Now his own purple cloak fully ballooned out, showing its insignia, and went straight up behind him, taut and ready. But was it because of his own power filling it or because it was alive and challenging the Priest’s cloak all by itself!
The Priest’s lips parted in a smile with the edges of his teeth precisely met. Suddenly the man undid his own cape’s clasps and flung the giant red cape upward where it transformed into the huge outstretched wings of a vulture, – a decapitated vulture!
The gruesome creature screamed out of its empty neck socket over them all, swooping and diving and causing row after row of men to collapse in its wake as its empty hole hungrily sucked sparkling blue power from all of them as it passed, making the creature grow even more powerful while rows of men slumped! From overhead its dark corpse circled, ruling the room!
Hamar’s cloak answered by thrashing from side to side, eager to fight back! Hamar clawed open its clasps and watched it shoot fast up into the air, – the Priest’s red cloak answering its challenge with an enraged scream!
The two capes shot up high in a weird battle overhead, their increasing energy humming louder over the crowd with each swoop, and now the suction of the capes yanking the men’s arms straight up! No one could resist the authority and power of the capes! There were flashes and rumbling thunders overhead as the capes bashed each other, giant vulture after bat!
The little one sped crazily, heroically, striking back, while all hair and beards on the men bushed out with energy as they passed, and big blue sparks shot up from every pointed object in the room until a great luminous cloud of unearthly blue lit the place.
The two capes sailed up through it, sucking it in and enlarging with power, battling for supremacy, until the giant one’s wings were fully extended to the walls and flew highest, spinning straight up to the domed ceiling, and there it exulted over the room in its glory. It rotated luxuriously, regally, spiralling all the blue energy off every majician into itself and now draining the pygmy cloak to wobble beneath it and begin to droop like a loser’s flag.
Finally Hamar’s little cape fell from the ceiling, the giant cape hurtling down to clutch it up in its grip!
The two bounced and battled on the floor for a weird kill. Finally the red cape squeezed Hamar’s cape into thinness, – making tender questioning coos and calls as it rocked it around, crushing and consuming the last of its power.
When no twitch was left from the rag, the red cloak, seemingly satisfied, unwrapped itself and gently flapped its great wings back to the Priest. In front of all who could still watch, it shot its wings up straight and shuffled them into place to form a rectangle again before it obediently took up its place behind the Priest and dwindled back to being mere red cloth. Its clasps shut with a loud click and its folds draped lifeless down his back.
The dishevelled men lying on the floor began to lift their heads, here and there rising on an elbow, while out over them the Priest’s raucous laughter was of a madman reviewing his romp. The men drew themselves up to go back into their lines. When they could, they bowed.
Hamar stood panting where he was and gripped the table with both hands, – bizarrely now limp himself, even barely able to stand, reduced back to being but a skinny beggar boy not knowing anything about anything once more.
As the Priest finished his laughter to suit himself he clicked his fingers and the little purple cape loosened from its wrinkled ball on the floor to skulk toward Hamar like a whipped dog. It reached up to take its place on his small shoulders. Then its latches shut and its dead weight hung down his back.
The Priest stood facing the boy with a smile, his head cocked to one side taking the boy’s measure. Then he shook his head and his smile faded. With no gesture of taking his leave, almost as if Hamar didn’t even exist, the man suddenly turned his back and strode for the door, his big red cape rocking obediently behind him.
All heads were bowed as, one by one, every row parted for the man, and the hall’s great doors were pushed wide for his departure. At the last second the Priest turned his head. “See to him, Adepts,” he said, but more like an afterthought.
Once he was gone Hamar looked at the sea of faces around him. They didn’t seem as threatening to him now. Some were bleeding slightly from nose or ears, some were singed, all looked wearied and spent. They regarded Hamar and bowed again, and began to pull up their hoods in readiness to leave that place, back to whatever was theirs to do. But not one of them moved, as if they were not yet free to go.
The Adept and his companion came behind Hamar in readiness to escort him away ahead of everyone else, but the boy looked into the eyes of one and then the other, and they didn’t dare come any closer.
They bowed to him, putting their hands inside their sleeves.
Strangely, he found himself nodding for them to accompany him. As he passed the drummer he also nodded for the man to begin the beat for marching them away.
To the steady booms, with a strange confidence Hamar stepped through the door, his small purple cape gently swinging behind him.
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