The sun slowly rose behind the mammoth structure of the Arena of Tredat, a stone building that would put castles to shame with its size and defensive positions. Its outer wall stretched out to either side of the entrance until it faded from view and a massive iron portcullis lay open before the crowd that slowly meandered inside, most headed to the left, where they would head into the boxes and normal seats to wait for the battles to begin. For every one hundred people that entered, only one walked to the right, where several men and women analytically watched the contestants pass by them, trying to figure out who has the best chance of winning and who acted for which family. Along the passageway were statues devoted to every winner of the tournament and five statues that sat at the end, each one showing one of the heads of the Five Families, including one that depicted Akiyo Bari, the head of the Bari family when the war was ended. Akiyo Bari’s statue stood at an impressive twelve feet tall, wearing a stone robe and holding a stone book, which was open to a page that seemed to have been enchanted to always display a light-based spell. In conjunction with this, a light shone down constantly onto his statue, further accenting his appearance as a holy man like his name. The other four statues had lost much of their features since unhappy contestants had attacked them when they were unjustly removed due to cheating by the respective families, and the Azuan statue looked like something massive tried to crush it, leaving cracks across the entire surface. Beyond the statues a curve in the hallway hid a much shorter passage from view, which led into a dimly lit room, and was just barely long enough to allow a future statue to be placed eventually. Unlike the previous passage, this short hallway was much coarser and, beyond some minor patchwork repair jobs, didn’t seem to have been touched much since it was constructed thirty years prior. Inside the room, the only light came from scattered candles, whose light was reflected faintly off a large array of old, damaged iron weapons and armor as the flames sporadically flickered. Each one glowed faintly to the eyes of most who entered, as each one was either enchanted or kept around for a long time, though the reason doesn’t matter to most since it is so faint that they wouldn’t be useful for anyone. From a doorway on the opposite side of the room a faint light shone onto a stone hallway’s corner and around the corner lay a much larger room, where the sound of hundreds of people talking was quite audible as it echoed through the entrance to the arena. Inside this room over one hundred people are scattered around, each one holding a small piece of parchment with a number written on it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Orolis slowly walked down the hallway with his brother trailing behind him, a stone kitten laying peacefully on Drinuw’s right shoulder and a long wooden rod crossing his back. As Orolis approached the last of the statues he looked at the latest champion’s and laughed before continuing walking towards the Five Families’ statues. His smile grew slightly more pronounced as he saw the damage done to the Azuan statue and bowed his head slightly towards Akiyo Bari’s statue before finally heading around the corner towards the old armory. “Maybe today one of us will be the ‘newcomer’ that comes out of nowhere and wins against all odds.” He purposely accented the word newcomer and briefly laughed when he finished, as if the idea of either of them winning was funny to him. “Of course, I’ll only succeed if our ancestors actually want me to win, while you don’t have anything to worry about. Should anyone go beyond simply harming you in the tournament our ancestors will likely allow revenge.” He reassured, reaching back and patting his brother on the head. “But you’re so strong, why can’t you win?” Drinuw replied, his face visibly upset at the perceived news. “I didn’t say I can’t win, just that whether I win or not is up to those that came before me, like our moms and our dad. Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll both do fairly well in the tournament, even if neither of us ends up winning. If worse comes to worse we’ll just have to go look for him ourselves again.” Orolis stated as they finished passing through the armory before lowering his voice slightly. “I know you want us to win, but you all know we can’t both win, so could you please stop repeatedly asking me to make sure we both win. Yes, if I have to fight him in the finals I will withdraw, but that doesn’t mean that he’ll accept winning in such a way. No, I don’t think there will be any problems with any of the Five Families since four of them have had family members win in the last five years.” He suddenly stopped talking as he turned the final corner and walked into the waiting room, grabbing a number from the guard standing by the door and passing another to his brother before sitting down at a nearby table. Taking a look around the room, he spotted several people looking at him like they recognized him, but he doubted that he knew them.
