The world of Altera bubbled to life as the second day of the duels began, the entire island sized coliseum roaring with the cheers of the audience that shook the entire arena. The round of 4 would see the last four standing get training by powerful masters and a ship of unequal strength for their rank. The stage had been set, the runic shields that protected the spectators from the battles that would be happening hummed at full strength and in the waiting rooms below, Moyo sat, dominion on his lap as he breathed in and out.
His aura fell and rose with his breathing, his mind settled and his body briming with pure power. He opened his dull purple eyes, this wasn’t how he had expected the tournament to go, dreams of crushing the enemies of humanity and standing triumphant above them all. Instead, he would be forced to fight a fellow ally and the daughter of a master he admired, all in the name of politics. In hindsight, Moyo did realize that the games of the powerful really was universally the same, making decisions and actions that benefited them at the expense of those below them or the less powerful.
He got up, picking dominion along with him, the roars of the spectators filling even the room. He had requested to be alone, to clear his mind as he prepared to dash the hopes of a lady who had the dreams of her entire clan on her shoulders. While he regretted it, his mission was clear, his world was priority, Raina had the protection of house thousand blades to fall back upon, he had no one to protect him. With his name being called, Moyo stepped out into the dark arena where a shroud had been placed over the entire arena, the floor felt heavier and intent hummed in the air.
The round of four would have each duel favoring both ascenders with their affinities around the arena to serve as a boost to them. It was why artificial silver lights floated around, filled with intent shimmering in them, a large sphere of moonlight illuminating the dark arena. The entire arena was filled with gravity, pure oppressing force that made even the sand below his feet stick to the ground, he frowned at the gravity, the feeling of the power, this wasn’t gravity, besides, he didn’t need the help.
Raina appeared from the other side of the arena, cropped white hair and blue eyes glowing, her silver blade in hand and a cold look of indifference on her face. Moyo followed her with his eyes, reigning in his anger as he glanced up towards the invisible platform where the rulers were seated, his Digi Aye letting him see the outline of the large structure that looked like a floating veranda, ten beings with aura as strong as reality itself seated. Gritting his teeth, he turned back to Raina who gripped her blade in two hands, silent.
There wouldn’t be words between them, nothing could be said for the pain of whosoever lost the match, their dreams crushed. A loud horn signaled the arrival of the announcer who floated down in a black suit, his white hair now having a line of black dye and a gleam in his eyes,
“ladies and gentlemen!, ascenders and mere spectators all alike, welcome to the round of 4 of the swordsmanship tournament!” he said, his voice echoing around the coliseum, loud cheers responding to his words,
“I am your host and announcer, Iax true blade, and with the power vested in me by the rulers and by the patriarch, let the round begin!”
Moyo began to churn his core, feeling his power rise to the surface, the announcer settled between them,
“Ascenders, are you ready?” he asked,
“ready” he said, his voice devoid of any emotion,
“ready” Raina replied, her voice coming out in a whisper,
“Begin!” the announcer said,
Moyo felt his body move before his mind registered the motion, dominion whistling through the air in an arc of pure power, intent glowing within the blade as Ashe and his aura trailed the air with dull purple energy. Raina calmly watched him approach, blue eyes seeing his approach with every thundering step, her mantle locked in a place, a beautiful defensive armor of silver covering her chest and thighs.
Moyo felt ferocity of Oshosi scream out in danger the moment he got within striking distance of Raina, diamond ranked reflexes saving him from the silver lances of pure intent that decimated the spot he previously stood on. Step of Ogun had saved his life more times than he could count, even as he appeared behind her, dominion going for the killing hit, his eyes widened as the beams hit and ground, fused and rebounded straight behind her towards his position.
He brought dominion fused with gravity crashing on the lance of energy, the force cleanly took him off his feet, blasting him into the air as he tumbled around, astonishment on is face but his mind calculating his trajectory. Pure force from an intent attack couldn’t cleanly throw him through the air that way, no, something else was as at play here. His mind clicked almost immediately, the path of the stellar blade wielded antigravitational abilities and he was currently in its throes.
He blasted his aura out even as he used his blade to block a hit from Raina herself, the diamond disengaging the moment he blocked the attack, zipping around him with speed, Moyo deflecting every attack she sent his way. He acknowledged her tactics as wise, refusing to engage him knowing full well he would utterly decimate her should she decide to pit strengths against each other. She was looking for an opening, and Moyo would grant her one, his mantle took on the brunt of the lance of silver light.
