Venir's S Rank Examination

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.

Considering the rate at which Fiore's postal service seemed to travel, it would take about a week for Venir to receive the letter. The slow delivering service as well as Venir's nomadic tendencies made it excruciatingly hard for the poor postman to find, and deliver a letter to her. She really ought to invest in a iLacrima but she was more or less technologically challenged. Not to mention that the poor thing would probably melt from her hands, or get destroyed while on a job. Regardless, Venir had received the letter from Elyx, its contents bringing forth a worried smile. At long last Venir had reached the strength of an S-Ranked mage though she had to be tested to prove her strength as one. Her worry stemmed forth not just because the council had become aware of her strength (though that in itself was worrisome as she was certain that council didn't care much for her), but also because the one proctoring her exam was Elyx. A team mate and friend alike, Elyx would be no easy opponent. Not to mention the harsh terrain he had chosen as their battle ground. Sky Tower reached past the clouds and then some, it would be an ideal battleground for Elyx who could control the wind as he pleased. With some effort Venir swallowed her worry and instead replaced with something akin to determination. Slamming her gloved fist into her open palm, Venir grinned,


It had taken her a few days to journey to Sky Tower. Normally, she would have simply blasted herself there via magic, but the trial to come would require her to be at full strength. Thus she chose to not waste any precious mana, and walk her way to the tower. It had taken her longer than expected but Venir wasn't concerned, Elyx could stand waiting a few more extra days. Though couldn't help but wonder if he was worried that she might not show up at all. From miles away one could see Sky Tower, a tall structure that seemed to have no visible end as it stretched up into the clouds. Just the sight of it made her gulp. There were two ways to get up Sky Tower. Either go inside and walk flights upon flights of stairs or fly. Walking up so many flights of stairs would be tiring to say the least, even for the goddess slayer. Flying was risky, could she even get that high up?


Once she had reached the base of Sky Tower, she peered up at it, searching for some end to it but it was cut off by the clouds. "Here goes nothing." She widened her stance, violet gaze looking at the heavens. Taking a deep breath, Venir let a burst of dark flames propel her up and through the air like a rocket. She put a bit more kick in the flames, she'd rather overshoot her goal than to miss and fall back to the earth. Cutting through the air, Venir couldn't help but squint as small tears formed in her eyes from the speed. Then she hit the clouds, moisture dusting her skin and evaporating off of it just as quickly as it had formed. Finally, she broke through the cloud line, bathing in the glow of the sun that seemed so close she could brush it with her fingertips. Up and up the mage went but her speed was beginning to slow some. Luckily, the end was in sight though it was going to be quite the close call.


She was really beginning to slow down now, the pull of gravity heavy, the air thin. [i]"I'm not going to make it." [i]At least not without some sort of boost, angling herself in the air Venir edged closer to the side of the tower. Just as her body stopped moving up, and began its descent back towards the earth, her boots scraped the side of the tower, pushing her upwards with just the strength in her legs. Her hand reached out, fingertips grasping for some sort of ledge.


She hung from the ledge of Sky Tower nothing below her but a very long fall back to the ground. "Ahhhh..." She grunted, attempting to pull herself up with just the one arm that secured her to the ledge. It took a few precariously long moments but at long last, Venir managed to haul her body up to the top of Sky Tower. Her breaths came out in rapid pants for air, the oxygen was quite thin, and her heart was hammering in her chest. She hadn't even looked to see if Elyx was at the top of the tower but she still spoke as if he was there, "Are you trying to kill me?" She managed to huff out, resting on her back while on top of the tower, taking a moment to rest before the next part of her exam would begin.

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.

It would seem that she was not talking to herself, and that Elyx had in fact been on top of the tower waiting for her. His help was appreciate though not necessarily needed. If given just a few moments Venir would adjust and recover on her own, but his help certainly sped up the process. The warm green light helped her body readjust, and her lungs were already acclimating to the lack of oxygen in the air. Once back to her normal state, Venir moved so that she was sitting in an upright position as Elyx explained the rules to the next part of her exam. The rules were simple enough, the hypothetical situation was one that many a mage had encountered before. "Okay..." She stood up, brushing any dust off of her. A bead of nervous sweat rolled down the side of her cheek. A battle against Elyx was a fearsome battle indeed. She didn't need to win, she just needed to survive for a single minute.

She raised her fists watching as Elyx proceeded to put some distance between the two of them. "Don't fall off of the tower, don't get knocked out, and don't give up. Easy." She tried to ration. The first attack would be placed upon Venir's shoulders. A few moments had passed, wind ruffling blonde locks of hair to the side, her violet orbs not once leaving the form of her team mate, no, opponent. There was silence, there was wind, and then there was the sharp sound of Venir's inhale of breath, trying to breath in as much oxygen as she could before-

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.

Her bellow would prove to be unsuccessful but that was to be expected. "I don't have to win, I just have to bide my time." She reminded herself, attacks took time because Elyx would have to take the time to avoid them or simply get hit by them. Their terrain was both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because there was limited space for them to work with, and a curse because they were surrounded by air... Which Venir learned the hard way as a sudden gust had knocked her forwards towards Elyx. Gritting her teeth Venir had no choice but to move forward and roll with it. He was likely pushing her into an attack, and Venir wasn't going to simply stand by and take it.


