Arcadivicious! (Job)

The mid-morning sun shone brightly down on the older neighborhood in Era, secured by the Rune Knights for training their recruits. The houses all stand empty and cutouts of human-shaped silhouettes inside and around many of them to act as stand-ins for ordinary citizens. Captain Akiyama had one of her sergeants, Sgt. Nym assemble 30 of the latest recruits in the avenue that served as the entrane to the closed off neighborhood.

Sgt. Nym yelled out, “Recruits, fall in!”

30 Rune Knight hopefuls who had been milling around all quickly fell into line, their Rune Staffs brought to the ready. Captain Akiyama came to stand before her cadets, and nodded to her sergeant. “Thank you, Sgt. Nym. At ease, cadets.Today is a big day. You will be facing your first live magic-capable target. This is to give you a taste of what you will be facing everyday as a full Rune Knight! You will notice the cutouts of people placed around the grounds. As far as you are concerned, they are living breathing innocents who must not be harmed in your pursuit of bringing the target mage to Justice. They are the people we must protect from those who use magic to bring harm or worse.. Now Ms. Fairchilde, would you please join us!”

Post Word Count: 213
Total Word Count: 213/1000

Arcadia tried to not let her nerves get the best of her when she heard the captain call he rout to meet the recruits. In a sense, this was her first real mission as a member of Fairy Tail. The other jobs she had answered before were real jobs of course. She had growing savings in jewels to prove it. This deal with the Rune Knights however was the first job were she would be expected to make full use of her magic and everything Khione Glacier had trained her in. Arcadia had barely needed her magic if at all in jobs before.

She just hoped she hadn't ignored big sister Nessa's advice to not take on more than she can handle with this job. As she emerged from the house she had been waiting in, and saw the assembled rcruits, her nerves settled in. The sight and atmosphere all reminded her of home back in Dragnof, and training with her foster mother, Khione Glacier, for war. Her heart pounding, Arcadia could feel the adrenaline and competitive juices begin to take over. All bringing her up to the waiting Rune Knights with a confident grin seldom seen on the usually shy young girl.

Post Word Count: 203
Total Word Count: 416/1000

The Rune Knight captain gestured to Arcadia and continued with instructing the cadets, “This is Arcadia Fairchilde of Fairy Tail. She has generously agreed to play the part of a mage gone rogue. Your mission this morning will be to track this young lady and apprehend her with as little civilian casualties, preferably no civilian casualties. There is no room in the Rune Knights for anyone more dangerous to the public we are protecting than the dark mages we're trying to protect them from.”

Arcadia bowed the cadets as she was formally introduced. She felt herself riled by the handful of recruits that didn't quite hide a derisive chortle or two, or one two snide whispers to neighbors in line.

“A little girl? What kind of challenge is that?”

“You gotta be kidding, Captain!”

Sgt. Nym barked, “The Captain did not give any of you permission to talk! Now quiet down and keep listening. It might save your lives one day.”

Captain Akiyama waited until she had the cadets' attention again before continuing, “Thank you, sergeant. Now, you should not underestimate any wizard you face. Across all of Fiore you may come across many wizards who are or appear even younger than Ms. Fairchilde. Many of whom could wipe you all out in the blink of an eye if you were not careful. To test your ability to adapt you all will have to discover the extend and type of Ms. Fairchilde's magical abilities on your own. In the field, you do not always have the luxury of knowing these things ahead of time.”

The captain took a deep breath and wrapped up her instruction speech, “You will be divided into the 3 teams of 10 the sergeant assigned you earlier this morning. Ms. Fairchilde, are you ready? You will have a five minute head start.”

The young slayer balled her left hand into a determined fist that showed off her sky blue outlined mark of Fairy Tail to the cadets, ”Bring it!”

The captain nodded and raised one armored arm well overhead, staying quiet for a second. Dropping her arm straight back down by her side, “Go!”

Post Word Count: 360
Total Word Count: 776/1000

Arcadia bowed once more to the captain and the cadets, then her bare feet carried her off between a couple of the empty houses across the avenue. She knew they had one aim, to subdue and capture her. The slayer had two possible aims to choose from. She could try and knock out all 30 cadets or make it clear to the other side of the neighborhood to escape the three teams hunting her.

Alas, she could not attempt any daring escape until her five minute head start was up. The head start was only for her to seek out and choose where she'd start this little game of cat and mouse. Arcadia picked a nice big house on the far corner of the block she had disappeared between the two houses on. It was the tallest building on the far side of that block, which come in handy once the hunt began in earnest..

Looking around the inside of the corner house, Arcadia spent the time she had left ot wait moving the cutouts around, so one of the civilians would get in her way. She locked every cutout she found in the house into one closet. Maybe one team could get credit for rescuing these hostages. She climbed up the stairs to finish waiting out the last minute or two.

