While Callie sparred with my mom, I wandered off to find some wish targets. I decided since I was learning about techniques I would go ahead and ask around to get some Fantasy. Seventy more points put me at four thousand three hundred and twenty, which was nice, and by the time I got back from my search the two of them had finished their match.
My mom looked pleased with herself, and Callie mostly looked sulky, though she seemed to be hiding a small smile. Neither of them would tell me what happened, but I figured it must have been a productive training session, and I was glad they had time to do some bonding.
The next day was nominally a day off. I’d been planning to skip the C-ranked games, but I had a feeling we should see what Felicity could do. Not to mention some of the other factions, seeing what C-rankers from the various major influences had going for them definitely couldn’t hurt, and I was pretty sure I could learn something. Which was why I found myself back at the inn with everyone meeting up before it was time to leave.
“Come on!” Shouted Bethy animatedly. “Why isn’t everybody ready? Daddy says this might not be totally disappointing, which means it’ll be awesome. He’s such a grouch. He never compliments anything.”
I snorted. “It occurs to me that any normal person who said that would have to worry about having their planet punched into the sun.”
“Don’t be silly.” She giggled. “Daddy would never do that. It’s totally off brand. He’d probably just drag it into a black hole. He would say ‘Darkness and consumption are the only end for fools such as you’.” She held her arm up in front of her face and squinted as she spoke in a morose and growling tone that actually did sound kind of like Lark.
I raised a brow. “He didn’t seem all that formal and edgy yesterday though.”
“Oh he doesn’t usually bother when he’s talking to cultists.” She shrugged. “He says they don’t even notice the effort because they default to morbid formality. He’s not a fan. I think he was in a good mood about getting to talk down to one of Black Sorrows popes. They usually avoid him.”
I supposed it had been a fairly private conversation. I'd been kind of overwhelmed by his presence and hadn't been paying much attention at the time.
Speaking of which, I turned to my mom. “Hey, what's the deal with gramps and Lark anyway? They both have no aura at all. I can't sense a single point of Impact from them. I get that S-rankers have high levels of control, but why would they use it all the time?”
“Because they pretty much have to.” She said with a grimace. “Most Ascendants have…well I suppose you would call it generic Impact. Once you hit S-rank and your Chronicle becomes a Saga, Impact is more personalized. At least later on. The first half of S-rank is spent converting your Impact, and then using that momentum to become a Demigod.”
That was another piece of fascinating information about S-rank. I know it involved Domains, too, so I could only guess that Impact conversion was part of the process for forming a proper Domain. Still, that didn’t explain much. “Ok, but why does that mean they have to stay suppressed?”
“Saturated Impact can have unusual effects on lower level Ascendants.” She shrugged. “It can cause damage to their Path with enough exposure. Any S-ranker who has reached Demigod especially can be a corrupting influence. They keep themselves buttoned up most of the time. It doesn’t affect B-rankers, since the Chronicle insulates them, but anyone below that is at risk.”
I whistled. If S-rankers caused that sort of problem, I wondered what face time with an actual god would be like. They probably had their own method of suppressing themselves though.
My thoughts were cut off as Callie came blurring into the room, Jessie and Benny behind her. Abel and Mel were already here, Chelsea was with Gabe, Callen, and grandpa, and shockingly Cark and Cass were here with us. Mom had promised it would be safe for Cass to come watch, and she was going to be babysitting, which was why she was still here. She was picking up the siblings.
Now that everyone was here, we filed out into a shuttle mom had brought. She took a separate one to meet up with Chelsea and grandpa, and we all headed back to the Central Location.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
The outside was the exact same, but on entry, I immediately realized the place had been redone for the games. It was impressive that they’d completely revamped the interior without any disturbance to the external building.
What was even more impressive was that the interior was packed with bustling stalls for food, games, and any number of entertainment. It wasn’t time for the actual contest yet, so we wandered around and took in the festivities. I stopped to get a funnel cake, Callie and I got our portrait painted, and we bought shirts with Felicity's picture on them, because they were cheap and we wanted to be supportive.
By the time we met up with everyone again to enter the arena style seating they’d set up, everyone was much more relaxed. I smirked at Gabe as he, my sister, and Bethy showed up with their faces painted. Bethy and Chelsea as cats and Gabe like a wolf.
“You guys look great!” Callie chirped, her whole mood transformed by all the alone time and relaxation. “Shane, we need to get our faces painted.”
I didn’t honestly care about the painting, but I didn’t want to ditch my mask. Luckily it wasn’t a problem because it was game time. “Maybe later, hon.” I said with a smile. “For now we need to find our seats.” I glanced at my sister. “I assume you have a box we can sit in?”
