Daniel took his seat in the royal box, making sure to have a good view of the battleground below. Dae were filling the seats around him and making bets on the duel that was to come.
Illya sat down cheerfully next to him with an exaggerated huff. “This is so exciting,” she said, handing him a bowl of dark liquid. Daniel accepted the drink but looked down questioningly at it.
“Looks like wine,” he said, bringing it to his nose to smell.
“It is wine.” Illya’s smile spread. “I didn’t think you would know what it was. Do you have wine in your world?”
“Yes, but...” Daniel smelled it again. “This definitely smells a little sweeter.” He took a sip and his mouth was filled with the sweet taste of some unknown fruit.
Illya laughed as Daniel squinted his eyes and wrinkled his nose. “I take it you are not particularly fond of the taste.”
“No, it’s just way different from what I’m used to. Our wine is very different.”
“This is my favorite,” she said, and took a long sip. “It’s made from Lylat fruit.”
Daniel stared at the young Dae woman, her skin smooth and eyes bright yellow. The unnatural and feral characteristics laid in sharp contrast to her elegance and civility. She was a stunning creature. She looked down to the arena below and pointed lazily.
“Here he comes. The mighty warrior that is my brother.” She sighed, but with a smile. “I don’t understand him. Nasha clearly wants to humiliate him, but he falls for her taunts.” Her smile melted away at the thought. “She only wants to impress Oros.”
“Why is that?” Daniel asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? So she can help lead the clan from his right hand. He is the eldest child of Ignos, and therefore entitled to all of our lands and subjects. The creature wants to sink her teeth into him, the little harlot.”
Daniel looked down to see Boros walking to the center of the arena. He was no longer wearing his cloak of crimson. This revealed the breastplate made from bone that all the Dae warriors had worn. It left his arms bare, and Daniel could see that the young Dae Kryo was in exceptional shape. He observed Boros begin to stretch and draw his bone sword in the process. The blade had a slight curve to it but had clear distinctions. It was all a single piece. No signs of hammering or tampering; also, the blade looked smooth and shined with the brilliance of polished ivory. It also appeared heavier than it should be. Looking as if it was made of bone, Boros hefted it as though it were made of strong steel.
“How would humiliating Boros impress Oros?” Daniel asked.
Illya let out a sharp laugh that drew some attention from the Dae that surrounded them. “Well, she would take any opportunity to prance around half-naked. My poor brother is a man, after all.” She chuckled to herself. “But in all seriousness, Nasha has built up quite the reputation with our noble caste as somewhat of a bully. Boros is of the Ignos bloodline and very powerful. I suppose if she belittles him in front of Oros, she somehow believes it will elevate her station. I don’t understand the workings of Dae like her, but she has made no friend out of me.” She sighed, looking at her brother in his preparation. “I just hope she doesn’t make a fool of him down there.”
Illya was cut off by the sight of Nasha entering the arena, and as the Dae Krya predicted, she was wearing very little above her waist. Her trousers were normal enough, not disimilar to the light ones that Daniel himself now wore. Hers were considerably tighter and showed her feminine figure. Her feet were bare as well, wrapped around the arches tightly. Above, she wore only a wrapping of bandages that covered her breasts. The sight brought Daniel’s unwavering attention.
Illya scoffed. “I told you, didn’t I?”
Boros stopped his stretching when she approached. He narrowed his eyes at the girl, who just laughed. She held her sword in her right hand and crouched in a fighting pose, holding the blade above her head. Daniel noticed her sword was different; it was straight and thin but had barbs on the bottom near the handguard. The bone-like blades seemed to have a flawless edge and looked as though they were as smooth as marble.
The Dae warriors sitting around Daniel roared. Many more were pouring into the Dome to watch the duel.
Oros stood and called for silence. “Let it be known that by the laws of our king, I hereby declare that this duel is held in formal standing! It will be recorded as such in the archives of this mighty and ancient arena! The rules and limitations are as follows. There will be no lethal or dishonorable blows given, whether by a blade or the Dunamis. If I feel as though one of you has violated this, I will intervene, and the violator will be disqualified.
There were several moments of silence as the Kryo scanned the faces of the Dae, waiting patiently for the battle to begin. The two combatants bowed and faced each other again.
The tension built, flooding the arena with heavy anticipation.
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“Begin!” Oros shouted.
Nasha’s head shot up from her bow, and within the span of a second, she was already moving to flank Boros. Her feet slid across the soft sand with a grace Daniel had never seen. It was smooth and fast, but terrifying. Boros did not mimic her movements, only casually lifting his weapon and crouching in a guarded stance.
The female Dae leaped at him, rising unnaturally high as she did, and brought her sword down with a loud crack. It sounded like they were fighting with wooden sticks, but the clear weight and sharpness of the bone-like swords looked more like a metal.
Boros blocked her blow easily, launching her sword away with a hard swing, and spun into a flurry of powerful counterattacks. The Kryo was clearly stronger than her, but she parried and deflected each swing with precision, all the while keeping a grin on her face.