Dark purple flames licked their way up her body, coating her from head to toe with unholy fire. They worked like a speed enhancing armor of sorts, it probably wouldn't protect her much from any damage Elyx threw her way but that wasn't her intention. Just as she had expected Elyx was planning to strike her when she got closer, but the fire mage did happen to specialize in close combat, and her flame armor happened to make her faster. "I don't think so!" She ducked low into a crouch hoping to avoid his strike, his wind still pushing her forward and into the male. Regardless of if she took the hit or not, she would still try to tackle him using the force of his own wind to help her. If her arms locked about his waist, she would not let go, instead she would only bring more heat with an embrace that dealt damage from the sheer amount of heat she could produce,

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.

His praise almost made her grin, making the battle seem less serious and more like a duel for fun. Unfortunately, Venir did not grin and instead grit her teeth. Despite being team mates and friends this was a very serious battle. Her smiles and grins would have to be saved for later, after she survived this battle with Elyx. She had noticed him snap before it was too late, not that it seemed like a particularly harmful thing. Snapping to most was a simple thing but many mages often would snap their fingers to initiate a spell, Venir was of no exception. Her reaction came too late, and the poor blonde found herself paralyzed, the wind mage forcing himself out of her grasp, and what came next happened almost too quickly for her to register.

She was on the ground now, still conscious, but very irritated. Despite the paralysis he had put her in for his little combo attack, Venir did still have her flame body. She might not have been able to move her muscles, or avoid his attacks, but she made sure that he would at the least pay for his attacks. Her flame body allowed physical attacks to phase through her, they still hit but in return it dealt damage to her attacker. Rubbing away a trickle of blood that had escaped her mouth, Venir scrambled up to her feet. Her violet orbs had narrowed into slits, "It's on." She clapped her hands together, a small of flame formed between her hands, and as she pulled them apart the ball began to expand and take shape. If Elyx really wanted a close combat fight, than she would be certain to give it to him.

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.

The swords went straight through the being made out of fire but it seemed ineffective as the thing hardly even flinched. It was made out of fire, and there was only a few ways to put out a fire that large. Not to mention the thing was practically attached to Venir so it's flames were rebuilt with Venir's own flames, it truly was a fearsome opponent. Instead of worrying about the swords that sliced through the unaffected flame giant, her worry was placed elsewhere.

She braced herself as Elyx rushed forward with blades in hand. Aiming for her exposed belly, Venir could have phased the attack through her, it would still hurt, but she wouldn't be sliced to bits. However, she wasn't sure how much more damage she could take. Instead, with a small smirk she moved her arms, as if she was going to make a grab for the blades but instead of her hands grasping the blades, it was the flame hands of the enormous flame entity behind her. Her trick was only slightly revealed, she could control the entity's upper body with her own upper body, but that was only half the fun. Her lower body did not control the flame entity as it had no lower body to speak of, meaning that Venir could still place a well aimed kick below the belt as revenge for the earlier attack.

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.

Her kick never landed and instead it was blocked by the swords. Venir let out a small "Tsk." Already beginning to formulate her next attack, Venir was taken by surprise by when Elyx unleashed an attack that was more powerful than any of his other attacks. Tornado like winds formed about him, and Venir was nearly sent flying just from wind alone. At the least she was thrown backwards, her hands just barely scraping into the top of Sky Tower. It wasn't much to hold onto but at least she was still on top of the tower, her fingers burned through the ground, creating grooves for her to hold onto so she didn't go flying off of the tower.

As the wind's increased to almost hurricane proportions, her flame entity was blown away, flames extinguishing from the harsh winds. From wind alone her eyes were watering, and her hair whipped to and fro. "What's he doing..." She could barely make out the form of the giant spirit behind Elyx. Nor could she react much as the explosion rattled Sky Tower, Venir caught up in the midst of it. As she held on for dear life, body practically screeching at her to just let go, a magic circle formed beneath her. "Flame Goddesses..." She grit her teeth, feeling like the air was getting sucked right out of her lungs, "Orbital..." The top of Sky Tower wasn't very wide, it was 30 meters at best so her last and final attack should be more effective, a larger magic circle formed around the top of the tower, "Strike!" Her fingertips loosened there hold, the blonde nearly flying off of the tower if not for the sudden explosion of fire that engulfed the entirety of the tower. Dark colored flames, danced alongside the violent winds for a few moments before blowing away.

That particular attack was one of her long range spells, typically cast at a safe distance away from the intended target. Never had she cast the spell so close to her, let alone basically on top of her. Still, she needed an attack that covered a wide area, and even more so she needed the explosion to rebound her back on to the tower so she wasn't blow away from the violent winds. Though the winds still persisted, and a few flames still licked along the top of Sky Tower, Venir was just barely at the edge of it, having once again burned herself grooved to hold onto. Various scraped decorated her skin, but more notable was the fact that she had actually managed to burn herself with her own attack, smoke still coming off of some parts of her mostly fire proof clothing.

Heat cannot be separated from fire, or beauty from The finite.

Just barely though, her whole body was screaming at her to rest, but the winds were still surging, and it still took her all to remain in place. Couldn't he come out of that form already? In her half conscious state, Venir did not hear Elyx speak through the communication lacrima. Instead she still held on thinking that her minute was not yet up. It wasn't until he had approached that she perked up a bit, trying to figure out how to retaliate, or survive just a little while longer. Luckily, he was not there to attack her but to....Offer her a hand? Her expression was clearly puzzled until his next words hit her ears, causing her to nearly cry tears of joy. Shakily she reached out to his hand letting him tug her up to her feet. Her legs shook barely supporting her weight, but still she managed a smile, "I'm not sure if I want to punch you or hug you right now..." She laughed a bit, "Remind me..." She wobbled a little bit, "To do both later..." With that the poor girl was out cold, falling forwards, her body having finally reached its limits.