Joseph woke up in a linen strewn bed and yawned stretching. 'Where am I ?' he thought, then saw the woman, named Elly, or something like that. He smiled as he remembered the night before, then got up and shrugged his clothes on. He opened the window, and his good mood was replaced instantly by anxiety. 'Crap, I'm gonna be late!' He grabbed his gear, and after grabbing something to eat on the way, he sprinted to the arena. After pushing through the crowds, and lifting a few coinpurses while he was at it, he was in the arena. He sighed as he walked down the hallway, saying 'We made it.' Drogue peeked his head out from under Joseph's cloak, peered at his surroundi gs, then ducked back inside, after grabbing a shiny link of chain from a set of chain mail. Joseph casually walked into the large room, trying to exude confidence. His eyes quickly swept over the competition, marking who was able to fight and who wasn't. He took his number, then walked up to one particularly intriguing pair, sitting at their table. He stuck out his hand, saying, 'Hello, I'm Joseph. You two here for the tournament?' He grinned likably. He was already in character.
"I'm booooooored!" From a corner of the large room, a small voice had chirped every so often, youthful and bright and frankly indistinguishable from a whining little kid. At its source is the figure of a girl, appearing to be as young as one with such a childish mind would logically appear as. The girl had long brown hair, and is dressed in only a green one-piece dress that left her barefoot. She is also literally one feet tall, and is obviously a spirit. A humanoid spirit, but a spirit nonetheless. The spirit sat upon the shoulders of another girl, this one a young woman with short auburn hair and dressed in what is visibly an adventurer's garb. Florentia rolled her eyes. It had been a good while since they had gathered in the room, holding a piece of paper with a number written on it that's more than likely to be used in short notice. Throughout the time they waited, she had had to deal with the spirit's cries of boredom several times now, either by simply shushing her to calm down, bribing her with a piece of fruit she had in her satchel, or grooming her hair and dress. Even isolated in a corner, the two had attracted the attention and quite possibly ire of several others waiting near them, though by now it seems most of them look upon the adventurer with either resignation or pity. The fairy can indeed be a handful at times. Still, despite her protests, Florentia conceded on one thing. The wait is boring. So boring she personally wished she can just flop down on the table and doze off, as rude as it is. And possibly miss the time when her number gets called up. Sighing internally, she shifted her gaze over to a pair of young men who had entered recently, seemingly very close, a stone kitten laying peacefully on the younger's shoulder. It's cute, really. The kitten. Even if it's made out of rock. One of Florentia's favorite pastimes is to stare at a nearby animal for minutes on end, after all. "Oh, hey! A new person!" As sudden as usual, Cyrille pointed to the entrance to the large room, and to the newcomer that had entered the room. The young man was... Quite handsome, really, and sharply dressed in black clothes, even if the cloak did seem too big for him. The adventurer noticed, offhand, how he seemed to scan the entire room with those eyes of his, before he walked over to... The pair of close-knit young men she had seen earlier. Huh. "Hmmmmmmmm..." Glancing to the side, Florentia saw the fairy humming in contemplation. From experience, whenever she does that... "I know! Hey, hey, Flo, Flo, can I meet up and talk to those guys?" Yep. "Please? They look interesting and the like, and I'm going to be really bored otherwise, so might as well, right? Right?" Completely valid logic, too. Florentia nodded, smiling slightly, if a bit wryly. "Yay! Thanks, Flo!" With those words, the fairy flew off to the direction of the pair and the newcomer.
Orolis tilted his head slightly as his veins seemed to turn completely black for a moment before a smile formed on his face and he accepted the handshake. "Nice to meet you Joseph, and we are here for the tournament." He stopped for a moment before continuing and releasing Joseph's hand. "Ah, yes, I almost forgot to introduce us. I am Orolis and this boy is my younger brother Drinuw." He motioned beside towards Drinuw as he finished speaking before looking towards him when he didn't respond. Instead of spotting his brother, he saw a wall of fog where his brother had been, making him laugh. "Of course he would fall asleep now. Oh well, nothing we can do about that since we've been walking nonstop for awhile." He took a look around the room before continuing yet again. "Looks like you might actually have a chance of winning, since I don't see anyone that is obviously a member of the Five Families in here. If you went against someone who's obviously one of them you'd be guaranteed a loss, though any that aren't obvious are likely very strong." Orolis smiled even wider as a thought crossed his mind. "Just remember that no matter who you may get close to, they could be who you fight in the next round. Who knows, maybe we'll end up fighting later on when the numbers have been dwindled quite a bit."He looked back over at the fog where his brother was obscured before muttering to himself, likely audibly if anyone was paying attention. "You'll need all the rest you can get since they try to eliminate the weak ones first with battle royals before the actual one on one battles." When he finally finished muttering this, he stopped talking long enough for Joseph to actually get a word in again.
