“The seventh match goes to Cololon Willderway of Florenta. Up next we will see Sir Slepe, Brendiwezzick Crudwell, an anonymous Yostier ruby auror and last, The Mighty Tota. We will see how they align their teams between the four of them.” An announcer’s voice blared over the sound system. He spoke less like a sports caster during a game and more like the host of a televised parade. The cheery voice had narrated one person’s trip to the Preservatory with soul lacerations. The competitor’s shrieking had killed the audience’s mood for all of four minutes until the stretcher hauled him away and the next match was announced.
“Can everyone say this year’s Tryptus theme? On the count of three. One, two, three—“ his voice fell away to let the audience answer.
“Synchrony!” The coliseum roared.
He came back in loud and proud. “That’s right Tellcentra! Remember, the teams have to defeat each other in the first fifteen minutes or they’ll be forced to run the trial again. If both teams can last that fifteen minutes, we’ll raise the difficulty and go from there. Only two matches today have made it past the first round. Like the rest of you, I hope we get to see the Dorturegis again this time but as we know, it will only surface after two failed attempts at completeing the trial and finding the medallion within the time limit. Keep an eye out for those tentacles, people. They’re awfully fast. Remember, unless you’re immediately seen at the Preservatory, that’s a lifelong injury.”
Two sets of figures entered the arena from the southern entrance. The audience began chanting TO-TA, TO-TA, TO-TA! Until the largest person turned and flexed to the audience, that is. The Audience lost their minds into a roar of adoration.
For now, Timbrelle was determined to enjoy herself, shouting and jumping with the crowd. It was an odd feeling—an entire country away from the creature, with the Rigels and the congregation no where to be found, she was free to truly relax for the first time.
Far below, Davian stood beside a slight person. It was difficult to tell who he was with at this distance, but it clearly wasn’t the mountainous Tota. They stood facing the ever-flexing man. Davian was dressed in a simple black outfit with a cowl that was essentially just the darkened hood of his congregational robe. His partner wore flexible leather armor and had a shock of long pink hair braided over her shoulder.
“The teams have been chosen, folks! On one side we have our mysterious Yostier auror and Ms. Crudwell! On the other team you’ll see the infamous Sir Slepe and…” his voice which had started low and slow cracked when he screamed “TA-TO!”
Timbrelle jumped and screamed for Tato with the rest of the crowd. It was just too exciting not to. People began throwing things—mostly bras from the balcony forcing workers to fetch them off the sand with long poles. It was nice to see some aspects of culture were universal.
“Remember Tellcentra, the contestants can’t hear you over the sound barrier. All they hear is the ticking of the clock. But we hear you! Crowd favorites will receive special treatment. So let us know who you favor!”
***
Davian walked carefully across the sand. They could hear the echoing voice of the announcer. It cut out with suspicious timing. Every time he was about to explain the details of the event, the arena fell into unnatural silence. Above, people were hurling items into the ring. From flowers to gold coins to bras, tokens rained from the stands. Even though he couldn’t hear the voices, a constant vibration in the sand reminded him that they were uproarious overhead. At first it had felt amazing to walk out to the crowd’s adoration. It bore an embarrassing resemblance to his dreams of this very moment. Only… none of it was for him. The titanic idiot that was “The Mighty Tato”quickly scooped up all that praise by flexing and posing for the crowd.
Brendiwezzick snickered at the hulking man. Her pink hair was cut in a way that her bangs formed an impenetrable sheet, covering her eyes. The rest flowed in a thick braid. At her cheekbones, the bottom half of her face looked to be attempting impassivity and sorely failing.
Tato ripped open his gold embroidered shirt and screamed a war cry to the stands.
“We love to see it! If only he had two shirts to rend! Now, let’s give a brief overview to our competitors! ‘Synchrony’ Is the flavor of the Tryptus, kids. And we can’t wait to see you make a meal out of it. First off, the obstacle course! You’ll have time to complete every obstacle with both team members. There is a time limit, but that’s not something on which we will elaborate. Be sure to leave the second person ample wiggle room on that deadline because only one team member can enter the course at a time! Once you reach the end—if you reach the end, that is, you’ll need to fight off the other team for the medal hidden in the sand. Of the team members, whoever takes possession of the medal and holds it the longest will receive the highest rank in the tournament bracket.
