“We’re lost,” said Luna as she and Innogon slumped along behind Aurin on the cobblestone streets of a rather hilly part of Ludonia the day before the tournament opening ceremony. Innogon was not too happy that she wouldn’t carry him around these parts. “Will you not just stop and ask someone for directions?”

Aurin looked at the map in his hands. “No way, I paid a silver for this map and I’m going to use it.”

“Can’t you just admit you got scammed, throw it away and ask for help?”

“I did not get scammed!” exclaimed Aurin, shocking a couple of passers-by. “Sorry about that,” he said, apologising to them as they hurried away from the seemingly ill-tempered young man. It probably didn’t help that the sometimes unsettling Dolissile was floating alongside him.

“Is that it?” asked Luna, suddenly looking alert and upbeat again.

Aurin glanced at his map. “It couldn’t be. The map says that—”

“Forget the map and look at the sign,” said Luna, placing two hands on the side of his head and forcing his head up.

The building before them bore a finely crafted wooden sign that said ‘Bretonian Rose’ with a small cup of steaming coffee carved at the end.

Aurin tossed the map in a nearby bin and muttered a few unpleasant words under his breath leaving Innogon confused about what he had said, but Luna distracted him with the promise of a milkshake, and he bounded towards the café excitedly.

The duo and their Minakai walked inside the large café. It had a rustic aesthetic with plenty of red brickwork on most of the walls that weren’t covered in shelves that housed all manner of books, odds and ends. What was most intriguing wasn’t the décor, however, it was the dozens of tamers who had gathered here with their Minakai.

Aurin ordered milkshakes for himself, Luna and Innogon, and they walked over to the crowd to mingle. Most of the tamers here were competitors in the tournament and it was very possible that the one who would eventually face Tobias was standing somewhere in this room.

“What took you so long?” asked Gardner, walking over to Aurin and Luna alongside his Vinewolf.

“Aurin got scammed and then lost,” said Luna.

“You did?” asked Gardner, looking surprised.

Aurin furrowed his brow and didn’t answer the question. “What have we missed?” he asked.

“Very little other than me standing around and making awkward small talk,” said Gardner, patting his Vinewolf on the head.

Aurin looked at the crowd and immediately a woman’s face stood out to him. She was a tamer he had first met in Harmony Tower a year and a half ago when she tried to take an egg from him. They had battled it out in a two on two battle for the egg, but she played dirty and wound up losing anyway.

“I’m surprised to see you here, Aurin,” said Ilena, approaching Aurin with a haughty look on her face.

“Why?” asked Aurin. “I did far better than you last year at the Hazelton Tournament and you didn’t even show your face this year. I’m actually surprised to see you.”

Ilena let out a loud, fake laugh while Luna glared at her. Ilena brushed her dark hair aside. “Did that egg have anything useful in it or was it another dud?”

“As a matter of fact, he’s here with me today,” said Aurin, tapping his knuckles on Dolissile’s back. The cyborg dolphin stared vacantly at Ilena, who was creeped out by his unblinking gaze.

“What a hideous creature,” she said.

“How did a loser like you end up here?” asked Aurin, Ilena quickly grating on him.

“I moved out of the snivelling little town,” she replied. “I came in the top four in the Kinwick Tournament.”

“Never heard of it.”

“I assure you, it’s a much greater challenge than you had to overcome.”

“I very much doubt that,” said Gardner, chiming in. He was personally insulted by Ilena’s dismissiveness. “Perhaps if you’d put any effort in, you could have made it in Hazelton.”

“The three of you make for such unpleasant company,” said Ilena, walking away from them. “I’ll see you at the tournament if you don’t get knocked out in the first round. Who knows? Perhaps I’ll knock one of you out in the first round.”

“Why wait until then?” asked Aurin.

Ilena paused but didn’t turn around. “You want to battle now? This is meant to be a civil meet up, didn’t you know? I suppose that’s no surprise for uncivilised people like yourselves.”

“We’ll have a one versus one battle,” said Aurin. “Let’s see if I can change your mind about Dolissile being a hideous dud.”

“No,” said Ilena continuing to walk away.

Aurin turned to Luna. “She’s scared because she knows she’ll lose.”

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“You’re right,” agreed Luna.

“You dare?” asked Ilena, taking the bait and shaking with rage. A few of the other tamers were watching closely to see what would happen.

The young woman at the counter called over. “If you’re going to have a battle, please take it out the back. We have a small arena set up for that, so you don’t destroy out café.”

“It sounds like that’s happened before,” muttered Gardner, at which Luna nodded in agreement.

Ilena stormed ahead to the back door and Aurin followed. It opened into a small courtyard, much smaller than a typical tournament battlefield, but it was bigger than the ring the spectators formed in the Battle Underground. In any case, Aurin didn’t think Dolissile would cause too much damage here.

“Are you two really going to fight here rather than at the tournament?” said a tired voice from the small crowd.

“Yes,” said Aurin without looking at who the voice belonged to.

Dolissile took his place in front of his tamer as Ilena raised her hand. A pale blue light burst from the summoning stone embedded in her armlet and a lilac turtle with a shiny, icy shell appeared in the courtyard. The turtle roared a croaking roar and the ice crystals embedded in its forehead caught the sunlight.

“Begin!” yelled Luna, starting the battle.

“Go!” called Aurin.

“Tundrurtle, slow him down!” ordered Ilena.

Dolissile burst forwards and the Tundrurtle inhaled deeply, breathing a thick foggy cone of frost. The metal elemental dolphin decelerated rapidly, particularly susceptible to the ice elemental attack. The Tundrurtle kept low and Dolissile collided with its shell, but it didn’t leave a scratch.

