The warhammer spun past my helmet, my opponent grabbed me by my breastplate and tried to haul me towards him, but physics were not on his side. I towered nearly two feet over him and had about a hundred pounds on him. Apparently, they hadn’t heard of weight classes here.
I slammed my head forward in a headbutt staggering him backwards before stepping forwards hooking him behind the leg with my foot and yanking it out from under him while crashing my shoulder into his chest. He went down and I slammed my foot down kicking him in the head three times each with the force of a car crash before he went unconscious.
Applause and raucous cheering rose up from the crowd. I walked forwards towards the adjudicator and reached up a rose in my hand. Guinevere leaned over the railing smiling her veil blowing up in the breeze for just a moment. The cheering froze as people lost their breath as they beheld her face. Her fingers closed around the stem of the rose, and she pushed herself back.
The cheering resumed and I walked out of the arena as people shouted my false name.
Aisha nodded to me, and I removed my helmet tossing it to Kalin. I wiped my Cleansing Cloth over my face removing the sweat from my hair. Guinevere opened the door followed by her handmaidens.
Smiling, I extended my arm to her, and we walked towards the exit. I didn’t blink as we entered the sunlight, my Perception Attribute was so high that my eyesight wasn’t even effected by something so minor as sunlight. We walked through the crowd earning the usual stares everything was normal until my foresight warned me of an incoming attack.
I spun and caught the hand swinging a heavy metal gauntlet towards my face. My attacker was surprised, and I recognized him.
“Lord Tarence,” I said my voice betraying nothing. “What brings you to the Tourney? You’ve already been disqualified.”
“I have come to challenge you to a duel,” he said.
“You know what I said about fighting duels with me…” I began.
“To the death,” he snapped.
I raised an eyebrow. “You serious?”
“Yes, tomorrow at dawn to the death the Givonian rules of combat,” he snapped at me his eyes full of murder.
I looked to Guinevere for an explanation.
“Use of abilities are allowed in combat,” she explained. “Not like in the Tourney.”
“I accept,” I said taking the gauntlet from his hand I still held gripped in mine. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Guinevere and I walked down the street and it seemed like even more eyes were on us now. We sat down at an outside café and I shielded our table from spying eyes.
“We can talk now,” I told Guinevere.
“Why did you agree to fight that duel?” she asked me.
“Why not?” I said with a shrug.
“You know he wouldn’t have challenged you to the death if he wasn’t planning on cheating,” she said. “You can’t use your abilities without giving everyone to many clues on your identity.”
“I’ve fought him before,” I said with a snort of derision. “Trust me even at Hero rank I could beat him.”
“Unless he doesn’t play by the rules,” she said pointedly.
“No one plays by the rules,” I said. “Rules exist just to limit your competition to make it easier for you to keep them down and progress yourself.”
“You aren’t invincible,” Guinevere said. “Your right, this man is no challenge for you but you’re too cavalier with playing with death, you need to care about yourself.”
“I take care of myself,” I protested.
Guinevere took my hand. “I said ‘care’, you’ve changed so much but I can still feel that hatred inside you. Its not just directed at your father but yourself still, you still think of yourself as a monster. Its why you didn’t feel ready to be a father.”
“I just needed to wrap my head around it,” I said trying to avoid the issue.
“No,” she said not letting me go figuratively or literally. “You didn’t just feel you weren’t ready; you didn’t feel worthy. Do you think you deserve to be happy?”
“No one deserves anything,” I said not willing to confront this issue.
Guinevere sighed, releasing my hand as the waiter brought us our food. We were silent as we ate. We finished and she met my eyes.
“I can’t force you to face this,” she said. “But promise me you’ll think about it, you aren’t a beast or monster Mordred; you may not be perfect but there is plenty of darkness in men without having to view yourself as the villain.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said grudgingly.
“What will we do when this over?” Guinevere asked after a moment of awkward silence.
“What’s over?” I asked. “You mean this Tourney or the competition among the gods?”
“Both, I guess,” Guinevere said.
“Well after the tourney you and I will get married,” I said seeing the flash of light those words sparked in her eyes. “Then I don’t know… fight monsters and participate in Events until someone wins I guess.”
“That will mean war,” Guinevere said that light I had sparked dying in her eyes. “Arthur won’t let you live in peace, he’ll bring all of Camelot against you.”
“I didn’t make the rules,” I said. “I can only be responsible for my own actions.”