Joseph looked at this Orolis again. He was... certainly a character. And his brother, who just fell asleep at the table. 'Well, you don't seem very worried about the tournament. Where are you from?' He did another casual scan pf the room, this time spotting what looked like an adventurer with a fairy. They were talking and looking in his direction, and..... yup. The fairy was heading over. 'Looks like we have company.' Joseph chuckled, as the bubbly fairy came to the table.
Nearly hyperventilating, Prey Amorte stomped his feet in excitement as he traveled down the passage leading to the room where all of the fighters were assembled. He ran his finger along the wall, searching every corner of the passage with his eyes and marveling at the most trivial things- he had never been in a place as big as the arena, so his enjoyment was warranted. Behind Kruxen, the intimidatingly large floating guardian who was now trailing behind him while humming peacefully, he noticed a few judgmental glances being thrown his way. Better tone it down, then... With a curt "Ahem", he marched on until he saw the statues that lined the hallway. "Wow," he said as he reached the final five statues, "these must be the five families. Or at least, they were..." He stared at them for a few moments. He didn't really like getting involved in the politics of the five families, but he did find the history of the families to be interesting. He had read more history books when he was younger than he would like to admit. Even if history wasn't the most interesting subject to him, although there was an exception when it came to- "Hey!" His thoughts were interrupted by one of the presumed fighters who were making faces at him before. "Get out of my way or walk faster," The man angrily announced, loud enough for other people to hear. Prey continued walking without addressing him, but he couldn't help but to laugh when Kruxen hovered in front of the man while emitting a low, bone-chilling howl. The man was visibly scared. When Prey reached the candle-lit room with glowing weapons on display, no comment was made about how Prey stopped and looked at every one of them with wonder. Soon Prey and Kruxen arrived at the end of the passage and entered the room where the competitors were gathered. He was given a paper with a number, 138, before he was left to his own, questionable abilities of social interaction. He and Kruxen stood by the wall near the entrance of the room, Kruxen quietly buzzing as Prey stayed silent.
Large numbers of people seemed to be entering the arena, but the papers held by Joseph, Prey, Drinuw, Orolis, and Florentia didn't seem to have activated yet. The sound of many people fighting echoed into the room, but there were no clear views of what was actually going on out there, so no one knew who was winning. It sounded like someone was talking over the fighting, but it seemed whatever magic they were using to broadcast their voice wasn't sending it into the waiting room. ---------------------------------------------- When asked where he came from, his smile briefly flickered before returning. "I come from the small town of Stuld in Ichrod, though you likely haven't heard of it." He shrugged, thinking to himself that the fact that Stuld ceased to exist once his brother and him left since they were its final inhabitants didn't really matter in the given situation. As he was informed of the incoming fairy, he tilted his head again, a pulse of black going through his veins for a moment. "A Guardian approaching without its host... Definitely quite different from what I'm used to. Oh well, even if its coming over to attack us it doesn't matter." He motioned around the room and for a second dozens of soldiers seemed to appear before disappearing again. No one besides the two of them actually saw the guards appear or disappear. "The guards won't let it go without consequences. Ah, he's awake again." He turned around and beyond a light mist the fog was completely gone from around Drinuw "Did you have a nice nap?" "Still a little sleepy." Drinuw mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "Can I go out yet?" Orolis took a single look at the papers and shook his head. "No, doesn't seem like you're up just yet." "Okay." Drinuw replied before laying his head back down on the table and falling asleep again. Orolis turned back around and spotted someone standing near the door with a fairly large Guardian behind him, but saw no reason to worry about him since all he was doing was standing by the door.
