Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. Drakar thought to himself. The human faired better than he would have expected. His clothes were scorched by the young mans blue fire and the cultivators speed was faster even than some of the more powerful seraphim he’d faced. If he hadn’t used the Nexus flame earlier then the fight would have been easy, even so, the human impressed him which was why he took him along back to bloodridge. He’d found out his name from some orders addressed to him among his personal items, Rowan Whitethorn. Drakar had heard of the Whitethorns. Before the cleansing they were well known cultivators.
In order to get Rowan to calm down Drakar had to bite him. A vampire's bite contained a sort of hypnotic effect on their victims. After the archangels attack on the sect earlier it was the only way to get Rowan to calm down and if he wanted to turn him he had to keep him that way. He’d rather not damage his newest blood servant before he even turned. Drakar had plans for the boy and they involved more than making him a simple pawn. He had enemies among the clans, ones he couldn’t harm due to political reasons but there were no such constraints on a man that only he knew about. Drakar smiled and looked at Rowan, his skin had already begun to pale.
“Good.” The vampire said, “keep drinking.” Drakar sat with his arm out, inside a small cave just north of Bloodridge. “Soon you will be mine.” Rowan, with his small infant fangs fed on the vampires blood as if he were starving.
***
Sheng shared a look with Ru before they both looked back to the sky, the grand elder had already disappeared and a moment later the bells rang throughout the mountain once again. At the same time that voice raided their minds, just like when the dragons first appeared they were called to the commons. The only difference was that this time the old voice had hints of worry within.
Without a word they rushed to the commons where a crowd was gathered, even larger than the last time and a lot louder. They couldn’t even pick any words out among the countless voices. Just like before, the elders appeared and the noise vanished. Not even a whisper remained. Eight figures came strolling out, taking their thrones, each one armed themselves with a weapon that appeared out of thin air.
The aura of the elders pressed on the crowd and the silence felt even more stifling. One of the nine thrones was empty.
A voice invaded their minds.
“As you can all see, one of the thrones is vacant. Yes, master Chaofeng has fallen. The armies of heaven have grown restless. Everyone here is all that stands between humanity and total Annihilation.” The voice vanished for a few moments before continuing abruptly. “The tournament will be held tomorrow.” The crowd began chattering and the elder seemed to be letting it sink in.
Another voice, this time not in their heads, rang out in the cavern. It echoed off the high ceiling and walls.
“Why don't we just hold it right now.”
One of the elders vanished from their place
Up above reappearing directly in front of the young man who was the source of the voice.
“Young man who are you, to be speaking like this to the elders?”
“Ramsey Axton, the one who's going to win the tournament.”
The elder didn't speak, instead, he brandished his weapon. A lance made from some sort of black material, the elders weapons were enigmas, all extremely powerful and mysterious. He lashed out toward Ramsey who didn't move nor flinch. A boom echoed off the cavern walls and the lance halted just before skewering the young man. It was pierced through a blue metal disc with a white tiger on it. The point of the lance rested just centimeters from Ramseys eye.
The elder didn't speak right away, studying him.
“Elder,” said one of the battle masters, marked by his red and white robes. “Let my student handle him, he is beneath you.” The elder looked up towards the rest of his comrades. The grand elder nodded and his voice spoke loudly in everyone's minds.
“Let the tournament commence.”
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
The elder vanished again appearing above and sat down, his lance resting beside his throne. The crowd broke into a myriad of voices as the battle masters formed a perimeter pushing the people to the edges of the chamber. While some handled the crowd others began drawing a formation on the ground, an extremely complex summoning formation they used to create an arena for the competitors to fight in.
“Who is he?” Asked sheng.
“He hasn't declared himself under any of the battle masters or I would know. I've never even seen him attending classes.” Ru studied the boy, she knew most of the practitioners due to her mother's status.
They looked at each other and then sheng looked back toward Ramsey. Blue specs surrounded him.
