The arena was about 1/2 the size of a football field, and had anti-magical barriers, along with a floor made of sand that was still stained with blood. It was where people faced off against each other in outright challenges and brawls. The walls in the arena were two stories tall, enough to make it hard for even one of the 9 foot tall were-bears to climb out of. People had gathered to see this spell-fight, including Master Torvyd and his Apprentices, and a few very curious fans of this sort of thing. A were-bear from Clan Talonclaw stood as referee, along with a Master Wizard powerful enough to reverse any spell cast.
Jackson stood in the arena, facing off against Twila Hardison, a Phoenix A-Z desert rat with more attitude than real experience.
As he reached out mentally, he could sense just enough power to make her a threat.
Most Wizards in the New Era knew all about Elemental Arrow and other offensive spells, but all this woman had was a Loki Stick and the usual 'I don't give a crap' demeanor.
She began with concentrating on the stick, which began to glow with a purple light, which grew into a cloud. The cloud developed orange swirls, and then angry red swirls.
At first Jackson didn't know what to make of it, but then as the angry grew within the cloud, he realized that this spell was Invasion-based.
As quickly and accurately as he could, Jackson made a circle with the tempering salts he had and focused as much energy as he could into it. Protection-based spells were not his strong point, but he did know enough about Invasion-based energies that he could for the most part at least take the edge off the damage.
He hoped.
Twila pointed her Loki Stick at him and casted her spell.
A ball of flame the size of a basketball blasted through Jackson's Circle of Protection and scorched him badly. His undergarment and outer clothes took the brunt of this, however, and with the exception of some second degree burns in a few random places, Jackson wasn't hurt.
He took out a stun-dart and aimed carefully before throwing it at her.
With a little bit of telekinesis behind it, he managed to get it to circle her before hitting her in the back.
She fell to the ground, semi-coherent and twitching.
She should be glad that she didn't wet herself. He thought. It happened every now and then, and was nothing if not embarrassing. Wizards after all should be used to getting hit with something as amateur league as a stun-dart.
Before she could shake off the zap from the stun-dart, Jackson walked over to her and kicked the Loki Stick away from her.
The woman got up, still twitching, and grabbed his pant leg before casting another spell.
She recovered quickly, something he'd not anticipated.
And her eyes -- deep, dark, hypnotic. Like some bottomless well. He'd not realized it before, but she had to be the most beautiful woman he'd ever met. His heart soared as she looked up at him, and he had to resist the urge to pick her up and kiss her. What would she be like as a lover? Hot and wild, passionate or demure?
His body then started to shrink and change.
His face extended and warped, and then his arms and legs began to bend, and he fell to the ground. His clothes no longer fit, since he no longer had a human form.
A thousand new smells assaulted him, along with a change from color vision to sepia tone. Including the amazing scent of this incredible woman.
After shrugging off the Cupid's Curse spell, he looked down at his hands, which were now paws. He realized that he was a canid of some kind, just not a mangy cur. By the look of this new body, he would say coyote.
"Sit!" She commanded, and he did so without even thinking.
Oh Crap. He thought.
He realized then that this was going to be a very humiliating experience...
