Aurin, his parents and Shamtile stepped off the train and onto the platform on a fine day in early summer. It was not any old day; it was the day of the opening ceremony of the second ever qualifier tournament in Hazelton. Aurin was excited for his first match to kick off and was keen to get into the tournament spirit.

“It feels like I’ve been gone forever,” said Aurin, while Shamtile nodded his head in agreement.

“Don’t be silly,” said Aurin’s mother, Alice. “You’ve been away for three days and that wasn’t nearly long enough.”

“He’s hard at work here,” said his dad, Edwin. “Can’t blame the boy for working hard now, can we?” Aurin and Edwin chuckled while his mother clicked her tongue.

Just then, a brown-haired girl ran up to them with a blue drake clinging to her back. “I’m here! I’m on time!” said Luna.

“Not quite, but close enough,” said Aurin. “What have I missed?”

“Zodiac attacked the town hall and kidnapped the mayor,” said Luna snarkily.

Aurin held his index finger and thumb to his chin. “That would be a way to liven things up, I suppose. If only it hadn't happened while there was a tournament about to start.”

“You two shouldn’t joke about these things,” said Alice. “The last time you had any dealings with them, you both nearly got killed and Kyle had his lovely ranch burned down. I suggest you take them a lot more seriously considering they’re still at large.”

“We’re still here, mum. Stronger than ever and without a confirmed sighting of our masked friends for months.”

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” said Edwin. “I know you two can handle yourselves, but the less trouble you find yourselves in the better.”

“Cheer up, everyone,” said Luna brightly. “It’s opening ceremony day! It’s a day for happiness and no worries…except for whoever the first opponent is.” Shamtile clutched his mask and screeched, desperately hoping it wasn’t against Hunter.

Everyone was gathering in Hazelton today and the streets were as crowded as could be. Unlike Edwin and Alice, many tourists were hoping for a resurgence of the Zodiac Squad to make the tournament even more interesting, but the residents weren’t so keen on the idea. They were worried they would have their Minakai stolen, or this year’s prized egg wouldn’t be returned.

The stadium loomed overhead and the front courtyard by the waterfront was packed with tamers and their Minakai, ready to finalise their registration. Aurin double checked that he still had his registration pass he obtained last week. Once he had confirmed it, he summoned his team. Shamtile bounced around excitedly with Steambot, while Spikruption, Dolissile, Leonite, Chull and Gorungol were more serious. True to form, Desparee wept wildly—and it wasn’t from nerves.

“We’ll see you inside,” said Luna. “If you don’t wave at us, I’ll be very upset.”

“Your decision not to enter is final then?” asked Hunter, walking up with his Flambot beside him.

Luna jumped a mile. “Hi Hunter,” she said upon realising who had snuck up. “I didn’t register for my pass last week. No going back now.”

“That’s a real shame,” he lamented, shaking his head. “Perhaps we can do a friendly battle instead? You had a lot of raw talent.”

“I’ll battle you if I can use three Minakai against one of yours,” Luna joked.

“I’ll have to think about whether or not I can win that,” laughed Hunter.

Luna, Edwin and Alice all said farewell and headed inside to take their seats, leaving Aurin and Hunter at the back of the queue. Aurin kept looking around to see who else he knew this time round. He spotted Jimmy, the tamer who he fought in the previous tournament, and he could see Eclare, a tamer he met in the tower, standing a few spots ahead.

“There are a few faces from last year,” said Hunter, “but it seems to have a lot of new folks too. I wonder if the big boom in publicity from the first tournament drove the floor requirement up considerably.”

Aurin suddenly thought of something. “I’m curious, Hunter. What’s the highest floor you’ve ever reached in a tower?”

“Thirty nine,” he said. “Ludonia Tower on the second of March this year. Flambot here was with me too, isn’t that right?”

Flambot tensed his arms and let a roaring flame burst out from behind him, almost scorching Gardner who had just joined the line.

“Careful!” cried the nature elemental enthusiast. “I want to be able to enter, not end up in a hospital bed.”

“My apologies,” said Hunter, then turning to Aurin. “How about you? What is your highest floor?”

“Harmony Tower, floor twenty one. About two weeks ago, but I couldn’t tell you the exact date. It was with my Dolissile, Leonite and Steambot. Shamtile decided to take the day off.”

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Shamtile waved his arms in protest, but Aurin assured his Minakai that he was joking.

“Floor sixteen for me,” said Gardner, “but in my defence, I go solo…well, as a solo human with three monsters.”

Aurin was quietly satisfied that he too had reached floor sixteen alone one day when Luna was spending time with her old schoolmates. She had invited Aurin to meet them, but he declined. It was only after that he realised it was quite rude of him to do so.

The line moved forward at a decent pace and the three tamers eventually made it inside. They each went through their verification and assessments. Aurin summoned his Minakai one by one, then returned them to the ranch; Shamtile remained by his side.

He looked around the assessment hall to see if he could spot an unmasked Leo lurking around. It didn’t feel that long since he stood here before and the Zodiac member introduced himself to Aurin as Frederick. In hindsight, it was a bold move, but Aurin didn’t realise until later.

“Shall we?” asked Gardner as he and Hunter walked over with Desparee and Flambot by their respective sides.