With a grunt he channeled his gravity attack on his body, slamming into the ground below with force, shaking the entire arena. Raina came from above, her body wreathed in silver light, pure intent honed to a sharp point,
“PIERCE!” she shouted, the command echoing throughout the arena as reality bent to obey her wishes,
Moyo had been experimenting with his authorities after the edict he had spoken, the words opening up another word of authority that echoed within him. He faced her defiantly, body poised to hold back the pure power of the stellar blade,
“SHIELD” he growled,
He felt his Ashe answer with relish, pouring out of his body in a rush and coagulating in front of him, reality hardening all around him, mostly above him were the lance of power descended. Raina crashed against the reality hardening authority of the titan; the entire arena bathed in pure light. The power to pierce was fundamental in the art of a swordsman, but the wall of a titan, the mountain infused power of a titan could hold back even the sharpest blade.
Raina rebounded with such force, she rolled and crashed into the ground and continued to tumble even as she fought to get a hold of her body while creating a crater as she went. Moyo followed, dominion poised to give her a befitting end, again he got close to her and cursed, the moon glowing bright behind him as the entire arena was showered with lances of intent like an orbital bombardment from on high. He threw up his realm, feeling lances hit his mountain which weathered the attacks like a stifling breeze at the side of a mountain.
Still, he had to retreat, lest the attacks would become concentrated on one position. Raina stood up and spat blood, her bruised skin fading back to smoothness in a blink thanks to diamond ranked tenacity. She faced him, blade held right. Then Moyo heard it, the stamps and claps from the multitudes of spectators who watched them, he turned to see the banner of clan stellar blade being waved from hundreds in the stands, members of clan stellar blade who had come to watch their scion fight.
Her name on their lips, their voice roaring with belief and a spark in their eyes, he turned back to Raina, gathering his mental fortitude even as he spoke,
“let’s end this” he said,
“don’t hold back” she replied,
He nodded, it was the least of honors he could bestow upon her and he would fulfill it. With the roars behind him, Moyo moved and brought everything to bear, the entire arena vibrating with pulses of power. Raina blazed to life, the moon above her illuminating the entire arena, pure arcs of aura and intent clashed as the arena shook.
The titan and the stellar blade cashed, reality bent and twisted to the clash of blades, two paths fighting to assert dominance, pitting everything that made up their paths against each other in an effort to crush each other. While the authority of the stellar blade was as sharp as it was beautiful, but the authority of the titan had gone through tribulations, it had been forged in the fires of strife and suffering, it understood well enough another authority trying to push it into submission and it resented the feeling.
The authority of the stellar blade buckled, Radiance against Ashe, and the Radiance shattered. Ashe roared to the fore front, moyos’ eyes blazing with power, Raina even with the backlash of power from having her authority shattered like glass pressed forward into striking distance of Moyo. The titan knew well enough that she had played all her cards, but he would take her out with all the dignity of a swordsman,
“SHIMMER!” she shouted,
Moyo’s eyes widened in alarm, an ethereal light blazed from her,
“Oh fu- “he managed to say before all sense of distance space and direction warped around him.
***********************
Raina stellar blade appeared back in her stasis pod, eyes open as she mechanically opened the chamber and stepped out, eyes staring at her father who had come all the way to the stasis station in space, arms folded and a light smile on his face,
“Hello moonshine” master Killian said softly,
“I tried” Raina said, stepping out and blinking rapidly,
“I know” master Killian replied,
“I used everything within me”
“You did moonshine”
“I, I tired father” she continued, the tears falling rapidly now despite Raina blinking rapidly, fighting it,
She was suddenly in the arms of her father, sobbing even as he held her tight.
*********************************************
Ashira threefold blade stood in the arena, the bright glaring light of a conjured sun hanging above her while a vast jungle landscape covered the entire fighting grounds. She stood with her blade talon, the announcer floating above with a grin she found most uncomfortable, but Ashira took her mind from it. The ascender that appeared from the other side walked with all the regal steps of royalty, Alvar sol blade, scion and heir to the sol blade line walked out with determination.
Ashira focused her entirety on the diamond, seeing him in a gold and blue robe with his blade sol drawn was as intimidating as a diamond could get, but Ashira had seen intimidation and diamonds were kids playing at an impossible game, intimidation belonged to the realm of masters and rulers. She couldn’t blame the sol blade though, with a father like that he had to give his best, and his best sometime may not be enough.