“I promise I’m almost done, brave competitors! Last but not least, whoever retains the medal for the longest out of everyone competing on the first day of the Tryptus will win a trip to…” the announcer paused, likely for the benefit of the audience. To the crowd it probably felt suspenseful and exciting. To Davian it seemed more like there were technical difficulties. “The Reaping! It’s being hosted in this very coliseum during the week of the coronation. This next part is a basic public service announcement for the audience. With so many Unmade floating about the city, Tellcentra asks you to be aware of your surroundings and report any suspicious Unmade behavior to the city guard. Remember, The City Guard Protects You So That You Don’t Have to Protect Yourself.”
Brendiwezzick mouthed the last words with a head motion that made him wonder if she was rolling her eyes behind that curtain of hair.
"Bullshit. They can't stop the Unmade." She mumbled to herself.
“What’s the plan?” Davian asked.
“What do you mean?” She scoffed.
“You picked me as your partner right away. I thought you had a plan.” He said.
“Well… no. I just thought that if the theme was synchrony and I had to imitate my partner, I should pick the one closest to my body type. Schlep and Potato were way too big and bulky. But that doesn’t really matter because it’s an obstacle course.” She admitted lamely. “So maybe we should focus on speed?”
“But the theme isn’t speed. We might need to achieve the exact run time or take the same amount of steps. Hell, we might need to sing a song and stay in time. I just don’t think speed is the only answer.” He mused.
She nodded in agreement. “Makes sense. I should go first. I can hold off the other guy until you get there. I’ll focus on finding the medal and staying away from Toota.”
“Alright. I like it.” He laughed. “Especially ‘Toota’.”
“The hell did you say?” A feral voice screamed at them from outside their huddle.
Brendiwezzick looked entirely unimpressed. “Do you need something Potato?”
“Oops. Folks, it looks like the opposing team has enraged The Mighty Tota! While I want to see blood as much as the next announcer, I'll remind the competitors that they should address all slights in legal combat. I know you’re ready, you’re angry, you’re bloodthirsty—all in due time!”
Tato, who had charged her brought his warhammer down on the sand in front of her. She didn’t flinch.
“Blind bitch. If you could see through that pretty pink hair, you’d be terrified.” He snarled at her.
“Poor bastard. No one brags that they’re that ugly.” She spat back.
Tato hollered and swung his hammer to collapse her knees sideways.
Davian sent a quiet thanks to Adna for forcing him to wear his steel toe boots. He put all of his ruby reinforced strength behind a kick aimed at the head of the hammer. The attack required him to activate three key rubies. First, a well of kinetic energy to fuel the superhuman strength he would need in order to stop the hammer’s momentum. Second, a gem fused to his lowest, left rib. This ruby, the very first he attuned after joining the congregation, carried a mobility impression—specifically speed.
Using these two in tandem was as natural as breathing to Davian. They were the most common combination in his repertoire. Speed plus force translated to kicking, punching, jumping, running—just about anything that required impact and/or propulsion. This meant he was fast enough to place his foot in the path of the sledge. The third and trickiest gem to use caused the cast iron sledge to shatter and the handle to snap. Davian felt the echo through his bones like they were hollow as a bird’s. He’d managed to stop the hammer with masterful timing. The last ruby was impressed with a half-second of localized invulnerability. Stoking the gem to life at the perfect moment was an idiotic gamble that paid off with a cloud of hammerhead shards that rained down onto the sand around them. The actual duration of his invulnerability gem was around the time it took to clap. He’d only successfully pulled off a maneuver like that in training with Adna.
“Wow! What a fiery, passionate display. It’s too bad that this has earned The Mighty Tato a debuff from the judges. Tato, we beg you to show us that vigor during your match. In fact, you may need to once you find out your punishment.” The announcer informed as though he were speaking to a child. “For using physical force against the opposing team before the trial begins, you will be penalized with a thirty second delay. Lady Brendiwezzick or the ruby auror can enter the obstacle course thirty seconds before you are allowed to start.
Brendiwezzick glared at Davian from behind her bangs, he could feel the burn of her gaze. “I was going to handle it.” She whispered furiously. “I provoked him so that I could show off my strength. Not you!”
Davian blinked at her repeatedly. “My bad. Uh, I would have done it for anyone. You just happen to be my partner. I’ll definitely try to stay out of your way in this match, though.” He gave an awkward but firm thumbs up.
