Petrus Alypius
“The Tameryian Suns have won the match!”
Through the projection, the cheers of the crowd and the barely comprehensible words of the commentator echoed throughout the senate. With a wave of his hand, the chair of the senate shut off the projection.
“Fellow senators, I believe we’ve seen enough footage from this tournament. Our window of opportunity won’t last forever; it is time to decide whether or not to give the order.” Senator Luccius said.
The senate grew boisterous with the voices of those for and those against the plan, while others spent their time discussing the matter with their neighbouring senators.
“Order, order!” Senator Luccius raised his voice as he repeatedly slammed his open palm against the table.
As always, the senate was a place of absolute, yet organized chaos. There were rules, then there were rules.
Soon enough, Senator Luccius got the senators to settle down before the groups for and against sent a representative to argue their case to the undecided senators.
“This is the time to strike! The best of the enemy’s fighters are right in the heart of Romellus, just begging to be apprehended by the Legion! The troops will need time to mobilize, and the tournament won’t last forever. Less than half of the participants in the team tournament are in the individuals’ tournament!” Senator Trogus argued.
“The Republic is built on bread and circuses; interrupting the tournament to start a war would be the sort of dim-witted, boneheaded imbecility that tramples on both!” Senator Avienus shot back.
“Fortune favors the bold, Avienus! If we don’t devour the enemy for lunch, they’ll have us for dinner! Come back and argue when you find your abyss-damned spine!”
The senate descended once again into anarchy, with senators yelling creative profanities at the honor of each others’ long-dead ancestors. Senator Luccius demanded order until he was red in the face – as was tradition for the chair of the senate.
When order returned to the senate, I decided it was time for me to speak up.
“Have any of you heard what Consul Caezar has to say? Even if he is outside the senate, his stance is of critical importance if this plan is to be feasible. And yet, we still haven’t received a definitive response from him.”
Senator Avienus jumped on my question as an opportunity to oppose the plan, leading to yet another round of senate infighting.
In the end, hours later, Senator Luccius adjourned the meeting and delayed making a final decision to the day after tomorrow, in order to ensure that the Consul was onboard with the plan and that the loose ends were tied up properly.
“You pushed the discussion in the direction of a delay, Senator Alypius. Care to enlighten me why?” Senator Trogus said to me, as the rest of the Senate began to vacate the premises.
I closed my eyes, and the interesting wager I made yesterday came to mind. It would be a shame if it never concluded simply because it was interrupted by a war – the order can wait a few more days without an issue.
I opened my eyes and looked Senator Trogus in the eye.
“There are no hidden reasons to my words, Senator. I simply believe we should go through with the plan, but also that there is no rush to take worse odds of success than we need to.”
***
“Congratulations!” the commoner team said in unison when we entered the door, with cheers and clapping alike awaiting us.
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That said, I had a gut feeling that the cheer in their voices seemed a little forced.
“Well done, Suns. You fought one of the strongest teams in the tournament and emerged victorious. Today, you are the pride of your people.” The Major said with a rare, but genuine smile.
Although we came back victorious and received congratulations from both the Major and the commoners, the mood still felt off. Something about everyone felt stiff and awkward, with the exceptions of Asten and the Major, who were too austere to be flustered, and Aptera, who did everything at his own pace, like he always did. Tomorrow, the Legionnaires were going to fight the Hoplites, and we were going to fight the Germanic Titans, who managed a surprising victory against the Shield-Brothers.
Just as the Major dismissed everyone for the day, she put a hand on my shoulder before I stepped out of the door.
“Kiara, I’d like to have a word with you.”
Although it seemed like a request, her tone seemed to imply it was an order. Nico and Durreg looked back at me with raised eyebrows.
“You guys go ahead; I’ll catch up with you when I am done here.” I said, shooing them away with my hands.
Soon enough, it was just me and the Major in the room.
“Kiara, a little bird whispered quite the interesting tale in my ear.” She said as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at me.
“Would you mind enlightening me as to why I woke up in the morning to a report of you publicly humiliating the scion of a noble house from the Republic during the individuals’ tournament?”
Oh.
“Hahaha, that’s silly isn’t it! Bird can’t talk, Major.” I laughed as I avoided eye-contact with the Major.
The Major said nothing as she stared me down, which I pointedly did my best to ignore. Eventually, the Major spoke up.
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’ll let it slide just this once, since nothing came out of it. That said, if I catch you doing anything to jeopardize the diplomatic purposes of this mission, I’ll withdraw you from both tournaments and confine you to your room until it is time to leave the Republic. Understood?”
I nodded, then the Major shooed me out of the room.
“Durreg was right – it’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” I chuckled as I made my way out of the coliseum.
***
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your patience!” the commentator said.
Durreg, Nico, and I sat at a table in the inn we resided in as we watched a projection of the coliseum.
“The cut-off point for the qualifiers was yesterday, and it is my pleasure to announce the 64 warriors competing for the title of Iron Fist Champion!” he said, and a tournament bracket appeared in front of us.
“From this moment until nine, we’re going to enjoy non-stop matches between the…” the commentator droned off as I looked over to find our match ups.
“Asten and I are on opposite sides of the bracket. We won’t meet until the finals.” Durreg said.
“Correction – you won’t meet at all, because I am taking down one of you first!” I said.
“Looks like I am on the same side as Asten, but we’ll only have a chance to meet in the semi-finals.” Nico said.
As I scanned through the match-ups for my name, Durreg did a double-take.
“Uhh, I found your match-up Kiara. Do you want the good news, or the bad news?” he said.
“Just tell me where I am!”
“About that. The good news is that you and I will only meet up at the semi-finals. The bad news is about who your first opponent is.”
With the hint about my location in the bracket, I quickly looked over the quarter of the bracket my place should be in.
“Wait, WHAT?!”
As my jaw fell to the floor, I’d found who my opponent was. It also just happened to be the third match of the day, so it wasn’t going to be longer than an hour before I had to go to the arena.
“#57 Kiara Azoth vs. #63 Jezibel Hiram”
***
Alanus Alypius
“Kill the monsters faster, you stupid beast!” I yelled.
Furialis roared and lunged with its claws, finally taking down the monster in this shithole of a dungeon.
Ever since the humiliating loss from yesterday, I’ve been hard at work pushing the lizard to the rank S evolution. It was already close to reaching the needed level, but my need to pay that insolent girl for back meant that there was no going back – particularly since my match with her was scheduled for the second round.
Just the thought of her smug face and her boot on my face was enough to drive me into a rage.
“Hmm…?”
Speaking of audacity, Furialis was glaring at me with a low growl.
“What are you looking at? How dare you bare your teeth at me?!” I said, kicking it on the snout.
Furialis didn’t budge but kept glaring my way with contempt.
My brows twitched.
“You will not disrespect me, monster! KNOW YOUR PLACE!” I screamed, triggering the enslaving seal.
The seal burned on its forehead, driving the beast into the ground. It howled in pain for long enough to vindicate my fury. Eventually, the seal faded, and the beast stopped trembling in agony.
“Better.” I said.
Beasts have to be reminded of their place beneath their betters’ heels, and that is a lesson I look forward to teaching that girl just like this abominable lizard.
“Just you wait…”