“He's definitely a practitioner but I don't understand what his ability is. That blue disc. It appeared out of nowhere and fast enough to block an attack by an elder.”
Sheng nodded toward the elders creating the formation.
“Well were about to find out.” They were just stepping away while a battle master guided Ramsey to one side and the one who spoke to the elder earlier guided his student to the other. “The one he's facing, do you know him?”
“Yes, he has the ability to grow and manipulate plants at will. He has a superior affinity to earth and nothing more. The battle masters have taken notice only because of his ability and nothing more. If Ramsey doesn't win decisively he had no business declaring himself the winner.”
Sheng nodded and watched as the white lines of the formation began to glow. Eventually the glow grew into a blinding light and was replaced by an oasis. A large body of water covered what used to be the center of the chamber with small plants and some trees growing around it. Ramsey and his opponent stood on opposite sides of the water.
The chatter slowed to a crawl, then stopped altogether. Neither fighter moved for a long time. Ramsay, the one who declared himself the winner, sat down and closed his eyes. The other boy, the one who could manipulate plants, gawked. Then he sneered and the battle began.
The ground rumbled, roots ripping themselves free and slithering through the air toward Ramsay. Dozens of them tipped by stone that seemed to have been fixed on the ends by the practitioner sought their target but they never made it that far.
Three blue discs with a white tigers appeared again. As the roots plunged toward Ramsay's vitals, the discs flashed in and out of existence, each time deflecting the blows. The discs started to spin and in moments the roots fell to the ground in pieces, shredded. The one controlling the plants looked stunned but he gathered himself and the earth started to shake once more. It stopped a moment later when Ramsay opened his eyes and stood.
"Stop now before you embarrass yourself and your family further."
He walked toward the oasis but didn't stop on the shore. When his feet hit the water it turned to small sheets of ice beneath him.
His opponent, it seemed, either didn't care about embarrassment or didn't believe it was possible. More roots exploded from the water and dove toward the boy balancing on the Ice. The discs reappeared and just as before nullified the roots, leaving them as nothing more than green shreds floating on the water's surface.
Ru nudged Sheng. He'd been so transfixed by the specs surrounding Ramsay that he didn't notice at first. They were the purest blue he'd ever seen, dark and solid, he felt like he could reach out and touch them. She did so again and he tore his eyes away to see her pointing in the air above the oasis. Both their eyes went wide.
The drops of water created when the roots emerged from the oasis had never come back down. The two of them watched as they solidified into thin, pointed needles of ice. Ramsay pointed at his opponent.
"I'm sorry." It was odd. He seemed genuine, a stark contrast to the ruthless behavior he'd displayed so far. Ramsay's opponent finally noticed the needles and fell backward, unable to keep his footing as he backpedaled in the sand. The needles made a keening sound and the blue specs grew brighter as they sought their victim.
There were gasps among the crowd and the boy in the sand screamed, moving his arms to cover his face.
"No!" Someone from the crowd shouted.
People all around covered their eyes and their children's eyes. Neither sheng nor Ru could look away. Afterall, either of them could face this same opponent anytime during the tournament.
Before the needles tasted flesh, they turned to water and fell, absorbed into the sand. Silence ruled the commons. Then the crowd burst into cheers. Sheng, however, watched Ramsay's eyes go wide. He'd been equally as surprised. He had meant to kill that boy and someone had stopped him.
Ramsay wasted no time leaving the arena, almost jogging out of the huge room and disappearing into the cave that led toward the grotto.
"Come on." Sheng said, pulling Ru along with him.
"What? We could be next."
"We won't be. Your training under a respected battle master, they'll want to get the lesser fighters out of the way first and I don't care if I miss my fight or not, I'm going to talk to him."
Ru's eyes flicked back and forth between Sheng and the oasis where the boy still sat in the sand, stunned. Before long she nodded and followed. The two of them left behind a room full of chatter and entered the quiet of the caves, moving on instinct alone, deeper into the mountain. Toward the grotto.