They grinned. Going great so far! They'd loop the pebbles one last time before tossing them HIGH up into the air, hopefully giving them enough time to cast the next spell.

The barrier wasn't very large or stable, so some of the pebbles slipped off the sides or missed it completely. But two of the pebbles sat in the middle of the air-shield, appearing to float mid-air, just above Horizon's head and outstretched hands.

This was going really well!

What they had INTENDED to do was some kind of grand finish- maybe they would send the pebbles flying through the air one last time, or launch them SUPER far away from the crowd, or something really cool like that.

What ACTUALLY happened was that all of the pebbles- even the ones that had fallen on the ground- would launch towards Horizon as though draw in by a magnetic pull. They would hit hard enough to draw a startled "Ouch!" from them, and most likely bruise, but otherwise cause no real harm.

However.

Everyone. EVERYONE who has here had just seen that. Everyone had seen them end their super cool magic routine by hitting themself in the face with a bunch of stupid rocks. What if they thought it was on PURPOSE?? Would that be better than everyone knowing they'd messed up right at the end? Either way that looked really dumb, and the pebbles hurt, and their turn was definitely over so they should just leave already.

They blinked harshly, eyes welling with tears. "...bye." keeping their heads down, they would quickly skedaddle out of there.

[exit thread?] @Nikolai

It was his turn, okay he could do this.

Taking a deep breath, he walked out, head high and full of confidence, his shoulders squared and his tail raised. He looked like he knew what he was doing, and he sure as well hoped that he did. As he reached the center of the area, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he took his time to gain his composure while also letting the suspense begin to take hold.

Unlike many of the others, he didn't introduce himself, he didn't say hello, he just stood there still and silent before suddenly lifting his head to the heavens, letting out a deep, low and thundering howl to the sky, filling the room with his wolf song while at the same time, activating the fire in his chest to spit out a superheated bile glob at the start of his howl, shooting it into the air and letting it catch fire as it emerged into the air around him.

He needed to do this perfectly, and wait until just the right time to act if he wanted to do this right.

He continued to stand there and howl for a moment, watching the glob of molten fire fly upwards and begin to fall straight down, looking like it would land directly on him. But he didn't move, he didn't flinch, and even waited until only seconds before disaster looked like it would strike.

Only then, as he could damn near feel the heat on his face, did he react, suddenly taking control of the fire ball and. As he took a grand step back in an extravagant show, the fire ball swirled around him for a moment, close enough to almost singe his fur before he stepped forward and pushed the fire towards the crowd, close enough to possibly cause some hearts to race but not close enough to do any damage.

He twirled the fire around a few times before pulling it back towards him, letting it continue to swirl around him, a smirk crossing his lips, proud and excited.

He wanted to finish it perfectly, wanted to add on just a little extra spice to the ending, but he was already exhausted and the fire was catching up to him, so he just couldn't quite add on the effects he wanted.

That was okay, he would just use the end of the flame control to end it differently.

He could feel the control of the fire slipping, signaling the end of the spell, but before it fully vanished, he would keep it swirling around him for a moment before lifting his head right as he let the fire flip upwards right over his mouth before vanishing, his magic exhausted. However, not before he let out one more loud howl, the breath of his voice blowing the last of the smoke from the fire upwards before he stood there panting, slowly letting his body relax.

He had hoped to make his eyes glow and enhance the effect, but he just couldn't handle so much magic at once, and so, he would finally dip his head to the crowd before turning to leave, panting and slowly regaining his breath as he walked out, content with his own performance.

-exit-

@V-Corundum-One

She'd been watching in the wings, and enjoying herself, really. The plant show had been fun to watch. The weird bile-spin performance had been... interesting. Unfortunately it looked like two of them had actually hurt themselves; Corundum hoped that wasn't going to set a precedent.

Corundum had come hoping to make it to the final fight. She was a combatant--and therein lay the problem. This was a magic show. And while her abilities lay with magic, she wasn't a showman: she was a fighter. She'd debated how to go about this, then, and in the end decided to play to her strengths.

When she made her entrance, it was wreathed in shadows: she kept to the darker points around the area as she entered. She kept her voice low and dramatic as she came, shamelessly theatrical. "I'm not a magician... or a knight," she said, with a verbal nod to Pollen's performance. "I'm a soldier of the Chaos Forge. A fighter... and a hunter." With that, she let the cloak of darkness fall away, stepping forward into the limelight. She stood tall and rolled her shoulders, grinning at her judge.

Really, she'd have liked to be able to start off by praising the others who'd come before her, and thanking them and all of that--but Corundum was playing to appearances, now.

And now, for my next trick...

Corundum flexed her claws, digging them into dirt. "My task is to find our enemies, and fight them! But you don't need to be a brute--to rely on just your strength--to fight! I'm here to show how I use magic for battle!" She spun, tensed, and leapt.

The first little leap was a tiny one, intended to then catapult her into a threatening bound imbued with magicka: the ability to bounce incredibly high.