The announcer called the battle to order,
“Ready?” he asked,
Ashira nodded and Alvar nodded after a second,
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“Begin!”
Pure unbridled and unleashed blade of burning sunlight tore through the arena, honing in on Ashira who blitzed forwards, realm merging with the jungle landscape, poisonous trees with leaves dripping venom that filled the air with a poisonous mist. Alvar floated above, knowing fully well that should he so much as step one foot on the ground, the jungle would decimate him. So he kept blasting lance after lance of pure power at her, burning through her jungle with flames burning on the trees, Ashira took one step and shot through the air, mantle locked on her body as her blade blazed with golden light, trailing the air with feral intent and aura.
Alvar clashed with her in a hailstorm of intent, two golden intent users tearing the sunny landscape apart, trees burning below,
“BURN!” Alvar commanded,
Ashira immediately coated her body with aura, feeling her aura light on fire with the command of the sol blade. She reversed her blade, eyes glowing as she brought her blade down on him, Alvar cursing from the strength that slammed into him, sending him hurling through the air and straight for the burning jungle below, he landed with a crash, immediately making a backflip just in time to avoid her blade talon from skewering him. The two began an intricate dance, Alvar grunting as he struggled to hold on to the losing fight.
Instincts honed in battle warned Ashira as her feral instincts screamed at her to leave the area. The sun above blazed and everything caught fire, she could see he was burning through his authority like a leaking faucet, all in a bid to end the match as quickly as possible, else her endurance would prevail. Ashira danced through the light that burned everything it touched with all the swiftness and lightness of a serpent, her second path ability coming to the fore front.
Alvar knew time was runing out, the both of them could see that clearly as it was glaring. With no other option, Alvar used his trump card, his Ashe being squeezed from his body with its last dregs. He activated his evolved skill, blazing sun, and true to its name Alvar blazed to life with golden burning power. Eyes burning with golden light, white hair now burning with orange flames and his entire body becoming nothing but a silhouette of fire, he was fire incarnate, an avatar of sun.
The entire arena was covered in flames, Alvar coaxing the flames to burn hotter and harder, the floor heating up as the sands below slowly fused together, turning into brittles of glass. Still, Ashira walked through it, fire licking her skin and doing absolutely nothing but increasing her temperature. Her body had adopted the first stages of the bloodline ability, shimmering with brown scales that spoke of her power.
She blitzed forwards, Alvar turned with startling precision, bringing his blade down on her with the rage and power of an inferno, the air screaming with the crackle of the flames as it consumed everything in its path except the two diamonds that crashed upon each other with reckless abandon, blades flashing as intent chattered the entire area. Alvar felt the beginnings as his gaze became blurry, his footsteps losing cohesion, his mind raced, it was too early for the power of a peak diamond to go out that soon.
Ashira laid into him with all the precision she had been trained with, even as the flames began to dim, she pressed on, Alvar desperately hanging on despite losing the battle. Sol gripped tightly, he roared with all the rage he had, the candle light within him flicking into an inferno as he exploded out in a concussive wave of power that ripped through everything, shattering the glassy sand that formed below.
When it all cleared, Alvar stood, resting on the blade of Ashira that pierced through his chest, spitting blood out as she held him upright. The flames in his eyes flickered out, but the smile on his face remained,
“Thank you” he whispered,
Ashira nodded, understanding, for Alvar had found what made him tick, he was made to burn everything in his path, the great fire. From the crowd stood men and women in gold robes with white air and blue eyes, the clan of sol blade. Alvar tapped her, drawing Ashira’s attention back to him,
“Let me stand” he whispered,
She nodded and released him, drawing her blade out. Alvar sol blade stood on his two legs and raised sol skywards,
“TO THE THOUSAND BLADES!” he shouted, infusing the last flicker of his authority into it,
“TO THE THOUSAND BLADES, TO CLAN SOL, TO Alvar SOL BLADE!” the clan members roared back,
Ashira raised her blade towards the position where the rulers watched, together with Alvar who faded into motes of light, they gave their final salute. Alvar woke up in the stasis chamber, opening it up and staring at the women in golden robes kneeling towards him,
“What is this?” he asked softly,
“The patriarch sends his greetings, he asked us to inform you of his declaration” they said in unison,
“What declaration?” he asked,
“You, lord Alvar, are to be the next patriarch, for your reign starts immediately after the conclusion of the tournament” they said,
Alvar stood there, speechless….
