Expectedly, they’d once again arrived at a stalemate. Hector wanted to attack Conall, but Karkash’s magnetism wouldn’t allow it; Karkash wanted to attack Harper, but Hector’s lightning rods wouldn’t allow it.
Then Karkash stopped attacking and just hovered there in the sky, looking down at Hector’s network of safety towers.
‘What’s he doing?’ said Hector.
‘Not sure,’ said Garovel. ‘Changing tactics, maybe? Be careful.’
Karkash thrust a hand down. Lightning flashed forth and expectedly crashed down on the spire nearest Hector, throwing up dust and cracking the stone beneath it. Already, Hector could tell that this was more power than Karkash had previously bothered expending. The man was focusing on a single lightning rod, and Hector wasn’t quite sure why. Karkash’s other hand moved as well, but a second line of lightning did not project from it.
‘It’s a diversion,’ said Garovel privately. ‘He’s trying to steal a tower behind you while your attention is focused here. It’s the one on the right at about forty-five degrees.’
Hector knew the exact tower the reaper was talking about. He annihilated it without even turning around.
‘You got it,’ Garovel confirmed. ‘Karkash doesn’t look too pleased, though.’
Hector concentrated on reinforcing the still-assailed spire, adding smaller ones around it to absorb some of the run off electricity. It wasn’t actually attached to the ground--none of them were, as that would have required Hector to materialize metal underground. Rather, Hector just made the foundations much broader than the peaks so as to allow greater stability.
Karkash used both hands now, converging two streams of electricity into one giant one, and the sudden additional force made the air tremble. The surge became blindingly bright. Hector couldn’t even open his eyes, but he could still feel the air crackling against his skin, wild sparks that would tear into him the moment he made a mistake.
And Karkash wasn’t letting up. If anything, he seemed to be putting even more into it with each passing second.
‘He’s just trying to overload the towers now,’ said Garovel. ‘Don’t let him.’
‘Easier said than done!’ said Hector.
A dark serial novel. Set in a modern fantasy world called Eleg. Mature language. Updates every night at midnight PST by ~400 words.
If karkash is producing electricity with both hands...does this mean hector could make enough metal to say, make the spire touch karkash? Zap him with his own electricity.
ReplyDeleteYou know, i find it strange that hector is only using his metal to ground the lightening attack. If he was to connect the spire to another one, then he would just redirect the bolts back at Karkash or one of his friends.
ReplyDeleteThe danger to Karkash would be pretty much nonexistent. The natural behavior of electricity is to sink into the ground, not rise up a cable to shock someone flying in the air. The behavior Karkash is trying to enforce is to kill Hector, not rise up a cable to shock himself.
ReplyDeleteHector would... basically have to materialize non-conductive metal at the base of the spire, make a cable from the spire up to Karkash, and another cable from Karkash back to the ground. This would make a path of least resistance that went through Mr. Electromagnetism.
Remember he is a 16 year old kid who wasn't doing well in school. He probably never got a chance to learn about ways electricity can be directed or stuff like that.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand; what was Karkash trying to do, and how did Hector frustrate him by removing a tower?
ReplyDeleteKarkash was trying to control the tower with his magnetism, presumably to bludgeon Hector with it.
ReplyDeleteAh, I see. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis fight really needs to be decided. Preferably in Hector's favor
ReplyDeleteIt wasn’t actually attached the ground --> attached [to] the ground
ReplyDeleteGot it, thanks.
ReplyDeleteHow are you finding these typos months after everyone else?!
ReplyDeleteBecause I was reading months after everyone else, simple as that
ReplyDelete...you cheeky bastard (-_-)
ReplyDeleteYou know I mean how are you finding the typos after everyone combed through the passages for mistakes already.
I was born and raised a grammar nazi, dear boy. It's ingrained in my subconscious - as far as my basic knowledge of English allows me to, at least :)
ReplyDeleteI'm a closet grammer nazi. I'm actually going through my old posts on these pages and correcting any mistakes I see 8C
ReplyDeleteAll this electricity thrown around ought to kick the atmosphere out of balance. Usually lightning is the opposite, it balances differing charges between the ground and the sky/clouds, but here it begins with the ground and atmosphere roughly on the same level.
ReplyDeleteI therefore propose the consistent charge applied by Karkash disbalances the system and lead to stronger lightning in the area on the next occasion.
Unless it's alternating current, or Karkash alternates the direction of the current between blasts.
If the spires are connected to the ground, wouldn't the electricity just go to the earth anyway? Also, complex connections like you seem to be implying likely wouldn't last long against Karkash.
ReplyDelete