Her smirk disappeared as Boros shouted in anger and hit her weapon so hard she actually lifted off the sand and back almost a meter. The startled Dae withdrew from him and took a more cautious stance. Boros stood now more aggressively than before, leaning toward his opponent.
“You have been training,” she said, wringing both of her hands now around the hilt of her weapon.
Boros said nothing and lunged in response. Before he could reach her, she tumbled out of the way and brought her hand up toward him with her fingers spread. There was a small spark, then a crackling stream of lightning that flashed from her palm. The bright spectacle brought Daniel to his feet in amazement. The deadly bolt hit Boros, but the young Kryo managed to block it with his hand. He fell back from the force and rolled again to his feet. Daniel could see that the hand he had used to block the elemental attack was covered in a gauntlet of stone, still glowing from where it hit.
“Unbelievable…” Daniel said to himself, using only his human logic to process what he had just witnessed. But before he could, Boros stomped his foot into the sand, causing columns of stone to sprout from the ground around his feet.
With a push of his hand, the columns broke into pieces and shot toward Nasha. The female Dae swung her blade in an arc, releasing a blast of electricity. This did not stop the heavy stones, merely pushed them slightly to either side to avoid her. She darted toward Boros as they thudded into the sand behind her, stabbing her barbed blade at his abdomen. Boros parried her strike to his left and brought his weapon back down in a seamless diagonal slash. Nasha leaned back as far as she could but could not avoid the precise blow entirely. His sword gashed her cheek, and a deep blue fluid sprayed from her face.
The crowd roared in approval; Nasha did not scream or cry at the injury, retreated to a safe distance. She took a moment and stared at her opponent, the blood streaming down her face and dripping off her chin. Daniel saw no amusement anymore, only a hard calculation of someone she had clearly underestimated.
Boros gave her no time to think and rushed toward her. He swung his fist as he ran, calling large stones to rise from the sand. They shot out like long, extending spikes at Nasha. She nimbly dodged the projectiles and unleashed a furious blast of electricity toward the charging Kryo. Boros lifted his sword in an arc, much like she had done before, and almost instantly, there was a large protective wall of stone that absorbed the powerful blast. Chunks of stone sprayed from the wall as her assault continued, but as he moved forward, the wall led him.
Daniel’s eyes soaked in the spectacle. These creatures had a power that, in his mind was impossible. Still, watching the battle unfold, he saw that they used it naturally and effectively.
Boros let out a roar and pushed his battered wall of stone toward Nasha. She had easily dodged his spikes but had managed to let herself get trapped between them. She reacted too late as the solid wall closed in on her. In an attempt to break free of this outmaneuver, she swung her blade at the wall. Electricity flared from her weapon, and it crashed against the stone. There was a loud crash as the two powers met, and the already battered wall broke into pieces. Boros leaped at her swinging his blade downward; the impact against her weapon brought her to one knee, but she tilted her blade to let his slide to the ground.
The two warriors exchanged blow after blow, in quick succession, but Boros was pushing his attacks more and more. Nasha swung her blade broadly, catching Boros’ weapon in one of the barbs on hers. She pulled his away for an instant, just enough time to push her palm into his bone chest plate. Her hand exploded with electricity, and the Kryo was blown back from the surge of power, losing his weapon in the process. Boros fell to the sand, dazed. The crowd began to shout and cheer at the sudden and violent turn. The Dae clutched his hands to his chest, and there was a black scorch where her palm had struck. Gritting his teeth, Boros stood. He glared at Nasha, who stood now twirling her own barbed blade in one hand, and his in the other.
“That is not fair!” Illya yelled from her seat beside Daniel.
Boros knelt to one knee and placed his hands in the sand. His fingers clenched around two small lengths of stone that rose. As he stood, the two lengths of stone followed, and from the ground came two polished and sharp swords. The Dae drew them in front of his body and charged towards his opponent. Nasha held her ground, crouching in a defensive stance while brandishing her two weapons as well.
Boros came down like a meteor, swinging both of his stone blades with incredible force, but the bone weapons held them at bay. The blows cracked and thudded with each strike, and to Daniel’s surprise, the stone swords were beginning to chip and break. He couldn’t help but wonder what the hell those weapons were really made of.
Chips and pieces of stone flew, more and more after the weapons collided. And Daniel noticed that the small pieces were not falling to the sand but floating in the air around the two Dae. It seemed like Nasha noticed this as well and began conjuring her own power to counter it, but Boros’ onslaught was too fierce. The Kryo pressed his attack with merciless precision and strength, forcing her to stay on the defensive. With one final swing, Boros lifted both weapons to strike, Nasha held her swords up to defend herself in response.
Boros opened his hands, letting what was left of his weapons break into small pieces, and slammed his hands into the ground instead. In an instant, the small bits of stone that surrounded them flew at her from all sides. She did what she could to deflect them but was pelted regardless. While she was distracted, a large pillar shot from the ground and struck her in her unprotected chest. Nasha grunted with the impact and fell to the ground. Boros seized his weapon back and pointed his blade to her throat.
There were several moments of silence as the crowd processed what had happened. Then suddenly, Dae warriors from all around stood and cheered at the victory of their Kryo.