'Ugh, I guess it's my turn now' thought Daniel,
This is the moment that he of all people had been dreading.
"And next up in the ring is a very familiar name!"
"May the honorable Daniel Wetherfeld take the field!"
This elicited in equal parts cheers and boos from the audience. Daniel winces as he walked onto the battlefield somewhat timidly.
"He comes from a noble family and commands a lot of natural talent in the Gift."
'Must they ALWAYS mention my birth and nobility when they speak my name?' Thought Daniel, aggravated, on his way over to Millian.
"Although he could easily become a politician and continue his family's traditions he has decided that he would rather be an activist that denounces the Cult of darkness that plagues our street-corners and overall peace."
'My brother even deigned to buy off THE ANNOUNCER!' Grumbled Daniel internally. Looking up in the stands he can see his older brother, Thomas, in his shiny silver armor looking rather disappointed in him, joined by a round of booing from the audience.
After the impossibly long trek over to Oracle Millian Daniel knelt and spoke. "Let's just get this over with, please?" rather unceremoniously.
Millian gave him a pitying frown and then her irises disapeared from her eyes as the goddess took over.
"Thou art brave for thy actions against the popular consensus" spoke the goddess.
"But be forewarned, to be contrary is not to be holy."
"It sure makes ME feel better though" he mumbled.
The goddess frowned and then broke into a sad smile.
This is odd, usually she keeps a blank and dispassionate expression when talking to initiates.
"My child, you have a very special trial today." She said.
"Soon thou shalt see thine world through a whole new lens and thine friends shall go through hell itself to rescue you from peril."
"Alas for thy trial today, take heart in the knowledge that your goddess believes in you and supports you."
This is the greatest blessing she has ever given an initiate in the whole history of Astoria. And this caused Daniel to beam.
At the other end of the arena a furry face saw his smile from inside its cage and roared its recognition. With a seemingly unnatural strength it ripped through the cage door to the arena and tore across the ground towards Daniel.
"You may fight." Declared the goddess.
Daniel, completely taken off guard by what has apparently been happening in the background of his vision freaked out. He hurriedly through up a shield using his Gift.
Unfortunately the erection of this shield caught the lion in the stomach and threw it up and into the audience to Daniel's horror.
"That's your cue!" Yelled a voice from the crowd and then a big man jumped into the ring from the crowd.
"Hey you little PUNK!" He yelled.
"How DARE you denounce my god and declare him false and 'dark'!"
'Oh, this heretic must be my REAL trial' Daniel thought.
"It is because of bastards like you that we have to live in the dark, shunned by all of society without so much as a CHANCE of argument!"
"How about you argue with my fist in your face you ugly motherf***er!" Daniel shouted back.
This sufficiently pisses off the heretic and he charges with a ferocious battle cry.
Daniel widens his vase with his feet and prepares a heavy-organic-assailant charge catch like Kellow performed in his trial.
But then something dark coursed through the heretic's clothes and biceps.
The heretic throws all of his weight into a hook punch, and Daniel tries to catch it. Daniel might as well have tried to catch a flying train.
The force behind the punch was IMPOSSIBLY strong and its recoil threw Daniel back a solid 10 or so feet into a giant heap.
'Holy shit' thought Daniel,
'What in the hell was that?!'
Thankfully the assailant seemed to need a bit of recovery himself as he retracted shadows back into his body.
'Wait, INTO his body? I must be imagining things'
Daniel blinked just eyes a few times and then looked again. Sure enough he was storing this darkness within his body.
'Surely this man must have given his soul to a devil to acquire such powers' thought Daniel
"Behold my Gift given to me from my god!" Bellowed the heretic.
"Shut up!" Yelled Daniel as he charged the heretic and rose a Gift projection uppercut from the ground that connected directly into his stomach.
Somehow the heretic took it directly and did not go flying like the lion did earlier, he just moved back about a meter from the force with little more than a grunt.
"Hah, I know all about your people's Gift" spat the heretic as he drew a stiletto from his boot.
"You think it's all fancy and shit until you fight an ACTUAL opponent"
Shadows twisted around his arm and gathered at his hand with the stiletto. After they gathered he walked towards Daniel.
"My people have too long been kept in the darkness, just because our magic is shadows doesn't mean we like our opinions to be kept in them too." Growled the heretic.
"We will not stop fighting until we of the Diact are treated as equal citizens of Astoria."
"Fat chance of that" spat Daniel as he lashed out with a blade projection.
'Since brute force isn't seeming to work too well Surely this man is not impervious to blades'
The blade chopped into Therin's forearm with the stiletto and tore it clean off. Therin roared with pain and anger and then did something Daniel sure didn't expect.
A shadowy arm grew out of the stump that was left. This stopped the bleeding and he lunged towards Daniel and grabbed him by the shoulders.
Therin leaned in and whispered "maybe if they won't listen to the likes of me, they'll listen to you."
Therin grasped Daniel's head with both hands and Daniel's head exploded with pain. He could hear a screaming too loud for ears and everything was getting dark. Wether by an accidental instinct or by sheer luck, Daniel sent another blade projection from his knee into the chest of Therin.
The screaming stopped in his head. But the world went black for Daniel as he and Therin both flopped onto the ground.