***********************************
Sonya red quill, ember lady, daughter of master Fiona ember blade the burning princess and granddaughter of Raye Garuda the blazing empress stood up from her meditation. In her mind, the words of her grandmother, the ever-blazing flame that lighted the way for house Garuda spoke with the authority of a goddess,
Who are you?
“The ruler of the skies, the ever-blazing majesty” Sonya whispered,
What is our mandate granddaughter?
“To uphold justice, to rule right and to crush our enemies”
What is my favorite part? The coy voice of her grandmother asked,
“To crush our enemies grandmother” Sonya replied with a smile,
And who stands in your path of victory?
Sonya opened her eyes as she stood,
“The enemy” she replied and stepped out of the waiting room,
So go granddaughter, the wings of your predecessors urge you on, for house Garuda, for me
Sonya marched out to where Titus pure blade stood, white robes with his pure whit blade in hand. The announcer raised his hands to the cheer of the crowd even as he descended,
“The scion and true blood of house Garuda, Sonya red quill versus the extended branch scion of the true blades, the clan pure blade, Titus pure blade!’ he shouted,
Titus stared at her with a serene look on his face, Sonya carried herself with all the regal poise of one born of royalty, but she was deadlier than given credit for. Training in the deep-frozen world of alpia, she had fought the advocates of the diamond warrior as an initiate, her entire life she had been honed to be a serrated sharp edged blade house Garuda could point at its enemies, the Dracon in particular.
Growing up in training and education on the political mine field that was the archailect, she was as cautious and patient as the Garuda herself and she was the pride and joy of her grandmother, not because she was the only child and heir to the Garuda line, but because of her exploits. So even as she stared Titus in the eye, her mind calculated, weighing the very battle and the possible moves she could make.
The words of the announcer informing them to begin rung in her head as her red and gold katana whizzed to block the attack of Titus who appeared in front of her, blade cashing down with pure white intent. She pushed him back, her realm of golden flames and the silhouette of a crying bird in the background, wings spread. Titus winced and pressed the attack, his realm of pure white reality which held blades of intent hovering over covered him, pushing back the domineering power of Sonya’s realm.
Sonya found the pure blades’ realm too bland for her, even as she broke through his attacks with the swirling flames that surrounded her and engaged him in battle, blades clashing against each other.
She admired the moves of the pure blade, his movements deceptive, but she could read it, not because it was that easy, but because she had learnt to pick apart sword movements as easily as picking off the feathers of new hatchlings. She broke his movements with her movements born of years of practice born of endless training, getting into his guard even as Titus uttered the word carrying with it his entire authority,
“CLEAVE”
Reality sliced cleanly in front of him, moving towards Sonya who realized this had been his plan all along, his ace. She applauded his good thinking, his planning and the stark realization that he couldn’t defeat her, but it was fruitless. She whispered the words, but it carried the authority of both the phoenix and the Garuda, for the two majestic birds that created her bloodline,
“CRY”
The very words shattered every working of authority and intent around her, Titus staring with wide eyes as she relieved his head off his shoulder before turning and walking away, the cheers of the crowd echoing around her. She could picture her grandmothers face, a slight disapproving frown on her face and the eye roll of her mother,
You spent too much time her grandmother said,
Then the smile became feral,
But what is a few seconds to the queen of the skies?
Sonya’s face echoed that smile.
*******************************
Lothar stood silently, watching the field with a neutral expression, his blade gripped tightly in his hand as he breathed slowly. Diamonds as previously said didn’t need to breathe, but he found the process calming, lady Skatha had done her best, had corrected his every mistake, but it was left to him to do his best, to bring glory to the clan of diamond. His name was called and Lothar stepped out into the arena, the entire area on fire with columns of diamond littering the entire area.
Kenuran red jaw stepped into the arena with a grin on his face, his hand gripping his blade and a murderous look on him. Lothar walked closer, whipping his blade out and walking closer,
“The heir to the great house dragons, protector of the dungeons of the archailect and heir to the great Azar himself, Kenuran red jaw versus the scion of the clan of defenders, the diamond citadel that has stood strong for close to a century now, Lothar diamond blade!” the announcer said as the crowd cheered,
“Are both ascenders ready?” the announcer asked,
“ready” Lothar said,
“ready” Kenuran said with a chuckle,
“Begin!’ the announcer said,
Everywhere around Lothar blazed with hard rock diamond, stopping Kenuran in his footsteps, the dragon frowned, looking back up and dodging a slice of Lothar who came for him, blade swinging in dedicated movements. Kenuran dodged the attacks with a look of disdain on his face,
“BURN” the dragon said,
The entire flames in the arena coalesced together and engulfed Lothar, burning the spot the diamond blade stood. The diamond beneath Kenuran’s feet shattered, the dragon smiling and watching, till a diamond gauntlet hand flashed out of the flames and gripped the dragon by the throat, Kenuran’s eyes going wide. The dragon was lifted off his feet and slammed into the ground with a resounding explosion, shattering the ground behind him.