Post Word Count: 222
Total Word Count: 998/1000

It was a somewhat longer than 5 minute wait, the three teams of cadets splitting up and spreading out. Each team had picked one of the first houses they came to start their search. Arcadia was starting to lose her patience. Did she really have to wait until she  heard or saw first sign of them to begin her escape?

About when she had resigned herself to a boring letdown, her slayer ears finally picked up noises out one window. She didn't know it, but one of the cadets had noticed the corner house was the only one with no noticeable figures in the windows. Two of the teams were now coming to surround  the house with the third heading to the other side of the neighborhood in the off chance their quarry had already snuck out of the house. They would cut off the most obvious path out.

Glancing out the window, she could see one team of 10 holding positioned in a perimeter around the house. The other appeared to be preparing to enter the house. It was time.  Arcadia breathed  in deep, and let out a roaring torrent of freezing mist and glittering razor-sharp ice shards. The slayer held no Rune Knights in her aim, but rather poured her icy breath on down the stairway. A hazardously slick layer of  ice was left behind down near every step.

She then turned to the nearest wall, calling concentrations of chilling ice into each of her bare feet and hands. Leaping at the wall, her hands and feet froze to the wall. Rather than freezing in place, her bare skin stuck just enough to let her crawl up the wall. She crawled in an eerily reptilian manner, right on up to the ceiling. Crawling along the ceiling, she  hid along the ceiling just above the stairway, where she could see down to the first floor.

Arcadia watched as the first three members of one team entered cautiously, but she held still and quiet on the corner of the ceiling above the icy stairs. The young slayer would wait until she was spotted or  a couple more of them were in range.


The house itself was shadowed and darkened by some of the windows being boarded over. The morning light piecing the darkened interior wherever the boards had been removed or fallen away. Just as Arcadia had hoped the group of three were joined by four more, and the seven of them gathered around the bottom of the iced over stairs.

“Great... an ice mage”

Arcadia wasted no time in unleashing her ambush. She lifted one hand from the ceiling, growing five needle sharp ice claws, one from each finger. Soon as the needle like icicles were formed, she whipped her arm around, flinging them like icy darts to her pursuers below. Four struck home, while the fifth recruit had reflexes just quick enough to dive out of the way. If the recruits had been more seasoned warriors, the four stuck might's shook off the icy surprise attack, but they fell. Not dead, but out the training game.

The young slayer didn't gamble on watching her icy darts strike home. Arcadia scuttled off along the ceiling, away from the stairway and out of sight.  The last two members of team one slipped inside, plus a couple members of team two came in to pull the injured  four out of the way.


“Did you see that? Where'd she go?!”


Post Word Count: 580

Total Word Count: 1578/1000

Stats:

Health: 375

Magic Power: 250

Spells:

Ice Dragon Roar - No cooldown
Ice Dragon Glacier Geckowalk -  Duration: 1/3, Cooldown: 0/4
Ice Dragon Frozen Claws – Duration: 1/2, Cooldown: 0/3

Arcadia came to rest on the far wall from the stairway, poising herself ready to strike at cadets that might brave the chokepoint the stairs created. It seems the cadets also thought of that, because they did not come up in the numbers she was hoping. Sadly for the first two, Arcadia still held the chilling magic to her icy dart claws lingering in her hands along with that which froze her to the wall.

They charged up after a gout of flame melted the icy coating she had left on the stairs. Arcadia sighed, she hadn't been expecting any of the recruits to be wielding magic that seemed that strong. She lifted the opposite hand she ha last time, wiling two needle icicles to grow from two fingers. Whipping her arm in a forehand swing, then backhand swing, she flung first one than the other icy needle.

Both darts struck home, rendering both recruits too injured to continue. A third cadet was not far behind, poised with a purple flame flicking in his right hand. It was the recruit who had dodged her opening ambush. Arcadia let a third icy needle claw grow from a finger, and the charging fire mage cadet whipped the purple flame out from his hand. It snared the young slayer around her left ankle. To counter, she flung the next icy needle dart into his shoulder.

Unlike his other fellow cadets, this fire mage was both faster and tougher. These purple flames didn't really burn so much as tether her tot the fire mage. That was much worse, as Arcadia quickly learned. She yelped when the fire cadet yanked and sent the young slayer sailing down the stairway to slam down on the first floor.

She found herself in the firing line of nine cadets. They had apparently set up an ambush of their own.. About the only silver lining after being tossed around like that was that accursed purple flame had to let go of her to send her flying so far. Arcadia scrambled back to her feet, and shielded herself, head to toe, in the scales of an ice dragon. Heading for the stairs, she managed to avoid two of their shots, but seven struck home. She was blasted off her feet, and right into the railing.

