The cheers silenced around them. The dwarven Travel Knight. Mira studied him as he raised his hand to agree. He was not much older than Grandy by her estimation. He had thick black hair and a patchy beard that must have started growing only a few years before. His leather armor was tight against his sturdy shoulders. From where she stood, the taller dwarf was about her height as well.
“I accept.”
The other contestants walked pass the white lines on the field. Mira and the man walked to centerfield and stood next to each other. She bowed to her opponent, and he did the same.
“Lady Mira, my name is Jornaem Kragbreaker,” He introduced himself, “First ranked knight of the Advancement Division.”
“It is an honor to duel with you today, Sir Kragbreaker.”
“Sir Jonen told me it was best to introduce myself now, instead of before with, uh,” He rolled his head to pop the joints, “You know.”
“Appreciated,” Mira held her arms above her to stretch.
“I do not intend to go easy on you,” He grinned, “Your friend advised me to do exactly the opposite.”
“I haven’t gotten adequate practice in quite some time.”
“Are our fighters ready?” The queen called from above them.
Jorneam held his short sword above him to state his readiness. Mira drew the sword at her side and did the same.
“Begin!” The ceremonial bell toll rang through the arena.
As Mira leapt forward to meet her opponent, the ground opened beneath her. She saw the dwarf smirk and twist his hand as the earth enclosed around her. She leapt as high as she could, but the solidifying earth beneath her swallowed her ankle. Jornaem launched a boulder in her direction. She quickly slipped her foot from her boot. The boulder collided against her, and the crowd gasped in horror. Dust exploded around the arena and the hazy fog settled around them.
“How do we know if she’s still able to –” Jornaem yelled as a sword flew through the dust at him.
A column of stone shot upwards to knock the flying sword away from him. The impact shattered the sword and pieces clattered to the ground.
“I am still standing,” Mira walked slowly out of the dust cloud with a malicious smile on her face, “Though, it was a nice trick.”
“Goddess above, that should have crushed you!” The dwarf laughed, “Shouldn’t you forfeit without a weapon?”
A flame grew from her hand and spread up her arm as she ran towards him, “I don’t need a weapon.”
The ground quaked beneath her as he tried to fling her from her feet again. The ever-changing terrain shook with each step she took, so she leapt into the air. Without a weapon in her hand, she clinched her fist as she landed on him. Spikes of dense earth shot upwards as he jumped from her trajectory. Mira leapt from the solid ground and followed after him.
As she slid beneath a lurching stone, she scooped pieces of shattered blade into her hands and continued chasing the dwarf. He launched another boulder towards her. She cut the straps from her arm guards and wrapped them around the jagged metal.
Mira crossed her arms and focused her energy on them. As her skin rippled at the pent-up magic, she jumped towards the boulder and quickly straightened her arms. The booming echo from the blast launched her backwards. She slid across the ground and spat the dirt from her mouth as she dodged another attack.
“You’re a sturdy one!” Jornaem wiped dust from his dirt face, “Not going to yield?”
She barked in laughter, “I thought you said you weren’t going to go easy on me?”
“I’m not!” He grunted and punched into the earth.
Waves rippled from the connection and sent the flowing earth towards her. She leapt forward and threw her makeshift dagger at him. It wasn’t until it nearly cut into him that he dodged out of the way.
“You can’t make yourself armor?” Mira called over the chaotic churning of earth.
“Are you trying to give me advice right now?” He laughed jovially, “How kind!”
“Just a thought,” She summoned a ball of fire to her fingertips and threw it at him.
The moving earth settled as he dodged the attack. She dove behind one of the crumbled boulders. He wiped his face of dust and searched for her again.
“You are playing with your food, child,” Encante grumbled, “Can we finish this?”
“You never let me have any fun, do you?” She huffed childishly, “This is the least dramatic interaction we’ve had in ages.”
“Least dramatic?” He chuckled at her, “Very well. At least you are enjoying yourself.”
The ground beneath her trembled again and split open. She jumped from the crevasse and summoned a shard of ice the length of her glaive to her hand.
“Multiple elements? By the goddess,” The dwarf laughed.
“I can’t summon a weapon. They vaguely hinted that it’s against the rules,” She smirked, “I would hate to let you win like that.”
“I had a feeling you weren’t trying very hard.”
“You have impressive skills, Sir Jornaem,” She swatted at an incoming barrage of rocks, “I can see why you are ranked so highly.”
“You’re too kind!” He grinned.
Mira sprinted towards the man again. As the earth broke open beneath her, she danced between the jagged maws of the chasm. Spiked rocks jutted out towards her the closer she got to the dwarf. Her frozen blade cracked them with each leaping strike. When she finally approached her prey, Jornaem summoned a wall of stone between them. Mira felt the thickness as she swung into it. The stone and ice shattered but knocked Jornaem off his feet. She rolled over the half wall and swung her point of ice down at him. He sheathed himself in rock as she struck down. The dwarf shaped rock sunk beneath the surface of the earth. The smooth ground beneath her one barefoot gave her a funny feeling.