We’d avoided coming together so as not to make it too obvious we were related, but since we were known associates of Chelsea at this point we were fine to hang out.
She nodded excitedly, dragging us up to the top of the seating where we stepped into a huge box. The interior was plush and well appointed, and to my surprise, my grandfather was standing in front of a large grill, flipping burgers and hot dogs. He grinned as he saw us. “Welcome!” he said cheerfully. “Anyone want a burger?”
I laughed as I stepped up next to him. “They do smell good. Do we have time before the games actually kick off?” I gestured to the row of chairs looking out a window over the huge arena. I grinned, seeing the rest of our party. Zeke had gone ahead and was trying to sleep while Cass talked Cark’s ear off and my mom listened happily, clearly enjoying her time with the adorable kid. Grandpa saw me looking and seemed to get that I was confused about the lack of hurry.
“It’ll be a while.” He laughed. “They have to get everyone checked in, and then there’s a big announcement phase where they name all the champions. There are about twenty of them, so it won’t be quick.”
I blinked at that. “Wait, I thought it was just the five factions? How are there so many people?”
“The five faction and WCP contestants are the major draw, but as you saw, the ceremony is a huge event. Anyone can sign up and try their luck. That’s why there’s such a huge outpouring of support. The food and games and all are to boost the profile of the event. The factions didn’t even pay for most of this, at least not leadership. Subfactions and independents do most of the actual work for the setup, it’s sort of an unspoken quid pro quo.”
Abel stepped up next to me, taking a long, deep sniff. “Damn, that’s some quality meat in those sausages. Big game right? I’m thinking something reptilian, smells swampy.” I raised an eyebrow in surprise, but then I remembered Abel’s former career.
“Not bad.” Said my grandfather approvingly. “Vardian Gator-Dragon. The meat has a sort of natural spice to it, and a deep full bodied flavor. My wife hates the smell so I can never eat it at home. I personally think its a lovely aroma.” He offered my mentor the long metallic fork he was holding. “You want to try turning them? The grill is shielded so it’s perfectly safe.”
Lighting up with enthusiasm, Abel nodded quickly. “Hell yeah. What are the burgers by the way? I’m less familiar with beef.”
“Dreelox Snow Cow.” He said proudly. “They’re not actual cows, but a rare mutation of a high ranked deer beast that lives on Dreelox Seven. They’re carnivorous, so hunting them is a huge pain even when they’re born. I have a private reserve of the stuff that I break out for special occasions. Stasis chamber, you know. Reuniting with my grandkids seemed like as good a time as any.”
Chelsea stepped up next to him as he flipped the burgers. “It smells great grandpa. I wish we could have more cookouts like that at home.”
“Me too, sweetheart.” He said with a laugh. “But your grandmother prefers higher cuisine, and you know she always gets what she wants. I swear, it breaks my heart having to eat those tiny little fancy portions. What’s the point of making servings that small if you’re just going to eat ten courses?”
I laughed along with the others at his sulking, but he didn’t seem to mind. I also grinned at Callie, who was drooling over the sausages. I knew how much she loved draconic animal meat, and she was clearly excited for the food.
It meant a lot to get this downtime with the family. Seeing Chelsea, Benny, Callie, and Jessie all talking animatedly and getting along as we relaxed was wonderful. More than that, I felt so…at ease. Even Zeke had roused himself to come grab a burger, though he ate it in a few bites and went back over to nap. I guessed we’d taken for granted how much effort it took to remain constantly on alert. He deserved this down time as much as we did, if not more.
With an S-ranker watching over us there was no worries about safety, we could just enjoy the peace. We had a nice time, listening to grandpa chatter as he cooked and seeing Abel enjoy learning to handle a new type of food prep. Sadly, all good things must end, at around the third plate full of burgers and sausages Mom called us over.
“I know you don’t care about the ceremony, but they’re introducing the five faction contestants.” She yelled from her seat by the window. The rest of us snagged our food of choice and a beverage before hurrying over to take a seat.
The seats at the window were padded, had cupholders, and were able to easily recline, which was fantastic, and we all settled in as mom tapped some kind of remote and enabled sound.
Looking out over the arena, I was shocked to see the sheer number of people they’d packed in. Not just from space expansion, but from the staggering of the seat, they’d packed them in nearly vertical so they could put another layer of benches down at the bottom, and every single one of them was stuffed to bursting with excited civilians.
Tricorn was much more populous than I expected, or all the factions had brought more people than I’d thought. Probably a bit of both. As we watched, the actual floor at the center of the arena had shifted into a forested region, with large floating screens over it to show the details of the interior. “And now for our final six contestants!” Boomed the announcer. “And then, ladies and gentlemen, we’ll be getting underway!”