Chapter 001: Fired and Forgotten! Scene 001

The sudden gust of wind at the start and TalZerai knew he was already in trouble. He was moving too much sideways, but as he was trying to angle himself into a better descent, the wash line appeared.

"Blast"

Which is exactly what he did - a large burst of telekinetic force to arrest his direction and miss the line.

Lusambar continues to monitor the 'competition'. He floats down as slowly as possible, to keep the last faller in close proximity. If it's a deathgate adept, he'll take a moment to study the magic they are using, so that he can disrupt it.

High enough that they have time to save themselves, low enough that they can't recast their levitation spell. he thinks to himself.

Seeing the line in frot of their fall. Caerlth tries to adeptly directy her path to avoid it

I’ve just dodged the washing line when a new obstacle forces me into another quick tumble! I curse both the Sovereigns and the Flame together.

Lusambar angles his cloak and his body to drift away from the glass, continuing to monitor his place in the pack.

TalZerai was frustrated at how things were going. With his power, he had done brief flight before, so he has expected to do better, but the bad luck at the start had only escalated with each passing moment.

Seeing the next challenge, "Who does that?!"

Of course, who throws themselves off of a building as a sport.

TalZerai focused his power to try to slow his fall and angle away from it.

Rather than try to avoid the glass Caelyth aim straight for it. Shaping her body straight as an arrow, biringing the tip of her blade above her head. With enough force she hopes to shatter the glass in a spectacular spray of fragments.

As I plummet, watching Caelyth’s move, I exclaim with some satisfaction: "Foolish bard…"

Lusambar nods internally without visible motion. He gauges his speed relative to the others and adjusts his rate of fall to place himself ahead of Talzerai, keeping an eye on him to ensure that Lusambar breaks his token just before he does (or before the ground if he wants to show off by landing without ever using it.)

TalZerai noticed that the rival guild had all bowed out of the competition and all who remained were his fellow members. They had won the challenge, now all that remained was who among them would take the final crown. He remembered the comment from Tuono at the start that the winner would be the one who did not use the feather token at all.

TalZerai considered the ground as it was just coming into view. He knew he could do it, exert his telekinetic force and land without injury. He had carried his full weight before, but stopping a full fall was different, more mass and velocity to counter act. He had to admit that thus far luck had not been on his side.

A heartbeat passed as the ground grew closer...

He could do it... but he was already feeling the strain of the effort he had put in. It had taken more effort to dodge the obstacles than he had expected. Such a display as landing would require a great deal more than he had already done. Was the literal headache worth showing off when there was nothing at stake but some prideful bosting?

A heartbeat passed as the ground grew closer...

He could do it... but 'The gifts of Zerai were not for games' he could hear his father's disapproving tone in his head even as he fell. Of course his father would have disapproved of this entire contest, just as he had disapproved of Tal going off to fight in the war.

A heartbeat passed... and TalZerai activated his token.

There would be other times to prove himself when the stakes were truly important.

Hundreds of meters of freefall, a couple of obstacles dodged half by luck, shards of glass flying all around, and an elven spellcaster as the rival to beat: if I had to bet, I wouldn’t bet on myself! Unless… I can manage to latch onto that blasted skycoach down there… after all, what’s the point of a magical prosthetic if not for this?

As I pass close to the Roo company skycoach I spotted from above, I try to hook onto the railing with my mechanical arm.

Caelyth continues to fall, surrounded by a cloud of glistening sharp fragements.

She can see the ground rising up to meet her at an alarming pace. She is split seconds away from a definitely fatal collision with the ground.

Ah well, she sighs, Perhaps it is not time to join the ancestors just yet.

She triggers the feather fall token. with time enough to arrest her fall and land gracefully.

Lusambar carefully angles the cloak before releasing it at precisely the right time just before his competitor and future guildmate.