The three tamers walked outside and into the box set aside for competitors. Aurin looked into the stands and was able to spot Luna sitting with his parents. She was talking with his mum, and they were giggling away about something. Whatever it was, it had better not have been about him.

“I’m hyped to see what Minakai they use for the ceremony this year,” said Gardner, sounding as excited as he claimed.

“Let’s hope it isn’t a recycled performance then,” remarked Hunter. Even the thought of that made Gardner’s smile waver.

Fifteen minutes later, the stadium was filled with the sound of drums and trumpets as the marching band entered. Gardner’s fear of a repeat show was squashed as a pair of blade-armed Chopchop duelled.

The two insectoid Minakai slashed and blocked, ducked and dived, parried and countered. It was a wild battle with the crowd holding their breath throughout. Aurin was impressed, but cynically thought that it was a scripted duel, until one of the Chopchop delivered a deep cut into the other’s arm. Everyone was on the edge of their seat, and the battle got bloodier and more brutal. It wasn’t long before a tournament official ran onto the field with two Frogre that he used to pull the two duellists apart.

“Is this part of the show or did things get out of hand?” asked Gardner.

“I’m…not sure,” said Aurin.

Next, the light show began. A team of Thundarun burst onto the field and galloped in formation, shooting lightning into the sky in various arcs and forks. A golden bird flew overheard dodging the attacks and shooting its own lightning to the ground.

The bird, a Wunder, then soared high into the sky and rained lightning down upon the unicorns, who absorbed it with their horns and let it build up more energy. Suddenly, they released it into the sky where it illuminated the entire stadium before disappearing into the atmosphere.

Everyone applauded, Gardner was notably on his feet. Once the noise had subsided, Mayor Boren emerged and walked towards a podium that had been placed especially for him. He waved to the crowd, who were all eager to see what he had to say. The crowd were murmuring as a pedestal was placed beside him, covered by a red sheet.

Mayor Boren cleared his throat. “Fine people of Hazelton and all of our treasured and esteemed guests. Allow me to have the honour of welcoming you all to the second ever Hazelton qualifying tournament organised by the Bretonian Tournament League.”

Everyone clapped, caught up in the thrill of the whole spectacle.

The mayor continued. “Tamers from all over the country have gathered here in our quaint, but wonderful, town. Each of them shares a common aim, to reach the top four to qualify for the national championships, and to achieve total victory so they can get their hands on…this.”

The mayor pulled the sheet away from the pedestal, revealing an egg. All eyes focused on the egg, each person in the crowd wondering what this year’s prize would be. How rare of a creature was kept within?

“Last year, we had…well, a little incident. The prized egg was stolen by heinous criminals. It was recovered by the efforts of one of our competitors at the time who is competing here again this year. Please give a hand for Aurin.”

Aurin’s face appeared on the large stadium screen as the crowd praised him, while his face turned red with embarrassment. He waved to the crowd as Gardner elbowed him in the ribs encouragingly. Shamtile hopped on top of Aurin’s lap, waving his arms and making the crowd burst into laughter with one of his erratic dances.

“I would like to assure you all that both the Hazelton Police Department and the Bretonian Tournament League are doubling up on our security so that no further incidents will occur. As exciting as it was, we would prefer to keep things under tighter control.

“Lastly, I would like to encourage you all to get involved. Our town has much to offer, from the beautiful outlying scenery to many local businesses, and let’s not forget our wondrous monster tower. And with that, I will see you all tomorrow for the first of our many matches. Let the tournament begin!”

The crowd dispersed, all excited for what was to come. The tamers in their seats all leapt to their feet faster than anyone and rushed to check their matchups so they could start preparing. Aurin pushed his way to the front of the crowd to see the screen where the two hundred and fifty six names were listed.

He ran his eyes up and down, trying to see his name and picture. “There,” he muttered. He saw a tamer who looked about the same age as he did named Conrad. He glanced around, spotting Conrad in the crowd. The young tamer looked nervous, presumably his first tournament.

“If we win each of our matches,” said Hunter to Aurin, “we’ll have to wait until the semi-finals to battle.”

“So we both have a shot at the national championships even if one of us knocks the other out,” said Aurin. “Where are you Gardner?”

“Yes!” he exclaimed, finding his listing. “I’m at the other side of the bracket. All three of us can go to Ludonia if we do well enough.”

Aurin laughed. “Let’s be realistic, Hunter will make it and we’ll have to fight much harder for it.”

“Expect the unexpected,” said Hunter, being modest.

Shortly after, Aurin said farewell to his two friends and left to find Luna and his parents. He hoisted Shamtile onto his shoulders so we could see over the crowds of people swarming the courtyard. There they were, standing by the riverside.

“Confident?” asked Luna with a wink.

Aurin said nothing, he simply smiled.

“You’re just trying to be like Hunter,” laughed Luna. “You should give it up; he plays it cool so much better than you do.”

Luna took Aurin’s parents to get a late breakfast, and Innogon his favourite milkshake, while Aurin headed back to the ranch with a jealous Shamtile. There was no time to waste, he had to train his three combatants for tomorrow’s match. This time, he was determined the prized egg would be his without charity.