“That feels like cheating,” Mira cackled wryly, “You could just say you needed a breather.”
His replies were muffled by the earth between them, “You said to try to use it as armor!”
“Does advancement mean retreat?” She teased as she forced more mana into the icy spear to regrow it, “I’m curious to know.”
Jornaem’s laughter made her smile. This was a friendly match, and she enjoyed it. The terrain was a difficulty she did not have to deal with often. Isaan had never used earth elementalists to train her. Water and air elementalists, yes, but never a mage that could manipulate the land around her.
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“If I can make another suggestion,” She poked her blade into the ground again, “It may be interesting to make a golem. Do not wear yourself out with my requests, though.”
“Are you not tired?” He called beneath them, “You’ve used an insane amount of energy as well.”
“Is that what you were hoping for? A battle of stamina?”
Mira closed her eyes and tapped the tip of her weapon against the ground. Encante’s vision rippled through the earth as it had on Bobabano’s ship. The lilac ripples traveled through the ground until she found an empty space. The roughly humanoid shape made her smirk.
“Sir Jornaem,” Mira called playfully, “I must request you rejoin me.”
“I’m working on something!”
“You are making our poor audience wait!” She slammed the ice into the ground.
The force behind her attack cracked the ground beneath her. The constant manipulation of the earth caused it to soften dramatically. As the crack wormed its way towards the dwarf, she felt something punch into her from beneath. The large fist launched her into the air. Jorneam crawled out of the ground and held his sword out as she landed in front of him.
“It takes a minute to cast that spell,” He grinned.
“Very amusing,” She smirked, “Now, shall we settle this the old fashion way?”
The dwarf nodded and launched to her. As his sword swung down, she sensed the spikes of earth breach the ground towards her. Her ice broke into two carved swords. One sword focused solely on him and the other on the attacks from the ground beneath her. Mira grunted and forced her blades to melt and turn to flame. Her fire burned hot enough that the sleeves of her tunic melted against the armguards. The dance of elements silenced the crowd in amazement at the talents between the mages.
“You should try the golem next time,” Mira grunted and sliced at him with her sword, “It may leave you more room to move.”
“Why would I need more room to move?” He scoffed.
“Because you haven’t noticed something yet,” She grinned, “And by the time you do, it will be too late.”
He kicked her off of him and ducked from her swinging sword. Her constant barrage of attacks distracted him from moving the earth between them. The stone wall shield crumbled each time she struck it. He looked into her amber eyes and only saw an intense focus. As he moved towards her, he felt something grab his foot. When he looked down, he saw his boot was frozen in ice. Jornaem laughed and looked at the woman that sprinted towards him. He summoned one final stone wall as thick as he could muster as he chipped at the ice with his sword. When he heard the thunderous crack of it shattering around him, he cursed.
Mira tackled through the other side of the wall but could not see the dwarf. She paused a moment before she smelled blood. She looked down to see the red liquid seep from the lower stones. She jumped back and her eyes went towards the healers in anticipation of him crushing the broach. After a moment and he did not, Mira dismissed her weapons and approached the pile of rocks cautiously.
“Sir Jornaem,” She called, “If you are not fit for battle –”
A sickening squelch after movement in the pile sent her mind into panic. Her mind searched for what to do.
“Healers!” She yelled as she her hands reached for the rocks on top of the pile, “He isn’t responding!”
She felt his blood moving towards her. She used the illustrious call to guide her hands to uncover the rocks that lead to him.
“If I may suggest something,” Encante pressed a plan into her mind.
She quickly put his thoughts to action.
Her hands froze as she urged the rocks to bind through ice. As the healers sprinted towards her, she grabbed the frozen rocks and pulled. The pile of rocks lurched, and she saw her target. She wormed her arm through the rubble until she could feel it. The broach laid in the dwarf’s hand. She crushed it between her fingers.
In an instant, a deafening crack threw her back. The stones on top of the dwarf rocketed off and she felt her arm snap as she launched into the sky.
“Your arm is –” Encante growled
She rolled as she landed and got to her feet quickly. As she steadied herself and rubbed the dust from her eyes, her hand flew to the injury.
“I’m aware,” She snapped the white shard back underneath her skin, “Is he breathing?”
The blue bubble glimmered underneath the dust. She walked to it and tried to see if the man was breathing. When she did not see his chest rise, she summoned her glaive.
“What are you doing?!” One of the healers screamed at her.
Without responding, she swung with all her might and the force field flexed. She paused through her hesitation before she swung again. The bubble around him shattered. She held a hand above his mouth and felt the slightest exhale.
