sunset. “Names Amy… I’m a badass to the point that I give Sunset nightmares in her sleep.”

        “You didn’t even hear her say the rest of the characters Rainbow.” Sunset groaned, praying for her friend to listen to reason.

        “Like I said… Dibs!” All that caused Scootaloo to do was sigh as Applejack sat down next to her sister Applebloom at the table. After that brief interruption, Scootaloo still continued to speak up and label the character classes.

        “O… kay. To round things out, we have the Deadly Chaser, the Rune Slayer, the Dreadlord and Chiliarch and to round things out, the Sakra Devanam.”

        “Ah have a question,” Applejack spoke up as everyone was now facing her. “Why do all of these characters look somewhat familiar?”

        “Well, Amy and her friends on the other side of the Mirror sent this as a Hearth's Warming gift a couple of years ago,” Scootaloo explained. “Yet, Rainbow always said that she was too busy to play because of things going on like the Friendship Games and what not… Now that we don’t have anything like that happening, we could finally get the chance to play together as a group.”

        “Aw yeah, prepare to watch me win this game.”

        “If that were the case, then it would truly be beginners luck,” Applejack snickered, turning around at the sound of the door opening as she watched Twilight and Fluttershy walk into the room. “Hey girls. Welcome back!”

        “Thanks Applejack,” Twilight replied, unhooking the leash from Spike’s color as the dog soon yawned and passed out on his bed. “What’s going on here?”

        “We’re getting ready to play Castles and Chimeras and get this… Rainbow thinks she’s going to win the game.” Sunset explained to them as they walked on over.

        “Hey! I know I’m going to win with Amy!” She declared, knocking over some of the figures as one of them fell onto the floor by Twilight’s feet.

        “Consarnit, Rainbow. Can you try to be a little more careful next time?” Applejack asked her friend as she looked back at her.

        “Hehe...sorry about that.” She replied, looking back at Applejack as Twilight picked up the figure that by her feet. However, what she said next surprised just about everyone in the entire room at that moment.

        “Hey, I think I remember seeing this guy earlier while we were walking Spike. His clothes are even the same.” Twilight’s words though, soon drew a bunch of blank stares in her general direction as she tilted her head in confusion. “What, was it something I said?”

        “You meet someone that look like the figure we’re using in the game we’re playing?”

        “Yeah, but he didn’t have the sword or anything… However, we did feel something from him… Like when Sunset had used magic during the Friendship Games… but like… five times the intensity.” Twilight said, guessing the numbers in her head. “Why, is something wrong?”

        “ …… Game night over. You’re taking us to meet this person you saw right now-.”

        “Aww come on, Rainbow!” Scootaloo complained. “You promised!!”

        “There there, Scoot. We can just play without her for now,” Applejack suggested, switching out the figurine that Rainbow was going to use for another one. “Matter of fact, I can take Rainbow’s place. However, I’ll have Amy be this Blazing Heart fellow right here.”

        “Oh no you’re not! She’ll remain as the Crimson Avenger!”

        “Girls… why don’t you just settle it by rolling the dice?” Sunset proposed, picking up the twenty sided die and handing it to Rainbow. “Whoever gets the higher number determines the outcome for…… Amy.”

        “Okay.” Rainbow sighed, rolling the die as it landed on the game board. “Nice, I got seventeen. In your face, AJ!” The farm girl just smirked as she picked up the die and rolled it this time. However, what she got startled Rainbow.

        “Yeehaw! Twenty!! Looks like ah win that one!”

        “Wait what!?” She protested. “I don’t know how, but she must be cheating… There’s no way that she can be both good in class and this good at a board game!”

        “Tough luck sugarcube. You lost, so that means I get Amy.” In that moment, AJ noticed one of their other friends, Pinkie Pie, giggle a little as she was busy baking treats in the kitchen. “See? Pinkie even thinks its funny.”

        “Nah! I’m not laughing at that, silly!” She proclaimed, setting the timer on the oven as she walked over. “I’m giggling at the fact that the figure that you guys were talking about a few minutes ago just past by the front of Sunset’s house.”

        “What the fu-!?!” Rainbow immediately raced towards the nearest open window she could find and stared out at it. Seeing exactly who Pinkie was talking about as her eyes widened. What Twilight said was true… But why exactly would this kid be here though is another story…

        And it was something that she planned to find out.




End Log 26