She seemed caught off guard by the gesture. “A—alright. Like I said, I can keep him occupied for a few minutes. Don’t worry about me. A drawn out fight with him is exactly what I’m hoping for.”
A distance away, Sir Slepe was being screamed at by his partner. Davian couldn’t make out what he was saying but that wasn’t because he couldn’t hear. The hulking man bellowed in Florentine. From the tired look on Slepe’s face, he was coming to regret his decision to partner with Tato.
“Competitors, please step up onto the red line. As soon as you hear the second horn, you can start. Let’s get ready to see the layout of the course!”
The first horn signaled the start of a deep vibration that sent visible ripples through the yellow sand. In the distance, banks of sand started to well up. As they rose taller, the sand fell away to bright white walls rising from the ground. The first they had seen turned out to be the far end of the obstacle course. A wave of walls cascaded upward from the sand, rapidly approaching.
It was impossible to make out specifics, but he noticed numerous multicolored doors on the walls.
The second horn sounded as soon as the final, closest wall had settled.
Brendiwezzick flinched but took only a second to consider doors. She flung open the purple door on the left and ran inside. As it shut slowly behind her, he could see that all the doors opened into the same room. It was possible that the choice between doors was only to unnerve the participants and waste their time.
“She’s off to a solid lead, people. I have to say, these first thirty seconds might be considerably more dull without an opponent in the other course. I’ll be very interested to see how her performance affects The Mighty Tato’s run.” He gleefully narrated. “What will she do at the crossroad? This has been the trickiest part of the early obstacle course for our contestants. Does she—she does! Not a moment’s hesitation! “Brendiwezzick Crudwell is a credit to her name! She hasn’t fallen for any of the traps so far— oh no! I spoke too soon! And right when she was just gaining her speed.”
Another horn echoed through the arena. Tato, whose door options were identical to their own, chose the middle one and hurtled himself through.
“He’s off! He’s already— great Trypatusses! He just hurtled the first two trials! How in the world will Sir Slepe keep up?” The announcer cried.
Beside him at their starting line, Sir Slepe was silently fuming. Frankly, given the events of the past few minutes, Davian couldn’t help but feel that he’d gotten lucky to have been picked by Brendiwezzick. Winning might not be worth it if Tato stiff-armed him of off the podium to stand by himself. At least, that was what Sir Slepe’s face seemed to say.
“I don’t believe it folks, Tato has nearly caught up with the opposing team. He doesn’t appear to be solving any of the problems by the regular means. “Brendiwezzick was looking so good earlier. She’ll now have to concede some choices or accept those debuffs! Like now, blue or black, blue or black. What do you think, folks? Let’s hear it!” There was no sound from the thousands of people around them. Their vibrations in the sand could still be felt, but only eerie nothingness answered his prompt. “Well who knows? She seems to understand that she shouldn’t pick yellow… black it is! Oh! What a bad choice!”
Davian heard a scream cut through the calm. It was short. Not one of fear but pain.
“We can only hope the ruby auror will earn them enough buffs to make up for that injury, it looks bad.” He hissed in a breath. “Brendiwezzick limps on! She’s two rooms behind Tato but still she perseveres. Speaking of which, our literal dashing hero is about to clear the exit—Sir Slepe, prepare yourself to enter the course.”
Sir Slepe entered and only a scant few seconds later announcer instructed Davian to prepare himself. Though he was ready to run when the horn blew, Davian stumbled when something appeared beside him.
A shadowy silhouette jogged up to the doors. The middle and right door that Tato and Sir Slepe chose pulsed a faint red. Pausing briefly but choosing the purple one, it mimed opening the door and running through. Exactly as Brendiwezzick had done earlier. When she disappeared through the wood, Davian jolted into motion to follow her. In the room beyond, his partner’s form jogged up to the next doors on the far wall. Being a couple paces ahead, Davian saw when her shadow’s attention snapped to the ground. It quickly jumped and then immediately ducked onto her belly. On the wall were a handful of random holes that could have been mistaken for wear and tear in the weathered white stone... if the holes themselves hadn’t been suspiciously circular. Upon closer inspection, a taught silver thread appeared at shin level. Another sparkled from the yellow sand, limp, indicating that it had been triggered. He followed the shadow across, stepping in its steps. When it arrived on he other side and reached for the knob of the next door, Davian did so at the same time.