“It might’ve been too late if we wait for it to dissipate in its own,” Mira waved them forward, “Come heal him.”
His gurgling breath caught her attention. The blade quickly morphed into a knife, and she cut away the straps at his leather chest plate. Her hand lightly travelled against his chest. She felt the jaggedness of broken ribs and the blood free in his chest pooling just beneath the surface.
“What in the Goddess’s name –”
“I cannot tell if his lungs are punctured,” Mira looked up as the healers swarmed her, “The rocks seemed to have bashed his head as well. He is barely breathing.”’
“Lady Mira, we must insist that –”
“Are any of you strong enough to carry him?” She looked between them, “He needs to be stabilized and taken off the field.”
The oldest healer stepped through the group of white robes and knelt at the dwarf’s side. His wrinkled hands rested against Jornaem’s chest and Mira saw the dwarf’s veins glow beneath the surface of his skin. A dark patch showed on the right side of his chest.
“His lungs are not punctured,” The old man’s airy voice barely carried over the frantic audience behind them, “One of them has been crushed.”
“Can you fix it?”
“We can save him,” The healer nodded, “I do not know if he will regain use of that lung. That is not my expertise. I am for stabilizing the pained and the dying.”
The glowing diagnostic magic traveled over Jornaem in a flash and the man looked to Mira. He instructed healers on where to place their hands to start binding the dwarf’s body. His paleness eased as his other injuries healed. She stood and dusted herself off. As she walked from them, the older healer grabbed her arm. Their eyes met as he studied her.
“Is this not broken?” The flash of magic soared through her veins, “I saw bone.”
“Your expertise is for the pained and dying,” She pointed to Jornaem, “He is both.”
He squeezed the skin above the broken bone and watched for her to make any reaction. He could feel the bone buckle beneath his grip where it was broken. When she did nothing, he let her go. The arm had a purple bruise around where it breached her skin, but Encante instantaneously began fusing it back together when she snapped the bone back into place. Even now, she could feel it moving beneath her skin and the muscles reformed to hold it in place.
Mira stepped towards the center of the coliseum and looked up at the stunned Queen Azalea and Prince Krission. As she stood proudly in the chaos settling around her, she was caked in the tan dirt of the ground beneath her. The gritty dirt stained her teeth and scratched her eyes. It encrusted her auburn curls against her sweaty neck and back.
“I apologize for summoning my own weapon and for triggering Sir Jornaem’s broach without his approval,” She yelled as loud as she could for them all to hear, “If that is grounds for dismissal, I will accept.”
The crowd murmured at her words. She bowed at the waist and waited for their response. She swashed the moisture in her mouth to collect as much grit and dust as possible before she spat it out. She looked up at them proudly and waited for them to respond. The pair turned to the others in their booth to discuss the outcome.
She knew they wouldn’t dismiss her. They couldn’t after the display she gave.
Mira knew within the first minute of their match that the queen and prince placed her up against the strongest competitor they had. They thought that the knight would surely knock her out of the competition. Now, Zrud himself knew Mira’s words about her vilification of her master. If their strongest warrior could not stop her, then nothing they had could.
“Jornaem Kragbreaker, First Rank Travel Knight of the Advancement Division,” Queen Azalea stepped back to the railing of the platform, “Could no longer fight. You did what you could to activate his shield and remove the rubble from him was in good judgement.”
Mira stood and dusted the dirt from her face.
“Lady Mira is the winner of the first round of competition,” Prince Krission announced, “May our next challengers step to the center and prepare for their fight.”
As she walked back from the center of the field, she heard a rhythmic clap in her honor. The sparse claps turned into thunderous applause as people stood. She looked bewildered at the crowd that applauded her.
Stemmed flowers rained down on the field towards her as she approached the tall marble wall. She grabbed one that fell towards her. The painted black rose made her chuckle. None of her actual gang would be at the stadium unless they were in the competition. She had far more important plans for them.
Tegan and Grandy clapped enthusiastically when she leaned against the wall between them. Her hands scratched at her scalp to shake the pebbles and dust from her hair. Tegan offered her water, and she washed out her mouth before drinking the rest of it.
“What’s going on with them?” Mira pointed up at the odd group.
“They’re fans of yours,” Tegan grinned, “Some of the sailor, other businesses you’ve saved, orcs that follow Captain Bobabano, or they just like to watch you fight.”
“But the –” She motioned to the forearm mark, “Why that?”
“Everyone knows you and the wraith are connected,” Grandy proudly displayed his at the fans, “What better way to show they’re rooting for ya? You’ve changed a lot of lives in a very short time.”
Aisling appeared next to Grandy and placed a hand on his shoulder. He jumped and turned to see her. She ran her hand through his beard, and he blushed
“Would you mind going next?” She winked.
He grinned, “Of course!”