“I know,” Guinevere said. “And I’m not asking you to back down but you and Arthur and all these other champions won’t be the only ones to suffer. A lot of people who just signed up to protect their country are going to get dragged into that war.”
“They aren’t different,” I said. “Yes, Arthur may have more power than them but the choice to participate in war is ultimately the decision of the individual.”
“I know from my own experience that decisions can often be coerced out of people,” Guinevere reminded me. “Just remember that not everyone who fights you is truly your enemy.”
“I’m not sure if I agree with that but I will consider it,” I said with a sigh.
We stood up and I walked with her until we came to the border of the palace grounds. We couldn’t embrace or kiss, so I merely bowed over her hand brushing the back of it with my lips.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“I will see you tomorrow my lady,” I said.
I returned to my tent where Kalin was studying at the table and Exar was sitting nearby reading a book.
“What’s that,” I asked pointing to the book.
“Its called a romance novel,” Exar said. “Apparently your kind enjoy them, I must say I find your methods of courtship very confusing.”
“How would you do it?” I asked.
“I would find a mate of suitable strength and battle any males who contested me for the right to breed with her,” he said as if it was the most natural thing in the world. “Just like you’re are doing, that’s why they call it the Dragon Tourney isn’t it?”
“I think it has something to do with the first Arthur rescuing his wife from a dragon,” I said.
“Why would a dragon have a princess?” Exar asked.
“No idea and I doubt you’ll be able to find the honest reason for it these days either,” I said.
I sat down in the middle of the room and closed my eyes. “Kalin, you need to rest we have a big day tomorrow,” I said.
My eyes closed I began to meditate feeling the simmering rage in me boil as I held it check with a grip of iron. Guinevere’s words came back to me, and I tried to ignore them but couldn’t. A lot of that hatred I held inside wasn’t directed out at others but instead held against myself. Somehow this only made me angrier as I grit my teeth trying to block out any thought. It was difficult but I eventually managed to fall into my meditative trance.
--
A black shadow towered over me as I stood on a silver mountain. Trees and flora made of silver light grew around me as I stood my blood falling like raindrops onto the ground. The shadowy titan struck down with its fist, but it deflected off a shield of light around the mountain and staggered back.
I rose into the air black shadow of my own flowing from my skin as a storm of red lighting crackled across my body. I shot forward dodging the blow of the titanic figure and Clarent cutting into it. A shriek that cut into my soul tore from the beast and echoed all around me despite the vast open space of the black abyss I was in.
A second hand hit me, and I fell back to the earth hitting the side of the silver mountain with the force of an asteroid.
--
My eyes snapped open, and I sucked in a breath. That vision had been surreal, I had to wonder what it was I had seen and where it was, I had been. It matched nothing I’d ever encountered not even in the Under-Lands beneath the Ancient Forest.
I stilled my breathing and stood up. Kalin was still asleep, and I moved quietly levitating the pieces of my armor with Telekinesis strapping it on soundlessly. I stood over his cot and reached out to wake him then hesitated, watching his chest rise slowly his face missing the warry edge it always held when he was awake. I let him sleep and stepped out where Aisha waited for me.
“You shouldn’t do this,” she said clutching her clipboard nervously.
“He chose to challenge me not the other way around,” I said.
“If you kill him there could be unforeseen consequences,” she warned me.
“Will it cause you problems?” I asked.
“I’m worried about you not me,” she said.
She’s starting to catch feelings for you, Voidra informed me.
I sighed. “I appreciate your concern but you don’t need to worry about me. I can’t explain to you why, but the threats I face are outside of what you can even comprehend.”
“Just…stay safe,” Aisha said and guided me to the place of the duel.
It wasn’t an arena this time but a grassy field. Lord Tarence and his entourage stood by a table and I approached. The adjudicator stood nearby watching over us. Wine was poured and Lord Tarence took it in hand. I took my glass as he raised it in toast.
“May the gods judge between us and determine the victor,” he said.
I raised my glass and froze as I smelled it contents. “Poison, really? This was your plan?” I asked.
Lord Tarence face lost a shade of color. “I don’t know what your talking about…” he began.
I drained the contents of the glass letting it shatter on the ground as I wiped my mouth. Everyone stared at me in shock as I met his eyes.
“So, we doing this?” I asked.
His entourage backed off as a dome of energy formed around us. I looked it over.