It worked. It worked, too well, and maybe it was Polaris's surges of magic screwing with everyones' casts but she lost control of it. And of her trajectory. Rather than an impressive, soaring bound, she went flying, and not gracefully, either. There could be no doubt that she'd fucked up: she went careening head over heels, scrambling mid-air like a cat but failing to find her feet very UNLIKE a cat before crashing into some props that had been set to one side.

She emerged from the dust cloud a moment later limping, and coughed. How do I come back from that?! she thought, but it was with good-natured amusement; she never took much seriously.

She stood up straighter, and spoke with self-deprecating humor: "I'm too powerful for even myself to control." It was clear she wasn't serious.

Okay, well, final attempt.

She spun abruptly from where she'd been standing. One moment she was stoic, if grinning, up at the judges; the next she was in fluid motion, lunging for a stick dummy she'd stuck among the props.

Her strike was a blur, hard to follow with the eye despite her size. Claws punched through the branches, shattering them, the spikes on her arms deflecting wooden debris that splintered and sprayed every which way. The crack was admittedly impressive, and there was little left after her attack. Admittedly it'd just been a person made of branches. And maybe her pounce to get here had gone wildly awry, but she felt like she'd pulled it back at the end, at least a little.

She turned and flexed over dramatically at the judge, still not taking it at all seriously; she was proud, sure, but she was having fun. Then she turned, relaxing and dropping the theatricality to offer a wave at the other contestants. "Loved the whip, and the juggling," she called, and to those yet to perform, "Good luck!"

Then she made her way off-'stage.'

@Titivilus

Tectus watched each of the competitors with a critical, measured eye. She betrayed little to no emotion on her actual face, but occasionally her body language - an small nod, a squint of the eye, a tilt of the head - gave away how she might be feeling about each of the shows.

For Pollen, Tectus's eyes followed the movement of the growing plants, appreciating the mastery she seemed to have over her less-then-violent element. It was a beautifully subtle display, relatively at least to what Tectus had been expecting for this show, and a good opener. Each of the casts succeeded and came with a nice little speech. If she could smile a bit, she would. How adorable this one was. Is she fit to fight Saran'zol, though? They would see about that. Tectus was not particularly looking for...who was the best fighter. But who was the most worthy, the strongest in their respective fields.

She nodded to Pollen as she completed her show. "That was lovely. Thank you, Pollen." She watched the gardener walk off and the next walk on.

Ah! The opal. Tectus seemed to sit up a little straighter as one of hers stepped into the middle. She knew his capabilities already and was ready for a show. She knew he would be putting one on. But her excitement quickly morphed into disappointment as, apparently, one of the spells backfired, leaving his coughing and sputtering. Her eyes narrowed. That was embarrassing, for her as well, that one of hers would fail so hard in front of a crowd. Still, she admired his spirit, for staying and trying to complete...whatever it was he was doing.

When he was finished, she gave him a nod too, although her voice was not as warm as it had been with Pollen. "Thank you, September."

The next, a...two headed two armed minotaur? Interesting form, and young at that. She wondered if it was created or hybrid and if the former, which Master would have constructed something so strange and oddly simple. Hm, no matter. Its show of magicka was simple, not very flashy, but for the most part measured. Until the end of course. The valkhound looked a little taken aback by the sudden pelting of stones on the poor child and sighed softly, managing to find a bit of sympathy for them as they turned and walked off.

"Thank you, Horizon," she called after them, but she was unsure if they heard.

The wolfdog stepped up next and she waited for him to say something, introduce himself, but he simply began without any opening words. She chuckled to herself. Someone was confident. The spellcasting was strong. Simple, but strong, and fire would be of use against the Unbound Champion. His control of it was impressive and a nod betrayed her approval. She watched the flames dance before the audience, not cringing back herself (she dared any of them to purposefully hit her with their magic) and watching for his finishing move. But...ah, a failed cast, then? He looked tired from the exertion - she didn't blame him, but it was still a small disappointment.

Still, she nodded as he completed his show, impressed by the flames. "Your fire magic is strong, Nikolai. Thank you."

The next to step out, at first she squinted to see, understanding that this was part of the show. A good entrance. As soon as she did step out, she knew exactly where she'd come from. The hunched shape, the spikes...this was a spawn of the Master. She watched carefully, interested in this...unconventional show of magic, and could not help but let out a snort at the backfired bounce. She was still strong - a hunter and a fighter that used magic to bolster the physical - and that was interesting. But...the failure was noted.

A nod. "Well done, quite the creative use of magic. Thank you."

To be extremely honest with you, it is highly unlikely that the train understands what exactly is supposed to happen here. It stops by where there's a crowd and stands completely immobile, presumably "watching" based on the little hint of matte mauve skin peeping out from the top of its head, suggesting the presence of the tentacle puppet. It watches each performance, its octopus-like layer of camouflaging flesh unchanging from its standard choice of smooth texture and lime green. After a certain point, it somehow seems to act as though it has been "cued" in.

From within the audience, the train attempts to build its magic steadily like a tidal wave, drawing from the water within itself and the moisture in Polaris to create a cover of mist.