Breathing heavily, I laughed and exchanged a glance with the elf, both of us still poised for battle, our weapons ready. In the aftermath of our struggle against the Orc, there was a moment of silent acknowledgment, a mutual respect between us. Neither of us could have defeated that Orc alone but together we overwhelmed him, but now, we were enemies.
With a nod I slapped my sword against my forearm shield, signaling our alliance had reached its end. We both knew what came next. The elf tightened their grip on their sword, their armor and shield began to shimmer again, and their sword began to steam. I did not know what a steaming sword meant, but I was not excited to find out.
As we both moved to engage, the world around me momentarily faded into the background, my focus narrowing to the duel that was about to unfold. I broke into a run and charged, but just as we were about to clash, the announcer's voice broke through the tense silence.
"Excuse me, an announcement," echoed the formal, somewhat intrusive voice, halting us in our tracks. The sudden interruption was jarring, the elf and I stopped, our movements arrested mid-strike, turning our attention to the source of the voice.
As the announcer continued, the elf and I shared a questioning glance. "There has been an... adjustment. Proceed to the next round, the two of you will represent your quadrant in the ninth round. Follow."
Almost on cue, the sky to the northeast lit up with what looked like fireworks, their colors bursting vibrantly against the backdrop of the forest. "I guess we go that way," I muttered, nodding towards the spectacle. The elf simply nodded in agreement, their expression unreadable.
We began our trek towards the source of the fireworks, the tension of our interrupted duel hanging between but fading slowly, like morning fog. After several moments of silence, I broke the quiet. "I'm Everett," I said, glancing at them. "Thanks helping me there, I don’t think I would have been able to beat that Ork."
The elf remained silent for a moment, their eyes fixed on the path ahead. "And you are? I think I heard you say your name is Vollan?" I prompted, curious about this mysterious ally.
"You can call me Aspirant," they finally replied, their voice as enigmatic as their appearance.
I couldn't help but respond with a hint of sarcasm, "That's pretty." The word 'Aspirant' seemed to fit them, though - there was something about their demeanor that suggested a pursuit of something greater, a goal or a purpose.
The elf's scoff was a clear indication of my naivety. "I was born and given a name, it was not Aspirant, obviously. But I am now the Aspirant. If I want a different name, I must earn it," they said, a hint of solemnity in their voice. “And you don’t really need to thank me, that was a blood Orc, he would have killed me if I had been on my own also.”
Their words caught me off guard, and I found myself intrigued by their candor. “Is that typical for your culture? That um, naming convention, and I thought I heard you say your name was Vollan?" I asked, genuinely curious.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Roles are important, titles are important. I am not named Vollan, I am of the Vollan, we were the first great nation of my sector. We do not have much remaining power, hence the Blood Orc using that foul slur, Mud Elf... but what power we do have must be used for the good of all the Vollan. My role in my culture is to be the Aspirant," they explained, their voice steady and assured.
"What does that mean? To be the Aspirant?" I probed further, fascinated by this glimpse into their world.
"I am the chosen one of my people to compete in the Immortal Tournament. If I win, as per tradition, I will be granted a unique ability by the system, hopefully a leadership or war-based ability that I will be able to take home to aid my people. And I will be given a chance to ask for a boon, like any other winner," they responded, their gaze fixed on the path ahead.
This revelation left me astounded. "What ability? What leadership ability? Are the blood orks your enemies?" I asked, my mind racing with the questions and possibilities.
"You really don't know anything about your situation, do you?" the elf smirked slightly, the first emotion I’d seen from them so far.
"Well, I have been trying, but basically I don’t know anything. It's not like there is a rule book lying around, and I've been dealing with a lot. At first I was so overwhelmed, I didn't even think to ask about stuff like this, and after the Drake quest I have been so single minded, but I doubt they would have said all this if I had," I retorted, feeling a mix of frustration and curiosity.
"There was a time where the Vollan were on the precipice of ascension, but we were betrayed and have now fallen so far down the ladder, everyone is my enemy. As for winning the tournament, you get two things. A system-granted ability, which is not something you pick. It is completely up to the system. It is usually based on what you need or want, or the choices you've made in the tournament. For me, I am hoping for a leadership-based ability to help my people in the war for our home sector," the elf explained, their tone serious yet… hopeful?
The mention of a war and some kind of ladder intrigued me, but I was more immediately curious about the boon. "What did you mean by boon?" I asked. “Thanks for answering all these questions so far.” I added, almost as an afterthought.
The elf laughed lightly, the sound tinged with a mix of sarcasm and humor. It was a pleasant laugh though, they had a nice, melodious voice that was not quite feminine but definitely not masculine. "Answering your questions is not a problem. If I answer your questions and you win, you will have killed me along the way, so not really a worry. If I win, I will have killed you, so again, not a worry.”
I frowned at this but it made sense. There really was no downside when you thought about it.
They continued. “You are also granted a boon for winning. This year's tournament sponsors are the Iron Hegemony. They will grant a boon to the winner, the winner can ask for anything they want. There are limitations, of course the Iron Hegemony can say no or offer an alternative but they won’t if they can avoid it. It would be too embarrassing. For example, I see you are missing your arm. They can't just cause your arm to regrow at the stump. They may be able to make a biomechanical one, though, I guess. For me, for my purposes, I am going to ask them for a group of Iron Hegemony mercenaries, hopefully for free for a time and then for the right to pay to keep renewing their contract when it is up. They may swing the scales for my people."
Their words opened a new world of possibilities and questions in my mind. I pondered the potential of such a boon, the weight of such a reward. As we continued our journey towards the source of the fireworks, my thoughts were a whirlwind of strategy, possibilities, and newfound knowledge about the Immortal Tournament and the stakes it held for both of us.