You are inside a shield barrier; it will use the mana of any attacks directed at it to reinforce itself.
Lord Tarence raised his hands as brilliant white lightning wreathed his limbs.
“Thunderbolt,” he snarled hurling it towards me.
I bent as the lightning shot towards me. It arced towards me like a homing missile I reached out with my hands as I use Telekinesis to grab the white lightning. I held it in my hands as the electricity coursed through my body. I hurled it right back at him.
“Really?” I asked derisively. “My title on my description is Storm Knight and you try to use lightning against me?”
I shot forwards my sword coming down. His eyes widened and he teleported appearing thirty feet behind me. I spun deflecting a bolt of fire shot from his hands with my sword and lunging forwards only for him to teleport away again.
“You can’t run forever,” I said spinning around and rolling out of the way and rolling to dodge as a hail of jagged icicles from the air rained down around me.
One struck my pauldron and felt my body turn as if I had just taken a round from a sniper rifle. My sword twisted in an elaborate arc above my head as I deflected the rest of the icy shrapnel. Tarence attacks seemed mostly ranged elemental attack focused. As if to prove that though a blast of wind hit me and I slid a few feet across the wet grass.
“I wonder what sort of ability I’ll get for killing you,” I said tauntingly as I rushed at him.
He blocked my attack before lifting off into the air on a gust of wind. As he put some distance between us.
“I’ve yet to see you even use an ability,” he sneered. “I’m starting to wonder if you even have any and your description is just a lie.”
“You want to see my abilities?” I asked. “Its already to easy as it is but let me show you a trick.”
I opened up a portal and dropped out of it my feet hitting him in the back. He hit the ground and screamed as my sword stabbed into a gap of the flexible joints of his right leg. He teleported away but staggered unable to put weight on his leg any more blood flowing down as Thorns bleeding enchantments started to drain him dry.
“Spells, you’re using spells you heretic?” he snarled.
“This is to the death lordling,” I said my voice losing the acerbic edge I usually used in combat as I looked at him with some pity. “There are no rules now, no limits, no lines that can’t be crossed… no mercy.”
I shot forwards my body wreathed in blue lightning. He tried to block my attack but I crashed down upon him like a meteor and broke through his guard. He screamed as his arm shattered. He held up his other arm in a warding gesture. I grabbed the hand, twisted his arm and kicked tearing it loose from its socket with a sickening pop.
My eyes didn’t rest on Terence as I killed him but the entourage outside the circle who stared at me in horror. This man had been convinced to put his life on the line and sacrificed by these people to try and take me out.
“I am sorry Tarence,” I said my voice dispassionate. “Despite your rudeness I don’t have any real hatred towards you. You were sent make an example out of me, but you were always expendable and now... you’re the example.”
I yanked and blood sprayed out as his arm came entirely off at the shoulder. His screams filled the air as the blood misted down. I removed my helmet my bloodstained helmet and stared down the shocked crowd looking at me. Blood dripped down from the corner of my mouth, and I spat out a mouthful of blood from the poison eating away at my insides.
“Is this the best you had?” I asked spreading my arms wide. “Some poison and a boy with more pride then sense? It is insulting if you want to have a shot at me at least send me your best instead of your dregs.”
I turned away the shield barrier still hadn’t come down. I slashed forward with my sword and it shattered leaving my audience even more shocked as I stepped out and left the blood drenched corpse behind as he bled out and died.
173 rank points gained.
Bloodstained Riposte (Rank 1): Your existence causes pain to those around you in retribution for the pain you experience. When you take damage your spirit lashes out to inflict bleed damage on the target equal to 1/8th damage taken by you.
Cost:
20 mana
Cooldown:
15 seconds.
Upgrade this ability to increase the retributive damage you deal with it and reduce its cooldown. Each rank up increases your spirit by 1.
Blood and Souls (Repeatable): Kill 20,480 monsters or humanoids. Current Progress 16,043 out of 20,480. When you complete this quest, you will gain 4096 Rank Points, and the next quest will require double the amount to be completed but will award double the rank points.
I dismissed the notification and walked on. I still had another duel to fight before the day was done although this one would be presumably less bloody.
I reactivated your regeneration, Voidra said. Drinking that poison and fighting without your regeneration was risky.
“There was no risk in that fight,” I said shaking my head. “That man might as well have been that boar we hunted; the result was always going to be what it was.”