This announcer stood out the most so far. He was a mountain of a man, not unlike Sienna’s own father. And had dark crimson, almost black hair. Strips of cloth with intricate markings were tied around his forehead and limbs. The patterns looked as if they were meant to imitate the golden glowing tattoo running down half of his dark build.

Suddenly his face morphed and a mischievous grin took up most of the space. He slammed his fist down on the street and a firestorm erupted into the sky. When Sienna looked back, the man was gone and replaced with dozens of fire dancers spinning rings and poles around their bodies. Flames and sparks of all sorts of colors lit up the street as the crowd cheered and celebrated.

“Now this is more like it!” Sienna cheered.

Not long after the fire dancers passed, the floating platforms started coming out in a tight v-shaped formation. And at the center of the lead float was a younger copy of the announcer. He was practically identical albeit with lighter hair and a leaner build. His skin was also more red than the burnt copper of the man she guessed could only be his father.

The young man chanted while slapping his bare chest and limbs, continuing his dance as sparks flew around him. He disappeared from the platform in an explosion only to appear in the middle of the street. Now wearing a pair of orange and black gloves.

He disappeared from the platform in an explosion only to appear in the middle of the street. Now wearing a pair of orange and black gloves He burst into a series of flips and tricks that carried him everywhere on the street. Slowing down his performance whenever he would approach a woman to show off. He continued down the street until he finished by throwing himself into the air and landing in the center of a platform in a blaze. He captured the flames in his gloves and spun them around in a never ending torrent of flames that glowed several shades of amber and gold.

Breaking from his trance the young man reached his hand into the flames swirling around him. The crowds gasping sucked the air from the street. He pulled them back to reveal they were unharmed and holding two orbs of flame that he launched into the sky. After passing a safe distance over the buildings, they exploded into bright fireworks that washed everything in a warm light.

The crowd was speechless and stared on into the night as the light began to fade. Then two more explosions went off, everyone’s attention shooting back to the eccentric youth who was energetically hurling more and more orbs into the sky. By the time the lights finally settled down and everyone looked back toward the street, it was empty once again.

Sienna caught a glimpse of a teen wrapped in a dark robe hiding in one of the alley’s before he ran off.

“Well at least he can enjoy the show.” She smiled to herself.

“What about you? I hope you two beauties were able to enjoy my performance.” The man’s white smile stood out from his fiery skin. “Whoa, wait what are you doing?”

Sienna flipped him onto the stone ground without a word. And watched as the man groaned and struggled up.

“Ouch, you could give a guy some warning.” He winced as he tried to reach his back in an attempt to nurse the pain.

“You didn’t seem to care about giving us a warning before sneaking up on us.” She remarked while loosening her grip.

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“Fair point.”

The young man reached his hand out for help to his feet. Sienna let out a small laugh from the side of her mouth and crossed her arms. While Kamadra gingerly shook their head and effortlessly lifted him off the ground before dropping him on his feet.

Dumbfounded by the two he tried to shake off the interaction as the next announcer slowly stepped up to give their introductions. They were a small toad like woman, but one look could tell there were lifetimes of experience with her age.

“My name is Laau Kai, I’m the successor of my Laau family which leads the Pemelé faction of Primordial Resonance.” He proudly puffed out his chest as he spoke of his family and status. “You two beauties are in luck for I have decided to grace your presence and observe the rest of the ceremony with you.”

It was painfully obvious that he had loosely rehearsed this speech in the event of finding someone who caught his attention.

“Oh Young Master Laau, thank you for humbling yourself to come and entertain our lowly selves.” Sienna sarcastically bowed her head in a showy flourish.

“Your appreciation is more than enough, tell me what are the names of these two songbirds?” He smiled.

Sienna smiled in return and continued, “My friend here is Kamadra, and they are the genius disciple of the far off and powerful Divine Hearts Sect. They have traveled far to compete in the Dài Festival and are likely to rank in the top five.” Her smile only grew as Kai’s eyes widened.

Sienna looked over to Kamadra who was using their sleeve to hide a red face. But it seemed like they were able to catch on and started their own introduction.

“And my friend here is Sienna, she is the first successor candidate of her clan. Which is led by Lord Kijin, their family being the one for which the city is named after. Making her Tian Che Sienna, who will also be competing in the Dài Festival and is the one favored to win overall.”

They both bowed, Kamadra more in a traditional way towards an equal. While Sienna bowed in an overly exaggerated way that is usually performed by a servant to royalty.

“P-please stand.” Laau Kai stammered. “It is a great pleasure of mine to meet the daughter of one of our gracious hosts. While I may not be as exceptional as the both of you, I too hope to place well in the festival and make my family proud.”

“Nice recovery.” Sienna said.

As their exchange ended so did the group of light performers. “Awe! No fair I was looking forward to their performance the most!” Kamadra cried out.

“It’s alright Kammy…”

“That’s a terrible nickname.”

Sienna continued, “It’s alright Kamadra, we’ll be able to see more of their abilities during the exchange between the different Law realm experts at the end of the festival.”

“She’s right, besides, you’ve already seen the best faction in my sect.” The young man’s eyebrows seemed to smile.

“Hmm I don’t know, Gryphon’s Radiance was pretty and all but I don’t know if I’d call them the best.” Kamadra half hid behind their sleeve again.

“I-I… that’s not what I meant.” He said.

“Oh stop it Kama,” she waited for a response, but continued when they didn’t speak up. “We shouldn’t tease him too much. Or else we might miss the final performance.”

“That’s okay, I think I’m ready to head back to the Lord’s manor. Shadow users tend to give me the chills. Besides, doesn’t your brother owe us for losing the game?”

“I see you.” She wrapped her arm around Kamadra and whispered. “Hoping for a better show when we get back aren’t you?”

Kamadra’s face flushed and they broke free from Sienna’s grasp before yelling back, “I’ll see you back at the manor!” As they ran off.

Sienna looked back towards Laau Kai, “It was fun meeting you, maybe we’ll run into each other again before the festival.”

“I’ll be staying at the Quail Pond Inn if you ever feel like sharing a meal.” He attempted to charm her one last time.

“You’ll have to do a little more than dance around with some tricks to impress me, Sparky.” She thought for a moment. “Tell you what, if you can make it to the top five of the festival then I’ll let you buy me something sweet.” She grinned and waved as she walked towards the dimly lit dirt road.

Laau Kai looked back towards the figures shrouded in dark grays and black as they silently danced through the street. “Maybe next time.” He sighed. He shook his head and fixed his hair before running off to another group of beauties. “Lady’s! How do you feel about getting to know one of the contestants of the festival?”