Joseph noticed the strange pulse again. 'I will need to look into that....' He thought to himself. 'I'm not really frightened of those guards, I'm not planning on fighting before my time. If anything, I'm glad it's a bit more regulated, cheap shots before the game aren't my favorite.' He smiled at the fairy, then noticed the man standing by the door with the large guardian floating behind him. Joseph whistled low in appreciation.
Prey, following his extreme excitement upon arriving at the arena, did not expect the wait to be as boring as it was. While he waited, he looked over the other competitors, or what was left of them at the moment. There was one notable conversation going on in the room- two men and a fairy, and nearby, a kid with some kind of mist power. Although he wondered what that odd darkness that occasionally pulsed through the one man's veins was, and was also concerned for the boy who just went back to sleeping, they didn't give off the most approachable feeling. Still, Prey figured that making acquaintances, and hopefully learning some things and hearing the stories of a few people, was an important part of this experience. This was the beginning of his new life, so he wanted to make it as fun as possible. With a heavy feeling of nervousness growing in the bottom of his stomach, Prey walked across the room to a more approachable-looking girl that was around the same age as him. He was not prepared with anything to say. "Hi," Was all that he could blurt out, as he was hyper aware of some of the other people in the room as they stared at Kruxen.
"Hi there!", the fairy cheerfully greeted as she reached the trio. Even to people who just met her, the fairy exudes an aura of seemingly boundless energy, and she definitely acts like it. "I'm Cyrille, wind fairy of the northeastern forests! Or something like that! Who are you three? Where do you come from? And who's the rock-kitten?", the barrage of questions came soon after, delivered in a single breath and without any sign of pausing. The fact that one of the three seemingly had his blood vessels glow with darkness, and another of them had mist around him whenever he went to sleep, seemingly went right up and over the fairy's head. She's like that. - - - - - Florentia watched as Cyrille struck up a conversation with the trio. Leave it to the fairy to either open up a casual conversation or annoy anyone and everyone. Through the three years they have been together, Florentia has gotten largely used to the fairy's zany shenanigans. Deciding to leave Cyrille to her own for a while, Florentia glanced around, noting how some people have been entering the arena. She idly wondered what's going on inside, and how the system works. Apparently, those sheets of paper have an alarm enchantment built in... "Hi", came a voice from her side, snapping her out of her thoughts. Turning to the source of the voice, Florentia saw a chestnut-haired young man about her age, awkwardly and nervously trying to strike up a talk with her. She supposed he was a newcomer, considering she can't recall having seen him in the room before... And especially not the floating statue following him around. It was a bit creepy, to be honest. The stares of other people agreed with her. Still, as approachable and open-minded as Florentia is, the creepiness of the statue didn't stop her from waving back to the young man in reply, smiling amicably. She then tapped the table she was at a few times, gesturing for the young man to come closer.
'Well hello there, madam, nice to make your acquaintance!' Joseph gave her a dazzling smile, holding out a hand daintily. He noted the fairy's companion was engaging with the boy with the statue. 'My name is Joseph Triche, how do you do?'
"Oh, um, I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't just be going up to people and expecting conversation..." Prey said, glancing at Kruxen as he sat across from the girl. "This is Kruxen. He's really quite calm, although he can be a bit protective of me sometimes." He looked at the man whom he had encountered earlier. "I expected people to be intimidated by him," he continued with a laugh, "in fact, I was hoping that he would scare people, but I didn't think the whole thing through... since I think it might be important to talk and make some acquaintances perhaps. I'm Prey, by the way." This isn't exactly how I expected this tournament to go... It'll be better once I start fighting though.
