Cavatina

Lore Ideas:

• Almost no magic, learned how to fight physically.
• Magic is stored in his fireflies (literal 'Lightning Bugs'), which zap anyone they touch.
• Lifelong rival with Ralvitta.
• Not the brightest light in the harbor, but no one needs to know that.

Cavatina hated feeling weak. He hated having to watch his siblings create powerful bursts of magic, when all he was left with was little sparks. He hated losing fights to them, all because they had magic and he didn't.

So he trained. He trained and trained, and managed to beat them all, magic or not. He began to challenge anyone he saw, and won every fight. Up until his parents dragged him to that lair in the Reclaimer's Glacier, and he met that Wildclaw. Cavatina wanted to tear him apart the second his parents started boasting about how strong their little Ralvitta was.

His skin was like iron, and the Imperial was soon defeated. He became a bit obsessed after that, training and waiting for the day he could regain his honor. He ended up following the Wildclaw when he was sent to Opovder to study art, and immediately challenged him to fight.

It ended in a draw. As did the next one, and the next one, and every rematch afterwards. Nearly everyday they would battle, and Cavatina found himself looking forward to each fight. Someday a winner would emerge, but until then, it was a great way to train.

. . .

"What do I have to do to beat him?"

Cavatina had begun to grow impatient after every fight ending in a draw. He'd studied several fighting techniques, he'd even joined the city's guard, but to no avail. He'd finally turned to more unorthodox solutions, which was how he found himself sitting in the office of the king's seer.

"Hmm," Wickham muttered, staring into his familiar's pearl (how he saw with those messed up eyes of his was anyone's guess). "Well, there are ways either of you could win, both with and without my influence. Why should I help you, rather than Ralvitta?"

"Because I'm trying to get even!" he exclaimed, much louder than he meant to. The Coatl didn't react to his outburst, instead staring into the pearl.

"This is interesting..." he hummed, "I will help you, on two conditions. One, no one can know I helped you. Two, you owe me a favor."

"Favor?" the Imperial asked. He had no problem keeping their business private, he'd planned that from the start, but a favor could be worrisome.

The seer smiled from across the table, his tongue flicking in and out of his mouth. "Yes a favor. No matter how big or small, you must fulfill it, or I tell the king that you're a traitor to this land, and have you executed," he said, his smile growing more and more with each word. "Now, it most likely won't be much, perhaps just a good word with a noble family, or perhaps, a vacation. What do you say?"

Cavatina got a horrible feeling about the deal, but then again, could he really handle losing again? Wickham had said that Ralvitta could end up winning, he probably would soon. "Fine. What do I need to do?"

"His wings. I have no idea how you didn't figure it out already, Ralvitta's wings are the weakest part of his whole body," the seer said. "Aim for them the next time you fight, it'll be over in seconds. While you're at it, make those bugs of yours target his legs."

His wings. Could it really be that simple? Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen the Wildclaw fly or use his wings in a fight, if anything he always kept them at a distance. "Wait, why should I go for his legs?" he asked, only then remembering the second half of Wickham's instructions.

The seer looked at him with a blank expression. "The massive claws on his feet? The main fighting tool of his entire species, the thing that kills you in several versions of the fight?" he said, in a tone that certainly seemed insulting. "You have lightning bugs at your disposal. Tell me, what is his skin made of?"

"Meta-oh," Cavatina said, suddenly realizing. "That makes sense."

The seer was beginning to look impatient, "Yes, it does, now get out of my office before I strangle you." He paused, then added, "Please."

. . .

"It ends today, Ralvitta," Cavatina said. Those four words had been said many times, but today, they held much more weight.

The Wildclaw said nothing, instead flexing his front claws and glaring. Usually he offered backhanded remarks before a fight, but was silent if he'd had a bad day. It was a shame, Cavatina always preferred it when they were insulting each other.

Without a word, Ralvitta launched himself forward with his powerful legs. Instead of blocking and attempting to grapple like he normally would, Cavatina rolled to the side and directed his lightning bugs towards his opponents legs. A shockwave went through him, and with that short amount of time, the Imperial aimed for his wings.

Wickham was right. His wings were practically paper, and Cavatina sent a huge rip through the right one. The Wildclaw jumped away, no longer feeling the effects of the lightning bugs, and now bore a terrified look on his face.

Neither of them moved, and the only sound that could be heard was Ralvitta's shaky breaths. "You... you win, Cavatina," he said once he caught his breath. "I give up. You win."

. . .

Two days after his initial meeting the Wickham, the very thing that let him win the battle, and now the seer was in his office. "Something important is goin to happen tonight, and you can't screw it up," he said, with no other explanation.

Cavatina had been feeling rather pleased with himself for the past few days, but the seer's warning was making him feel the first fear sense then. "Anything else you want to tell me?"

"I would, but I can't, or else I'll mess it up. Just... something's gonna happen, and you'll know what I'm talking about when it happens, and you need to do what feels right in the moment," the Coatl explained. "Don't let your pride get the best of you, is all I'm saying." He stood, gave Cavatina a 'I'm watching you' sort of look, and left.

Not two minutes later, a guard (Cavatina was bad with names) told him that there was a white Wildclaw waiting to see him. "I think you 'oughta talk to him, he'd looking kind of down," they said before leaving. The Imperial excused himself from the building and went to meet Ralvitta outside.

Surely he can't want a rematch already, Cavatina thought, His wings will take weeks to heal, even with magic, and now that I know his weakness, he'll never win. "Ralvitta?" he asked.

"Cavatina," the Wildclaw responded. His wings were pressed to his sides, the right one heavily bandaged, and he clutched something rectangular in his front claws. "You defeated me, and it's a Wildclaw tradition for winners of duels to have their victories immortalized in art. Because I lost, and therefore brought shame to my name, I felt it necessary to bring you this as a show of respect." He handed the object, which Cavatina now recognized as a canvas, over.

It was a painting of their battle. Towers filled up the background, but the main focus was in the lower half of the canvas, where Cavatina was halfway through ripping Ralvitta's wing. It showed the Imperial to be much larger and stronger, while the Wildclaw looked completely helpless. All in all, Cavatina thought it was amazing, and wanted to offer his thanks, but then realized that it would almost be a show of weakness.

'Don't let your pride get the best of you,' Wickham's word echoed in his mind. "It's really good, thank you," he said. Ralvitta looked rather surprised at Cavatina's words, which he didn't blame him for. "And you didn't bring any shame to yourself at all, after all, you did beat me once before. Now we're just even." The Wildclaw gave him a curious look, and he quickly added, "Not that it'll stay that way for long, I mean. Once you heal up we're getting back out there, but I don't think I go for your wings next time. It made the fight boring."

Ravitta stared a him for a moment longer, and then smiled. "As soon as I'm healed, then. You know where I'll be."