It was the day of the first challenge and Thain had arrived at the location of where it would be held and had been escorted into a large arena that had been built in the center of town. He stood waiting behind a large oak door waiting for it to open as he thought, This is my time to rise up and become a hero like my father. But Thain could've never prepared himself for the contests had in store for him. The doors opened and Thain walked out into the sun squinting, his eyes quickly adjusted to the light. His gaze quickly swept his surroundings, and what he saw took his breath away. He had walked into a ringed arena where thousands of people sat lined around chanting and screaming. He noticed the ground was littered with fist sized rocks, making several circles. He counted ten medium sized circles big enough that about five to six people could stand and have plenty of space to move around still depending on their size, that all circled one large circle in the middle of the arena.
"So, this is how it feels to be on the other side of the fence huh?" The sound of Silver's voice surprised him enough to draw him out of his awe. "Silver? What are you doing here?" he asked as his brain couldn't process the fact, she was standing in front of him. She giggled lightly and said, "The same reason you are silly." He frowned even more dumbfounded as the concept still failed to grasp in his mind and he asked, "To compete?" Silver just giggled again and shook her head and said "Duh silly isn't that what I just said? Or are you trying to say a woman can't be strong and courageous just like men?" She gave him a look that said if he said otherwise, she was going to beat him until he was black and blue with bruises. Shaking off his shock he chuckled and said, "Of course they can, I just didn't think this was your cup of herbs is all." Silver smiled slightly and she turned around obviously letting him off the hook and called over her shoulder, "Never judge a scroll by its casing Thain." Thain grunted to himself and muttered, "Trust me I won't be making that mistake again." "Smart man." Thain looked up to see a grin on Silver's face letting him know she heard exactly what he had said.
Before Thain could respond though the Host of this year's challenges began to explain the rules and regulations causing everyone to go silent. "Hello! Welcome to everyone who have come to show their support, watch and participate in this year's festivals challenges! I wish each of the contestants the best of luck with the challenges we have set for them this year. To win this year you must have the highest score at the end of the three challenges. That means the more challenges you make the more points you get. The first two challenges are free for all's and the third will be a team effort. Each round we will eliminate up to a minimum of ten contestants and a maximum of twenty. To advance to the next challenge you must meet a minimum of required points only the judges know. However, the winners of the first two challenges are exempt from elimination until the third round.
Now for the first challenge we will have a test of Strength. As you all have probably noticed there are multiple stone circles on the ground. We have sixty contestants so we will be splitting you up into ten groups of six. The rules are simple: the last one standing in each circle will move on to the second round in the big circle at the center of the ring where the process will be repeated. Now let me clarify on what I meant by the last one standing, if you are knocked unconscious, yield or thrown out of the circle you are disqualified from the next bout, however, that doesn't mean you're disqualified from the contest entirely necessarily. With that said, who is ready to see some fights?!"
The crowd roared in approval as everyone was separated into their own groups. Thain was ushered into a circle with two other men and three women. One man and one woman looked as if they could eat the rest of them for a meal and spit out their bones when they were done with them and not even bat an eye, yet he wasn't nervous at all. He knew logically these two would go after each other first, for the rule of eliminating your biggest threat first, all the while the rest of them took each other out all they'd have to do is mop up the stragglers. However, Thain knew if he could take out the rest of the people before the two brutes battle was over, that by the time one of them was eliminated they'd be tired and vulnerable to a surprise attack for a few seconds, making life easier for him or so he hoped. First, he needed to make sure he didn't get eliminated before then.
As his mind began calculating a horn was blown signaling the beginning of the event. Thain was startled from his thoughts and barrel ducked under a hook aimed straight at his jaw, that had it connected would have sent him sprawling on the ground. Thain lunged up with an uppercut aimed straight at his attackers' gut which was the other man in the circle, and he heard the satisfactory whoosh as he knocked the man's breath from him. Pushing him away from him Thain stepped back slightly and then roundhouse kicked him in the temple sending him to a knee on the ground his body twisted slightly his side facing Thain. Thain lunges with a precision knee aimed at the man's jaw and connects with a loud crack and sends the man sprawling unconscious.
Thain straightened and he glanced around, and his eyes caught the two brutes fighting and he cringed inwardly as he heard their fists connect with one another and he thought idly, One of those punches would kill me..., he shook himself and continued his scan of the area only to feel a boot connect with his jaw sending him flying into a horizontal spin and rolling him across the ground. Shaking his head he rose into a kneel and leaped back just in time and crossing his arms in an x over his face and body barely blocking a knee aimed at his head and then grabbed the other woman's arm as she threw a hook at his jaw and then rolled around to her back and hit her in the back of the head with and elbow as he rolled back in front of her his hand still on her wrist as his hand wraps around her throat and he lets out a roar as he picks her up off her feet and slams her into the ground hard and caused her breath to leave her and a low grown escaped her as her eyes flickered. Still holding her he pulled forwards and tossed her out of the rings ending her rolling as his adrenalin was flowing hard. He clenched his fist as his senses became sharper and he became so focused things seemed to slow down and it was like he could see everything before it happened and in slow motion. He narrowed on the man who had the last woman held horizontally over his head and he hurls out of the ring and into the side of the stands.
