Two weeks remained to the tournament. We would need to set out to city by the week's end. While I didn’t feel fully prepared, it mattered little. I would be tested by Salam and one other, with Yurvaonri to preside as proctor.

I stood in my chariot decked in garlands and jewels. My steeds were white horses, whose glow was as tawny as the sun. I was dressed in the same armor that I donned in my last engagement. It was made anew after the damage it suffered and felt much lighter. Most likely due to how much more fortified my body had become.

On the other end was Salam with his chariot. Unlike me, he wielded a great bow anchored to the base of the chariot. The bow was aged, but the grooves on its form were filled with solid gold. The metal reflected with imbued energy as if it were from Samiztrahah himself! Salam’s white stallions stood tall and resolute. They displayed muscles so great that it seemed their gallop alone could sway the Earth herself.

I was intimidated by this sight. But nothing could prepare me for what was to come.

“Do the combatants stand ready?” the sage, my master, called.

“Aye!” we shouted.

She turned to face me, and said, “Yurva, your match will not be a one-on-one.”

“What do you mean?” I said, terrified and confused. “I thought I was to only fight commander Salam!”

She shook her head and smiled. “My expectation is not for you to win, but to test your ability to the fullest extent. Your enemy is not one with which to be trifled. They have scarce entered the war for our homes, and few have beheld them. But now, one shall appear now, and it will be your second opponent, aiding Salam in his endeavors to best you.”

“This isn’t fair, teacher!” I said, dismayed at what I surely felt to be my end. “Not a single hair on my body is ready for what I should face!”

“Then I should hope you conquer that fear, for it will not aid you in the tourney of the age!”

I gulped. My mind went blank as I saw a form appear from the air. Fiery embers masked its presence. But those embers descended still. Then a breeze came and brought the embers my way. And from the embers that passed, I felt the earth shake. From out of the fires of the air, there came a giant!

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One so great as to make me feel like an ant in its presence. Its form was shielded in fire, its mane red and burning. Its stature exceeded even that of the dragon! Every step it took made my chariot shudder and the horses quiver.

All the terrible images I held felt realized on sight. Yet it betrayed all such expectations! It kneeled to the sage and bowed with folded hands.

I have come as requested, O sage of old! I, the fire giant of the race of Grahuvizatan will do as is bidden by you. What do you request of me, O ruler of the three worlds?

“I ask that you test my disciple, Yurva,” I trembled at the mention of my name, “in a battle of strength! He has honed the basic elements, and I must see what he can produce with all that I have taught him.”

So be it.

This, as you could imagine, didn’t go very well in my mind. I became tense and was unsure of what to do.

Yurvaonri looked to either side, and said, “With permission having been sought from the elder before you, I give leave for your battle to commence! Let the Light watch over you; may the Gods and Benefactors pronounce this battle!”

Thus was the call given. The silence was broken, and Salam’s chariot moved. The horses galloped, racing toward me. I broke my daze and had my horses gallop as well. I circled around wide, trying to move as far from the giant as I could.

But my attempts were futile. The giant strode the earth with such long steps that it blocked my exit in moments. I attempted to steer around it. The horses reversed their direction.

I rode as far as I could, with the commander and giant following behind. I saw wind blowing my way, and there before me was my advantage! I coursed the air so strong that it struck both the giant and the commander with the force of a tornado.

My courage returned, knowing that the giant could be slowed!

Just as I was to revel in that realization, a storm of arrows came from behind. They struck the chariot, the wheels, and the rear of my horses. The horses became frightened. I lost control over the chariot.

I brought water to my palms and hastily mended the wounds of my horses. They were relieved. Yet also invigorated. For I also loosened the tension of their muscles and gave momentary rest to their cells.

The volley of arrows that came my way, few now, can replicate. All in that time were blessed with the power of the Dvashtro even should its presence be out of reach or far from one’s person.

They couldn’t unleash the full force of the divine weapon, but just enough to keep the world secure. And such power coursed through the arms and bow of the commander.

I reversed the motion of the chariot, flying toward the commander! He had taught me such a skill. Pushing the invocation into mind, I saw the stream of letters of the ancient script once more, and reverberated its sound throughout my being.