“You won’t win,” warned Ilena.

Aurin watched her Tundrurtle, looking to see where it was weakest. It was quick to react, but not a fast mover on solid ground. Its shell only covered the top half of its body, so it couldn’t withdraw inside. Its underbelly was definitely a vulnerable point. Perhaps that was the place to strike if he could expose it, but it was a task much more suited to a dextrous Minakai like Shamtile rather than Dolissile’s to-the-point approach. He would have to get creative.

Dolissile backed off, and the Tundrurtle began throwing ice spears at him. Still slowed by the lingering frost, Dolissile was hit by a couple.

“Use your pulse,” said Aurin, and Dolissile emitted a burst of energy that shattered the spears.

Aurin’s Minakai remained as stoic as ever in the face of an advantaged opponent. Aurin commanded him to circle the arena, and Ilena’s Tundrurtle spun in place, blowing more thick frost into the air. Dolissile was outpacing its turning and picking up speed.

“He’s up to something,” warned Ilena. “You know what to do if he comes close.”

Aurin had seen Luna’s Tadpool fight enough times to know exactly how an ice elemental would keep an opponent back.

“Fusion fin and curl!” called Aurin as Dolissile exploded towards Tundrurtle. As he had expected, Ilena’s Minakai brought up an ice wall, but Dolissile curled himself and sliced straight through the thick wall of ice and cutting the Tundrurtle’s face.

It howled in pain and reared up on its back flippers. This was Dolissile’s chance. The dolphin pulsed once more and knocked Tundurtle onto its back before backing off. He torpedoed forwards while the turtle tried to flip itself onto its front and charged up another fusion fin. He smashed into his opponent’s stomach as it rolled to the side and send the icy Minakai spinning around the courtyard on its slippery back.

The spectators and their Minakai leapt out of the way as the Tundrurtle bounced from wall to wall, quickly growing dizzier. With a final strike, Dolissile sent it flying through the air and into the wall, cracking the stone and its shell at the same time. It could not fight on.

The crowd cheered for Aurin’s victory, especially Luna and Gardner, while Ilena stood there shaking with rage. She walked up to Aurin and started wagging her finger.

“You think this means you’re better than me?” she asked as he took a step back. “When we’re in a real battlefield, you’ll see how things are different. Mark my words, you’re going down.”

Aurin raised an eyebrow. “It’s just a Minakai battle, will you relax?” he said, but it was the final straw for Ilena. She recalled her Tundrurtle and stomped out of the café as the woman from the counter staff came to see what the loud crashes were.

“The wall!” she cried, seeing the damage Aurin had caused.

“Don’t worry, I can fix it,” he said hurriedly, summoning Shamtile. “Shamtile, repair that crack.”

Shamtile, confused at what had just happened, waved his hands and repaired the wall within seconds. The woman seemed satisfied that it was mended and left, as Shamtile wandered over to Innogon staring intently at the milkshake the blue drake had just polished off.

“It looks like it’s amateur hour at the Bretonian Rose,” said the same tired voice who had scoffed at the idea of fighting here rather than at the tournament.

“Do you have a problem?” asked Aurin, looking over at the young man who had spoken. He had short ashy hair and an upturned nose.

“We’re competing in the national championships, and you think it’s appropriate to start picking fights with fellow competitors at a meetup. Are you five?”

A few of the onlookers murmured in agreement, while others looked confused.

“Who are you?” asked Aurin.

“My name’s Elton,” the tamer replied. “That woman is clearly a joke of a competitor that took part in one of the least reputable tournaments in the country to win her place here. As for you, your technique is sloppy and your inability to control yourself is going to get you in trouble.”

“That’s not fair,” said Luna, stepping forward. “Aurin is one of the most disciplined people I know.”

“Did you or did you not help him rile up that woman?” asked Elton, shutting Luna down and then turning to Aurin. “You had better watch yourself at the tournament. Behaviour like that and poor battling form will do you no favours.”

Elton and a few others left the café. Aurin, Luna, Gardner and their Minakai all sat at a table inside; Aurin tossed Shamtile a couple of silvers so he could get himself a milkshake, while Innogon watched jealously on.

“Who does that guy think he is?” asked Gardner.

Aurin was sitting forward with his hands clasped together on the table, thinking over what Elton had said. “You know, I think he’s got a point.”

“You do?”

“Yes. Ilena has always been quite a…well, quite a character. I knew she would be quick to anger, and that I could embarrass her in front of everyone. Do you think that that’s the sort of thing someone like Hunter would do? Kyle? Tobias? No, it was foolish of me to needlessly pick a fight.”

“Yeah…yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“Not to toot my own trumpet too much, but I’m used to being one of the best tamers in and around Hazelton. Here, maybe I thought I had a point to prove. I should save it for the tournament and make my name that way.”

Luna had been sitting quietly until now. “I think we got carried away,” she muttered.

“I think so too,” said Aurin. “I need to reel it in a bit and focus. The opening ceremony is tomorrow, and I could very well be fighting in the evening. I can’t get too cocky, and I can’t take whatever bait is laid out there for me, especially in battle.”

“You’re still going to be ruthless with Elton if you end up fighting him though, right?” asked Gardner.

“Of course,” said Aurin, the smile returning to his face. “I’ll prove that I’m worthy of respect, but I’ll do it in the right way. No more showing off, no more antics. It’ll be through epic battles that’ll show the city…no, the entire country what I’m capable of.”