Lin worked her way down the basin’s slope with her head held high and her tongue clicking with irritation, though none showed on her beautiful face. The source of that irritation was the crowd around the basin, who now stood with somewhat relieved expressions after the previous match….

  They had cheered themselves hoarse, praising Koti and her brilliance while laughing at Iesa’s animalistic actions. As the next fight was prepared and Lin stepped down, they smirked and wondered if she was as stupid. They joked that Tirr had put their only fighters with a brain first and once you knew how to handle the rest, there wouldn’t be any trouble. It was only in Havo, where the men and woman had seen the singed leathers and burns that covered Koti, that people remained silent…

  Lin heard their jeers and ignored them easily, as she didn’t care what they said about her… But as they continued her teeth grit silently… Ridicule towards God could not be allowed... Part of her wished she had been harsher towards her fiery rival, who had allowed them the opportunity to rejoice like this, but with God having already spoken, there was no need for her to add much more. Though a full report would need to be given to the High Priestess…

  Thinking about her mistress's cold smile sent a shiver down Lin’s spine. Iesa would probably be safe since she had the flame Apostle’s protection, however, if Nerida learned Lin had allowed their master's name to be dirtied by these idiot tribesmen…

  She shivered again, she would have to take care of it… Since she was sent in her mistress’s place, she would have to properly wash the filth from their master. Since Tirr had wanted to put some fear into their opponents, Lin would do just that… She would win this farce of a match and crush whatever spirit these fools had gained after Iesa’s screw-up.

  On the other side of the lakebed, a Krawl warrior had already made his way to the starting position. His clan members were yelling encouragement, telling him not to let Havo show them up. He didn’t respond, waiting for the starting signal. Fari quickly went through the starting checks, and after confirming that both contestants were ready, called for the match to start.

  Both contestants took off slowly as they started towards the center of the lakebed. Lin almost sashayed as she traveled lightly over the lakebed’s terrain. She wasn’t quite as bad as Maria, who had seemed to forget she was even in a match, but she did give the observers a sense of inevitability as she moved with quiet confidence.

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  The Krawl warrior on the other hand seemed to be trying to copy Koti's movements, keeping crouched as he tried to copy her strategy from before. All the tribe's warriors were familiar with the hunt and after having seen such a strong example it was easy to follow in her footsteps.

  As they approached the center he started circling, ready to play the same cat and mouse game, yet realized most of the brush and cover in the area was now burnt to ashes. Realizing that he wouldn’t be able to effectively hide here, he knew he’d have to move the point of conflict elsewhere. Noticing an area that had been protected from the flames by a nearby stream, he moved over towards it, ready to lure his opponent there.

  Lin for her part reached the center where the fire had raged and seeing nothing, simply crossed her arms and waited. Soon a stone flew from her side… And in an instant water streamed into existence, forming a small disc that froze just before the stone. It absorbed the impact as cracks ran along its surface before melting away and streaming about the water disciple in an arc.

  Seeing the area that the stone had come from and the head that ducked behind the brush as she looked, Lin felt an urge to roll her eyes. She turned and followed, obediently letting herself be lured. The crowd probably thought that she was a fool, letting herself get trapped in the same situation as last time… But as Lin approached the small stream, she felt that the warrior had made things too easy for her. As much as she hated the idea, she’d have to put on a bit of a show…

  For the Krawl warrior, everything was going according to plan… Seeing her arrive at his ambush spot, he quickly started sending attack after attack towards the waiting water disciple. Stones and earthen spears were attacking her from all angles… Unfortunately, none of the attacks seemed to have any effect. Each stone crashed into an icy shield before falling harmlessly. Each rocky spear was cut by the root by icy blades… And all the while Lin simply stood there next to the stream, looking more bored than anything.

  Most of the spectators had grown quiet as the match stretched on. The Krawl warrior’s attacks grew more and more desperate as he tried to break through the icy defense. Yet no matter what he did, Lin stopped it without effort.

  After more than 30 minutes of an almost nonstop barrage, the desperate Krawl warrior had grown careless, he no longer hid as carefully as he moved from place to place, panting as he launched each attack. Even the crowd could see things weren’t going right…

  Seeing the figure rushing around her, Lin didn’t respond. Iesa’s attacks were fierce enough to force her to constantly be on the retreat, Power being her forte, but for this man’s pathetic struggles, Lin didn’t even have to consciously think. Seeing that the man was close to collapsing and noting that the peanut gallery had been silenced, she let out a sigh, raising a hand as she spoke to the panicking warrior. As her hand lifted so did the stream, rising into a giant wave…

  “That’s enough for now, time for you to pay for resisting god’s path…”