A set of chimes filled the stadium with otherworldly harmony.
“Our first instance of synchrony in this match! How exciting! As we know from the past matches, the first buff is always speed.”
Davian felt the energy pool within him. He’d heard of Metalurgical magic, but never had instance to experience it. It was both intoxicating and… intoxicating. It felt like floating in a raft on the open ocean which made his soul relax and loosen; A lovely and nauseating ride. He had fused himself quite literally with aurora magic and having something new flowing through his body after fifteen years felt simply foul. Nevertheless, both he and the shadow moved markedly faster.
The next room involved a tightrope walk. The shadow walked across the gap without pause. Davian was certain he couldn’t cross them at the same speed, but the shadow was already on the other side jogging toward the next door. He gave it little thought before sprinting to the edge of the pit and jumping off. Once again he channeled the strength and speed gems. As he came down on the other side, he briefly engaged his balance impressed ruby. This allowed him to place a hand on the far right knob at the same time as Brendiwezzick’s shadow.
Another set of chimes. Davian felt the sensation of spiritually free floating intensify and a physical weightlessness.
“Huh. Two of the contestants have attempted vaulting the pit. Perhaps we should make it longer… next… time.” The announcer’s voice was distracted as he made a note.
Davian was about to start on the next room, a hall of mirrors, when the announcer yelled out “He’s done it! The Mighty Tato has found the medallion! So begins our fight for the victor. Brendiwezzick may have the buffs working in her favor, but Tato is unrivaled. Even his teammate is having trouble keeping up with his shadow! As we’ve seen already today, those debuffs are rough. You try running when your legs are twice as heavy but your lungs process half as much oxygen. It ain’t easy, folks!”
Davian slithered under barbed wire, hopped from pillar to pillar, and swung from tethers all while doing his best to keep up with the shadow. Each time he managed to do the same thing at the same time as it, another chime would go off and the shadow would get slightly faster. It wasn’t until catching up with Sir Slepe’s pace in the other obstacle course that he earned his first debuff. He found that in synchronizing with his opponent he would lose some aspect of his power or mobility. When Sir Slepe interacted with anything a dark red handprint would accompany it. When they pushed open a door at the exact time, Davian lost a good portion of his hearing.
The announcer sounded dull and far away when he screamed. “She stole it! She stole the medallion from Tato! The auror is only halfway, can she hold onto it until the time runs out? Her opponent looks like he’s out for blood.”
Davian jumped, trying desperately to avoid the red hand marks that showed Sir Slepe had already grabbed hold of the trapeze in his course. They disappeared a moment before he let go. There was no way of knowing where Sir Slepe would dismount. So when he landed in a crouch that essentially matched up with Sir Slepe’s footprints Davian was not surprised. This earned him yet another debuff. To herald the addition of another one, a blast of atonal clanging. This one brought a weakness in his legs that could be disregarded if he kept one of his strength rubies alight.
As he approached the next doors, Brendiwezzick’s shadow body took a sharp ninety degree turn, slamming into the wall at speed. On the opposite wall, a conspicuous outline. Between the two was a trough of sand forged where a portion of the wall extended to smash Brendiwezzick between the white surfaces. He found, when the shadow began hopping through the remainder of the room, he was safe as long as he didn’t touch the ground in the path of the battering rams.
He followed the shadow to the next room. In here there was no trap nor obstacle just the same three doors in yellow, black and blue. The shadow stood there, debating between them. She shook her head at the yellow door and focused on the other two. He remembered this from the announcement. She’d chosen wrong. Davian had the choice to choose her incorrect door for synchrony or risk a debuff for not following her. He had no idea which door was correct and Sir Slepe had already chosen the yellow one.
The shadow chose the black door. It was an impulse, but Davian pulled open the blue.
Directly beyond the door stood a brick wall with window in it the size of a shoebox. The debuff noise grated through the colosseum. It made his vision slightly fuzzy. Yanking on the black and even the yellow doors was fruitless, he’d chosen the blue door and he wasn’t allowed to go back.
Davian laughed. He wasn’t intending to bring out his kinetic energy wells until the fight afterwards. With a look of glee he extruded a tiny ruby into his palm. This was not ideal, but it sure as hell felt good to explode them. It never failed to give Davian a rush. Like he was falling from a great height.
The auror stood back from the brick wall and tossed the crystalline grenade into it.