The flame mage cadet grimaced and chuckled darkly, “That was a little harder than I imagined, but it's over little girl. Surrender before anyone else gets hurt.”

Post Word Count: 412

Total Word Count: 1990/1000

Stats:

Health: 150

Magic Power: 205

Spells:

Ice Dragon Glacier Geckowalk - Duration: 2/3, Cooldown: 0/4
Ice Dragon Frozen Claws – Duration: 2/2, Cooldown: 0/3
Ice Dragon Scales – Duration: 1/6, Cooldown: 0/7

Arcadia's dress was scored and burned in places, and she hurt almost all over after that. She still had the strength to stand though, so grit her jaw, grunting as she rose to punch the fire mage standing over her. The young slayer pulled him down, while he was off balance. The fire mage was pulled straight into the firing line of the two mages who fired at Arcadia when she got up. The fire mage rolled to the bottom the stairs unconscious.

Racing the rest of the way just ahead of more magical shots from behind her, Arcadia growled, reaching back through memory for her foster mother's love and guidance. The times when she first felt the power of a dragon first flow through her. Focusing on the feeling, she really could feel draconic resilience flow through her.

At the unboarded window nearest the stairway, she spotted the four cadets still outside. They opened fir with their Rune Staffs too. Inhaling deep, she could hear the nine left downstairs rushing to follow her up the stairway. Arcadia unleashed a whirling torrent of freezing mist and sparkling razor shards of ice out the window. Three of of the cadets were brought down as she swept her breath to the left to let the last of her freezing breath spill on down the stairway. Only one cadet dove the correct way to avoid her icy breath's path of destruction. A fresh coating of ice turning the ground white outside, along with the window frame and the stairway. The trailing end of her wintry blast caught five cadets from downstairs who had gotten bunched together in the rush to go up the stairs. The once again slippery steps and the falling forms of the five she hit thwarted the remaining cadets from getting upstairs immediately.

That gave her the opening she needed, Arcadia crawled out the window, and with the frosty magic still on standby in her bare feet and hands, she crawled on up the outside to the roof. It was time to put some real distance between herself and the remaining cadets. The slayer ran full tilt across the roof, and lept without hesitation from the far edge. Two pure white dragon wings made of hoarfrost magically unfolded from her back, spreading out wide. They carried her into a gliding path that just cleared the next house over to land low on the roof of the house just beyond.

Post Word Count: 409

Total Word Count: 2399/1000

Stats:

Health: 150

Magic Power: 205

Spells:

Ice Dragon Roar - No cooldown
Ice Dragon Glacier Geckowalk - Duration: 3/3, Cooldown: 0/4
Ice Dragon Frozen Claws – Duration: 2/2, Cooldown: 1/3
Ice Dragon Scales – Duration: 2/6, Cooldown: 0/7
Ice Dragon Wings – No cooldown

Arcadia charged to the top of this next roof and leapt out, once more summoning and spreading draconic wings of hoarfrost from her back. She cleared the next house over, and steered her gliding for the broad avenue ahead. She could finally see her goal, the fates on the far side of the neighborhood. The bad news, she could see the third group of cadets, all positioned on different rooftops and  cover along the ground.

There was no way she'd withstand another barrage of Rune Staff blasts. This beat up little slayer had one more ace up her sleeve though. Arcadia stirred heritage long forgotten to life, thickening the icy armor she already wore, and bringing a dim inner glow to the now perfectly smooth skin of perfect ice.

She sailed on, and the third and final team opened fire, their magical blasts bouncing right off the softly glowing shell of perfect ice. Her wings didn't quite carry her the full way to safety, so upon landing, she spent some of her remaining magic power to freeze over the soles of her feet in a slick sheen of ice.  Bending forward, she sped off, skating down the remaining length of avenue and out through the gates. The magical boost of speed her magical skates brought left the last cadet team in the dust.

The captain shot a bright signal flare, letting all the rest of the Rune Knights in the training area the exercise was over.  As her perfect skin of ice began to crack and crumble away, leaving her arms numb and useless for the moment, Arcadia giggled and grinned big. She won!

Post Word Count: 274

Total Post Count: 2673/1000

Stats:

Health: 150

Magic Power: 185

Spells:

Ice Dragon Glacier Geckowalk -  Duration: 3/3, Cooldown: 1/4
Ice Dragon Frozen Claws – Duration: 2/2, Cooldown: 2/3
Ice Dragon Scales – Duration: 3/6, Cooldown: 0/7
Ice Dragon Wings – No cooldown
Ice Dragon Glacier Skate – Duration: 1/2, Cooldown: 0/3