Lothar stood, totally encased in diamond, even his blade, he moved with speed that defied the weight of his armor, his blade flashing to decapitate the dragon in the crater he made for himself. The red gleaming blade of Kenuran flashed out of its crater to stop the blade of Lothar, rebounding the diamond blade who took the attack in stride and brought his blade crashing back down. The dragon however, calling upon his bloodline ability partially stood out of the crater.
Pushing his way out of the crater, the dragon smiled,
“Commendable, however, I cannot let those pesky birds perform better than me” Kenuran said,
The realm of the dragon descended, an infinite realm of burning flames that burnt and oppressed Lothar. The diamond held on, visions of his clan holding the forte of eternal solitude flashed in his mind, his father standing against the horde of wild burning salamanders that assaulted the forte, never wavering. Lothar gritted his teeth, his armor cracking as he walked closer,
“I am the wall of perdition” he groaned, ignoring the flames,
“I am the ever-shining wall of protection”
Kenuran frowned,
“BURN” he repeated again, the flames burning hotter,
“I am Lothar diamond blade, and I bow to no one, not even a dragon” he groaned,
His entire authority was channeled into his body, Lothar becoming air as he blitzed forward, a punch landing on Kenuran’s face. The dragon had chosen to underestimate him, and he would pay in blood, with earth shattering punches, Lothar laid in his anger, sword style be damned. Intent coating his diamond gauntlet arms, he kept punching with reckless abandon.
Even with the flames that raged, the anger of Lothar was a physical thing. The flames ate at his diamond armor, but still he pressed on, eyes alight even as the flames began to burn his skin. A loud roar echoed around and Kenuran with his mangled face caught the hands of Lothar and in a move so grotesque the entire crowd gave a loud gasp, tore the hands off his body.
Flames raged in the eyes of the dragon,
“You insignifi- “Kenuran said before Lothar whirled, diamond leg crashing into the face of the dragon, hurling Kenuran into the sands
Lothar stomped on the dragon even as tears fell from his face, his arms rapidly healing back, but not in time for Kenuran to grip his leg and rip it off his body,
“blasphemy” Kenuran growled,
With a raised hand, Kenuran gathered intent and flames so pure above in the air, Lothar grinning even as he hopped on one leg,
“Any last words, worm?” Kenuran asked, his jaw resetting with an audible click,
“I didn’t bow” Lothar said with a grin,
Kenuran frowned and let the attack fall, evaporating Lothar diamond blade. The entire arena was quiet, Kenuran looking around, waiting for the applause,
“Lothar!” a voice shouted behind the dragon,
Kenuran turned to see the titan blade standing in the arena,
“Lothar!” the titan shouted again, fist raised in the air,
“Lothar!” the crowd began to pick up,
“LOTHAR, LOTHAR, LOTHAR!” the chants echoed,
“Ascender Moyo, please vacate the arena” the announcer said with a grin, seemingly enjoying himself too much,
Moyo nodded and pointed his blade at Kenuran,
“For your brutality, you will meet my blade dragon spawn, this I promise” he said,
Kenuran smiled as he vanished in a lance of fire, Moyo sheathing his blade and walking away to the chants of Lothar.
***************
Lothar woke up in his stasis pod to see a holographic video of his parents staring at him. With wide eyes, he stepped out of the pod,
“son” Hurad diamond blade said,
“father” Lothar said, holding himself from trembling,
He had failed his house and here he stood before his father, shame on his face,
“Son, thank you” his father said as Lothar whipped his head up in shock,
He saw his father and the elders of clan diamond blade bowing,
“You have spread our name across the stars, the clan has been elevated to lords by our patriarch and our legacy secured, I couldn’t have asked for a better son, thank you” his father completed,
“The clan greets the true scion!” the elders behind his father echoed,
Lothar diamond blade, diamond ranked ascender and he who didn’t bow to the might of the dragons bowed to his father as he wept in gratitude.