Thain takes a deep breath and charges the brute hoping to catch him off balanced and push him out the ring, but the man turned and dug his feet in and went to grab Thain in a bear hug as Thain approached him, at the last second Thain hurled himself into the air and flipping backwards and spinning like a corkscrew his foot pulling back and he flies over the man's arm in angled arc over. The man turned slightly as he looked at Thain, his arms closing where Thain had been just seconds before and Thain grinned as the man's eyes widened in surprise. Throwing his foot downwards as he flipped and started to come back now facing the same direction the man was, he kicked hitting the man square in the jaw with enough force to flip him onto his back and roll him into the middle of the circle. Landing Thain ran only to catch a boot to his gut, sending him onto his back. They both groaned and rolled to their knees and then glanced at each other before standing and charging each other. Thain knew it had to look weird to see him fight someone twice his size and ducked a hook throwing a hook at his ribs then bobbed and threw another hook on the other side of his ribs then came up and threw a jab at the side of the man's head. The man spun and Thain with a back fist spinning him. Thain leaped away as he spun and felt the man's boot whiz by his face the force and speed of the kick sending a small breeze against his face and he realized how fast and strong the guy really was. The man charged and as Thain landed he crouched and spun on the ball of his foot, spinning behind the man and kicked forward using the man's own momentum and sent him flat on the ground.
Thain's breath came out hard as he ran to stomp the man's head, but he rolled away as his foot came down. The man tried to sweep Thain's feet from under, but he jumped over it as the man rolled to his feet and they glared at each other. The man chuckled and said "Not bad kid you're better than you look and hit harder than I expected. Though you aren't small by any means for your age you'll make a fine warrior one day" Thain smiled savagely as he said, "Not bad yourself though I don't intend to find out how hard you hit" he chuckled "I don't have a death wish" The man smiled and lunged at Thain. Thain was glowing with pride from what the man said and was glad he was able to fight and earn the man's respect who obviously had way more fighting experience than him and had probably killed more people than he could remember. Jumping back into back handspring at the last second his foot caught the man's chin, and as he stood back up, he kicked forward only to have his foot caught. The man smiled and spun and threw Thain sideways and said, "Where did you learn how to fight kid, you don't look like anything, but a farm boy?" Thain smiled and said "My uncle was an Elite and served in the Great War, and he taught me almost everything he knows. He was a Commander." The man's eyes rose impressed as not many people who were around from the Great War were still alive and the fact he was a commander in the deadliest army Solanthion had ever seen. His Uncle was the third high ranking officer in the Elite, and supposedly his father had been a General of the Army highest rank achievable.
Thain charged and the man didn't waste time and lunged forward as well. Thain jumped and grabbed the man's arm and spinning over and locking one of his legs around his neck and used his other leg to kick back down rolling and flipping the man onto his back and locked him into and arm bar his knee resting against the man's shoulder blade and he pulled hard as he said, "Sorry about this" and he pulled hard against the man's arm and shoved his knee hard dislocating the man's arm. The man howled and jerked hard, throwing Thain off of him. Rolling he spun back towards the man who was holding his arm pain clear against his face and he glared at Thain. Thain was running low on energy; he had to finish this quickly or else he wouldn't have anything left to finish this let alone fight in the next round. The man went to rise to his feet and Thain charged and leaped in his back, his arm snaking around the man's throat and he locked his arms and pulled hard, squeezing off the man's air circulation.
The man grunted and his face became red as he grabbed futilely at Thain's arm. Slowly the man's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he went limp. Holding for a few more seconds he let go and pushed the man off of him and rolled to his feet. He glanced around to see how everyone else was doing only to realize he was the last one fighting and the crowd had gone silent from watching him fight. Then a roar of approval erupted through the crowd and the Host's voice boomed "We have one more round who's ready?!" The crowd yelled deafeningly and the winners of each of the small were sent to the large circle in the middle. Thain didn't see Silver and he was relieved he didn't have to go against her but hoped she was disqualified because of it. He knew the woman's sign-up trials were way harder than the men's due to the fact how dangerous they were.
The horn blew and Thain leaped forward only to himself surrounded by three people almost instantly, he saw two men and one woman. So, they decided to team up against me huh, he thought. Thain kicked to the man on his left his foot hitting his shin and sending him to the ground on his face, he ducked under the punch aimed from the man on his right, grabbing his arms, pulling and tossing him into the man on the ground. He then braced his legs as the woman charged and caught him about the waist. She grunted as he didn't move, and she went to lift but Thain was faster and wrapped his arms around her waist as well and lifted up flipping her onto his shoulders she as the movement startled her into letting go of his waist and she looked at him with wide eyes as he grinned and then leaned forward and slammed her onto the ground her body going limp from the force. Letting her go he straightened and looked back at where he threw the men and dodged one of the men's left fist but caught the man's right with his own. Twisting the man's arm, he lifted up, bending the man's wrist back so far, forcing his arm to bend at the elbow painfully as he then punched the man rapidly in his face. Thain felt the crunch of the man's nose as he broke it under his onslaught. Thain felt the other man's fist connect with his jaw. Thain growled and back handed the man sending him spinning from the force and he looked back at the man whose nose he broke and kicked him firmly in his gut and sent him flying onto his back, his upper torso lying outside the circle.
A running kick to his knee sent him into a kneel then he felt a punch send him to the ground and a kick to his side sent him rolling across the ground. The world spun slightly, and he stood. Shaking his head, his vision stopped shaking and he saw he was about 3 feet from the edge of the circle. The man's foot falls reached Thain's ears and he launched himself into a backflip, flying over the man and landing behind him. The man spun to face Thain only to turn into a heavy hook and the sound of Thain's Punch echoed through the air and he pushed harder and practically slammed the man into the floor with his fist. Thain stood over the man and pummeled him over and over with punches aimed at his head. The man blocked at first but one of Thain's fists broke through and the man's body jerked slightly, and his guard loosened. Thain leaped on the opening and soon the man's face was covered in blood, his body limp. Thain looked up at the sky and roared in victory, breathing hard and the crowd roared with him. He stumbled back and fell to his knees breathing hard as he gasped out, "I won..." The crowd ran from the stands and their screams soon quickly drowned out the rest of his thoughts, a grin plastered across his face as they surrounded him and lifted him above their heads.