Ibaeran made her way to the arena gates but then she was stopped by a deep voice saying, “where do you think you’re going young lady”.

Ibaeran then turned around to see who spoke.

She then froze up in fear upon seeing who it was; it was an Uha Tamunaran man.

The Uha Tamunaran man resemble a monster with scaly skin that and a tale that looked like that of a lizard, snake like eyes and mouth filled with razor sharp teeth and green venom that burnt the ground like acid as it dripped down of his mouth and on to the ground.

“I asked a question, where do you think you are going little lady” said the man sticking out his tongue that looked like that of a snake.

Ibaeran despite the fact that she was completely and utterly scared of the Uha Tamunaran, knowing he could kill if he wished stood her ground, she had come too far to leave because she was scared of a single Uha Tamunaran.

“I’m here to contest in the tournament” said Ibaeran.

The man looked at her with a shocked and confused look for a few brief moments, almost as though he did not hear what she said before bursting in to laughter.

“Did you just say you are here to contest in the tournament” said the man before he continued to laugh, mocking Ibaeran for daring to come to the arena and want to contest in the tournament.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you little lady but the tournament is only for strong able warriors, not soft weak girls. This place is not where you belong” said the man with a wicked smile on his face.

“I’m not weak, I am a strong and able warrior” said Ibaeran boldly feeling her fear slowly begin to shrink away as she spoke.

“Hmm, you have so fire in your belly, I like that in a woman” said the Uha Tamunaran as he came closer to Ibaeran, making her feel uncomfortable.

The Uha Tamunaran the brought out his serpent like forked tongue to lick the side of Ibaeran’s cheeks but before it could reach her another Uha Tamunaran man came.

“Let her go Pirank” said the other Uha Tamunaran.

The scaly lizard like Uha Tamunaran man then left Ibaeran; he then went to the other Uha Tamunaran who had stopped.

The other Uha Tamunaran look like a normal man except of the fact that he had no eyes and the two hollow holes where his eyes were meant to be where empty but despite his lack of eyes it seemed like he had sight and clear vision.

“What on earth are you doing” said the eye less Uha Tamunaran to the lizard like Uha Tamunaran.

“She wants to contest in the tournament which is against the law since she is no warrior” said the lizard like Uha Tamunaran.

The eyeless Uha Tamunaran then went to Ibaeran and just stood in front of her silently.

Ibaeran did not know how but she could tell he was staring at even though he had no eyes.

The man placed his hands on Ibaeran’s shoulder.

Ibaeran then felt then the Uha Tamunaran’s presence through her entire body almost as though he was examining her from the inside which made her unbearably uncomfortable.

After a few moments passed the man removed his hand from her shoulder.

“Go in girl” said the eye less Uha Tamunaran.

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The lizard like Uha Tamunaran was shocked to hear what the other Uha Tamunaran said and was about intervene but was stopped by the eye less Uha Tamunaran turning to him and giving him a powerful glare despite the fact that he had no eyes.

Ibaeran just smiled nervously before she made her way in to the arena.

The eye less Uha Tamunaran then went to the other lizard like Uha Tamunaran.

“Why did you do that, she’s just a girl or do you just want to watch her beaten to a bloody pulp just for the fun of it” said the lizard like Uha Tamunaran with a smile imagining how amazing it would be to watch Ibaeran being brutalized by the other warrior’s fight.

“Do you know what I saw when I looked in to her” said the eye less Uha Tamunaran.

“What did you see” asked the lizard like Uha Tamunaran curious to know what the eye less man saw.

“She was marked by a strange power; a power I could not recognize. It did not feel like anything that could come from any human” said the eye less man.

The lizard like Uha Tamunaran then looked at the eye less Uha Tamunaran with a look of both shock and astonishment.

“Do you she could be the next Su Baera” asked the lizard like Uha Tamunaran.

“Possibly” said the Uha Tamunaran with no eyes.

The lizard like Uha Tamunaran then began to feel fear towards Ibaeran and the possibility of her being the next Su Baera.

“Why did you let her in, what if she wins the tournament and becomes the next Su Baera, do you know what that would mean for us all” said the lizard like Uha Tamunaran.

“It is king Datubo’s order, all able warriors who wish to participate in the tournament should and that girl is a more than able warrior” said the eye less Uha Tamunaran.

The lizard like Uha Tamunaran then kept quiet knowing he couldn’t do anything to stop Ibaeran from fighting in the tournament as technically there was no rule against Ibaeran fighting in the tournament but he greatly feared that Ibaeran might be victorious, claim the steel wings of the Su Baera and become the next Su Baera which may spell doom for all Uha Tamunarans.

Ibaeran was now in a small room inside the arena along with the other warriors.

She was the only girl in the mist of all the male warriors and this made her the center of attention in room as all the other warriors could not believe a girl would dare to contest in the arena.

“She must be mad, that’s the only reason I can think out for a girl to come here” muttered one of the warriors.

Ibaeran heard what he said and also noticed the way the other warriors were looking; she could tell they did not believe she would go far in the arena and would fall to the very first opponent she faced.

Ibaeran took a deep breath and blocked them all out of her mind.

She knew what they were thinking but she didn’t really care, all Ibaeran had on her mind at that moment was to fight as hard as she could and win, no other thought came to her mind except to fight and to win.

Soon the doors opened and it was time for them all to fight.

Then one by one they all left the room and entered the door, going in to the battlefield.

Ibaeran took a deep breath gathering all the strength she should need to fight before joining the other warrior on the battlefield.

Once there, the first thing she saw were the people of Ijawana seated outside the battle field, screaming and cheering on the warriors as they came out because to them each and every warrior down below that was about to fight gave them hope that one day, they would be free from the Uha Tamunaran oppressors.

Uha Tamunarans were there as well, seated above the people of Ijawana but the reason they were there was not because they believed that anyone of the warriors could be the Su Baera, it was because they saw the tournament as a source of entertainment believing that it was impossible for anyone to claim the wings and become the next Su Baera, seeing the warriors fighting below as hopeless fools clinging desperately to a dead dream.

Ibaeran could feel the pressure as she stepped in to the battle knowing that she wasn’t just fighting for herself but for all the people of Ijawana who were suffering under their Uha Tamunaran masters.

Both the people and the Uha Tamunarans looked at Ibaeran in shock, surprised to see a girl of all people had dared to contest in the tournament.

The Uha Tamunarans actually found it amusing, thinking that the people were so desperate to be free that they would even go as far as to allow girl contest in the tournament and fight.

The people just murmured among themselves, wondering why a girl would want to contest in the tournament, finding it strange that Ibaeran being a frail little girl would want to fight a battle meant for strong able warriors.

Ibaeran managed to find Bafuro seated in the crowd of people with a proud smile on his face, confident in his student’s ability.

Ibaeran smiled back at him, gaining so strength and courage from seeing the smile on his face.

She then took a deep breath, preparing herself for battle.

An Uha Tamunaran man then appeared in the center of the arena with bell on his hand.

“The very moment you all hear the ring of the bell the tournament will begin. No weapons are allowed in this fight, you may use your hands, legs or any part of your body but no weapons. Understood” said the Uha Tamunaran.

They all nodded their heads.

“Good” said the Uha Tamunaran.

The Uha Tamunaran man then rung the bell and then they all charged at each other, each of them determined to win.