Orolis turned towards the fairy it began to speak and waited until it finished to even try to speak. Just as he was about to speak, however, he was cut off by Joseph, so he waited until Joseph asked her a question before actually speaking. "Let's see. In order of the questions, I am Orolis and this is my brother Drinuw." He motioned to the sleeping boy beside him. "We came from a small town in Ichrod, but it isn't a place you'd ever want to visit. The land is almost entirely covered in sand with very few places to shield yourself from the harsh winds" He shrugged as if the wind and sand were of little concern to him. "And this little 'rock kitten' is my brother's Guardian, Bephid, who is also a fairy, though he comes from the Maze." Bephid stirred slightly on Drinuw's shoulder and looked up, his eyes barely visible because they were red. He seemed to shimmer for a second, but solidified again when Drinuw's paper lit up with magic and an arc of lightning came off the paper and shocked Drinuw. "Is it time now?" Drinuw mumbled as he woke back up. "Yes, it is time for you to go out there now."Orolis responded and kept an eye on him as he shambled over to the door with his piece of paper, a ripple appearing as he walked through the barrier that separated the arena from the waiting room. After he passed through the barrier, Orolis turned his attention back to the fairy and Joseph. "Seems like the individual battles will be starting soon." ----------------------- Of the one hundred forty people that were in the room originally, only ten remained, including Orolis, Joseph, Florencia, and Prey. ------------------------------------------------ Drinuw slowly increased his pace until he was running towards the free-for-all arena. In the arena there were twenty-nine other contestants and he seemed to be the last one arriving in the circle. "Now, as many of you already know, we like to keep the tournament as short as possible due to the impatience of some of the Five Families. Because of this, we have the people we believe the most likely to be easily defeated gathered into several free-for-all battles and you lucky contestants are the last such group. We've already eliminated eighty-seven contestants and of you only one will move on to the next round. Standard rules apply, where anything goes except using Relics since we don't need a repeat of the fifth tournament, and no trying to reincarnate anyone else. Trying to reincarnate anyone will mean your instant death, so it's not worth it." The announcer sounded bored and gave a moment for his words to sink in before continuing. " Now, let the battle begin." The announcer declared, his voice echoing around the stadium into box and normal seats through the use of Sound-based Magic. Drinuw reached onto his shoulder and quickly petted Bephid before drawing his staff and placing one end on the ground. A heavy mist quickly filled the arena and screams started issuing from it, though not a sound of combat beyond that was actually heard. The yells of contestants surrendering were only accented further by their bodies being pulled out of the arena by their now burning pieces of paper. When the mist finally rose again, the only one still standing was Drinuw as the other contestants were rocking back and forth. "For the honor of the Bari family" He screamed, bowing before the box that belonged to the Bari family before running to another waiting room amidst rumblings of people wondering why such a young boy devoted his fight to the Baris. Once he reached the other waiting room, he collapsed in a chair, exhausted from using such a powerful spell. As he rested, a mist seemed to be appearing around him much faster than normal, as if to protect him from danger while weakened. Back in the arena, a team quickly came down and checked on the condition of the other contestants before taking them to a room reserved for treating the contestants. "We have just confirmed that the other contestants are in fact either unable or unwilling to continue, so the boy wins with paper number one hundred twenty-six."
Joseph watches him go, slightly worried for him. He turns his attention back tp the fairy. 'Do you want to bring yiur companion over here? Seems like we are the few ones left.
"Hmmm~" The small fairy seemed to think for a moment, while returning Joseph's handshake - as well as a one-foot-tall fairy can return a handshake from a normal-sized person, anyway. "Ichrod, huh? I've never heard of it before... Hey, hey, Mr. Orolis, can we visit that place sometime?", she said, moving in a bit closer. "Me and Flo always like to see new things! Even if it gets unpleasant and stuff, the experiences will be totally worth it", the fairy continued with a light giggle. She tried to say more, but was suddenly interrupted as the paper held by the mist-boy Drinuw glowed red and shocked him. "Um" was all she managed to say as the boy with the rock-kitten entered the arena. Joseph asked her soon after. "Oh, Flo?", she replied, turning to the adventurer, who was currently with a new person with a floating statue behind the person, and turning back, "Well, it looks like Flo's doing fine by herself, so it's okay!", she continued cheerfully. "Say, what's your favorite food? Mine's apples!" - - - - - - Florentia nodded as the boy, Prey, explain about his circumstances, and about the floating statue behind him, Kruxen. It really looked intimidating. And creepy. But scary? She guessed that she'll just chalk it up to one of those 'don't judge a book by its cover' situations. Either way, she wouldn't let that get in the way of introductions, right now. She took out a small leather-bound notebook from a small satchel on her waist, and flipped through the pages for a bit before showing it to her conversation partner. On the open page was written the words Florentia Arsnet and Cyrille. The adventurer covered the second name with one hand, while pointing at herself with the other, before shifting her fingers to cover the first name as she pointed to the fairy who was having conversation with a few others.
