Heir to the King: Chapter Five - Sneak Tactics

Zame stood to the side of the hollow, where a row of target dummies stood. "This is where you will learn the next set of spells, the sneak spells." Zame said.
Deren looked over at him. "Why do I need to learn sneak spells?"
"One, because you need to get used to using dark spells, and two, so I don't have to cloak you every time somebody comes."
Deren nodded. Zame sighed and spoke, "Now, the spells you'll be learning are as follows: Divert, Retaliate, Enshroud, Mask, and Shade Kick. After you've learned those, you'll be ready to relearn Banishing."
Deren's eyes widened. "That's it? Then I can go home?"
Zame nodded, and Deren noticed a shade of something in his eyes. "Now, first, to learn Divert. To use Divert, send your mana out of your body and solidify it into an image of yourself. Watch. Divert!" he sounded. Another of him appeared on the other side of the room. "The fake body can protect as well as distract. If the original body is attacked, the fake one will take the damage. The fake body can't attack or defend, however, so you must be cautious." said both Zames. "Now, you try." he said, his counterpart fading into nothing.
Deren stepped foreward and concentrated hard. "Divert!" He felt the mana leave him, and he solidified it. He saw a misshapen version of himself appear next to him. He concentrated harder, and the copy gradually reformed itself into a mirror image of himself. He smiled in triumph. The image faded, and he tried again. "Divert!"
This time, the copy mirrored him the first time. Zame stepped foreward and sliced through Deren. Surprisingly, he didn't feel a thing. The copy across from him, however, now had a huge gash in it. It dissapeared with a poof. "Good job. You saw how the decoy took damage for you? If it had hit the real you, it would have been a fatal hit, hence why the copy faded. Now for the next spell. Retaliate is a bit harder. It's less like a spell than like a technique, but mana is used for it instead of physical strength and speed. Transfer your mana into your arms and legs and speak the spell, and the mana will give you extra speed and power. Howver, you must dodge the attack and choose your own attack. Bear in mind that this spell only works for low-level techniques, as higher-leveled attacks will eliminate the extra speed and strength you need. Now, watch."
He pressed a button on the wall and a target dummy opened its mouth, fire spewing out. "Retaliate!"
With amazing speed, Zame ducked under the fire and sliced the dummy's support. The flame stopped and the dummy toppled over. The tiger looked up and said, "Now you try. Don't worry if you get hit. I know some healing spells."
Deren nodded and stepped in front of a dummy. Zame pressed the switch on the wall and the fire started. Deren shouted, "Retaliate!"
He ducked under the flame with speed that he'd never dreamed of reaching. With an almost wicked smile, he darted foreward and shouted, "Zap!", directing his spell at the pole. It cracked in half, halting the flame. The dummy fell over back wards. Deren felt the speed leave him. "That...was...amazing!" he breathed.
Zame laughed. "It always is your first time. Are you up to up another spell?"
Deren looked up at his mentor and rolled his eyes. "Noooo! I'm tired after just three low-leveled spells. Of couse I'm up to it!"
Zame just snorted and continued, "The next spell is Enshroud. Swirl your mana around you like a cloak. Enshroud!"
The great tiger vanished instantly. "Let's see how well you do." called his disembodied voice.
Deren called, "Enshroud!"
He didn't feel anything. "Did it work?" he asked Zame cautiously.
"Perfect! A natural!" praised Zame, his form now reappearing. "Now, try to reveal yourself."
He whisked the mana away from himself, and was rewarded by a smile from Zame.
He approached Deren and added, "We'll rest for the day. It's about dinner time anyway."[/color]
Deren was disapointed, but followed his mentor into the black portal back home. Wait a second...since when is Zame my mentor? Since when is his house my home? Strangely, he didn't really care much about the change in thought.

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Deren awoke the next day ready to train. He raced down the stairs to the table. Zame threw a casual glance in his direction. "There are two more spells to learn before Banishing."
Deren nodded, fully aware of this already, but welcoming conversation. "Mask and Shade Kick, right?"
It was Zame's turn to nod. Both Master and Novice knew that soon they would have to part ways. Zame stood and turned solemnly to the wall. "Banishing!"
The two stood before the black portal for a moment. Deren spoke first. "Will...when I leave, will I get to see you again?"
Zame hesitated. "Perhaps" he replied after a long pause.
They stood silent for another moment, then stepped through. On the other side, Zame led Deren to the side of the field. "Now, knowing how to Mask yourself will be useful if you ever have the urge to learn more Dark spells. It only works against low-level searching spells, but it'll be good enough for our purposes. If I need to, I can use Silencing to conceal you better. Now, to use Mask, you must imagine your magical signature as a glow around you."
Deren closed his eyes and pictured himself standing with Zame, both of their signatures cloaking them, his flame-orange and Zame's a dark blue. He nodded to show his understanding. "Now, reduce it until it is just a thin layer."
Deren used all his might to force it down, but it only flickered. "Do not use only one strength! Use both mental and magical strength together! And do not waver!" Zame commanded.
Deren did as instructed and was surprised that the orange glow started to fade. He stopped and it flared out to its normal size. He tried again and reduced it to a thin coating, like a second skin, on his body before he couldn't reduce it farther. He held it there, waiting for a signal to do something. When he didn't get one, he realized that Zame was letting him finish this one on his own. Guessing at his next move, he called out, "Mask!"
The glow stopped resisting and stayed in place like a ring around a barrel. He tried, but couldn't move it farther inward. He opened his eyes and looked to Zame. The great tiger nodded and smiled, showing that Deren had done it correctly. (yay! more motivation!)

I added more ^^

coolness!!

It's getting good.