Orolis scratched his head when he heard that the fairy before him had never heard of Ichrod, but decided it wasn't anything too odd seeing as Ichrod was only known due to the Bari name, which only really became well-known twenty-some years prior. He waited until she finished speaking solely to avoid angering her by talking over her. "I don't see why you wouldn't be able to go to Ichrod at some point since they don't really have any restrictions on travelers. They don't like it if you try killing anyone within their borders, though, so do try to avoid doing that if you go there." He looked at her with a look of mock seriousness on his face before returning to a smile. "Then again, you wouldn't be able to see much seeing as Ichrod is mostly populated by people who can't be bound to Guardians for various reasons. Tainted bloodlines, curses, dark deals, and simply being born weak are just a few of the reasons for their inability. Due to this, it is generally advised to keep Guardians hidden while in any of their cities." He explained, though he made sure not to mention that anyone accompanying his brother or him would be fine seeing as they were both born in Ichrod. "As for food, I've always enjoyed the cactus pears sold in Ichrod's capital, though I've only been able to have them a few times. How about you, Joseph, what's your favorite food?"
'Well, that's a tough choice.' He went deep into thought. His face looked like he was contemplating the complexities of the universe. 'If I was to choose one thing, I would say it was the cinnamon bread that I would steal from a certain noble. My nan worked for him, so I would often go over with her to help with cleaning and such. Stolen food always tastes so much better. Speaking of...' He pulled a loaf of bread out from his bag after some shuffling, it had little apple chunks cooked into it. A small head peeked out of the cloak, then slowly Drogue came out, trying to get a piece of the bread. He took a small piece, then flew up to sit on Joseph's head. Joseph took a bite of the bread, saying, 'This is Drogue, my Guardian. He doesn't like to talk much, unlike you, Cyrille.' Joseph teased. 'Does anyone want some?' He held up the loaf.
Cyrille listened to Orolis' explanation intently, a display of attention that might be regarded as out of character considering the fairy's hyperactivity. Her expressions make it clear, however, that she is displeased by how Guardians should be kept hidden while in Ichrod... Though that perked right back up at the mention of cactus pears. "I wonder if I can get Flo to buy me a couple cactus pears...", she muttered, though loudly enough others on the table would be able to hear that. Joseph spoke up next, and through Cyrille's contemplation, it would seem that his "stolen" line went right on over her head. She remained thinking, until the appearance and subsequent introduction of Drogue, the imp. "Oh, Hi there, Drogue! Nice to meetcha! I'm Cyrille!", she greeted the small creature, reaching out for a handshake. "I'm full, so you all can go ahead and eat it without me"
"Florentia," Prey stated affirmatively. "Nice to meet you then." He didn't attempt to carry on the conversation, as he might usually do, considering the fact that either one of them might be chosen to fight soon. As genuinely interested in the girl as he was, he knew it probably wasn't the best time to attend to his own curiosity. He decided to speak his thoughts aloud to avoid being rude. "We might get chosen soon... maybe we could talk if we see each other some other time." He noted that she seemed unable to speak, but decided not to press upon the subject. Clearing his throat, Prey seemed to dismiss himself from the conversation, taking on a more determined look as he mentally prepared himself to fight in the tournament. His eyes turned to the rest of the room. Okay, I'm ready for this.
Drogue fluttered down to the bench, then hesitantly shook her hand. He said, 'H-h-hi t-there.' He turned a muted shade of red, then scurried back into Joseph's cloak, peeking out every now and again. Joseph looked on in surprise, then said, 'Suit yourself.' He took another bite out of the loaf then put it away. 'Iwonder when I'll be called....' He wondered aloud.
