[This might've been a mistake… ]
For the past half hour, Lilee has been talking about her favorite moments from previous tournaments. Dimas let her talk uninterrupted believing she'll get to the explanations eventually. He was wrong.
"You still haven't explained anything. Like what Brío is." Dimas finally speaks up.
"Oh, sorry! I don't ever get a chance to talk to anyone about the tournaments. I guess I got carried away." Lilee gives a small chuckle. "Let's start with Brío. It's basically energy everyone has within them. This energy lets them use their Brío arts."
"Brío arts?"
"You know how I healed that wound of yours?" Lilee pats Dimas on the head.
"That was my Brío arts. Everyone's Brío arts are different, although sometimes genes play a part. For example, my dad is also a healer but he can heal from a distance while I can only heal through touch."
"And your mom?" Dimas asks.
"She never awakened her Brío."
"It doesn't come naturally?" Each exchange changes Dimas's understanding of this new world.
"Nope. It takes some practice and determination. Some people can go their whole lives without awakening their Brío." Lilee crosses her arms. "Well… That's not entirely true… There is a way to skip the practice part. You can 'adopt' an art." She air quotes the word adopt.
"This means allowing someone to erase your arts and replace it with theirs. It's common practice for apprentices who want to follow in the footsteps of their teachers."
"You called it energy. Does that mean it gets used up?"
[Since I probably don't have any Brío, I'm going to need to find a way around it.]
"Yup! Everybody has varying amounts of Brío within them. Let's say you had two beginner Brío users in front of you and both are able to conjure a fire. More than likely, one of them will be able to hold that fire longer than the other. Even if it is just for a second or two. This would mean that they have a larger reserve of Brío. Now, let's say that both were only able to hold the fire for about 3 seconds. Which is pretty generous for beginners. With enough practice, their bodies will learn how to use their Brío reserves more efficiently. Soon, those 3 seconds could become a whole minute and that minute leads to half an hour and so on. It doesn't stop there. Their abilities may even begin to evolve. So, instead of only being able to make a fire, they can make it move or make a weapon out of it or even become fire themselves. The possibilities are practically endless."
Dimas lets out a sigh.
[This might've been a mistake… Still, no turning back now. All it means is having to fight harder than I've ever fought before.]
"What's wrong? Are you tired? We can rest for a bit if you need." Lilee turns towards Dimas.
"No, I'm good." Her words bother Dimas. For reasons he himself doesn't understand.
"What's Crild?"
Lilee reaches into her pocket, pulls out a small bag, and hands it to Dimas. He can hear coins jingle inside. Opening the small bag reveals crimson coins that shine brightly. Dimas inspects one closely, one side has the symbol of the sun while the other has a symbol of the moon.
"Crild is currency. Accepted everywhere."
Dimas puts the coin back into the small bag and returns it to Lilee.
"All right. Now, about the tournaments. You mentioned Alastor being a champion. Is it really that big a deal?"
"Yes! It's a very big deal! Becoming a champion makes you an instant celebrity. Everyone all around would know your name."
[I knew it. I can use these tournaments to my advantage. ]
"And there's 12 of these tournaments?"
"Yeah, the tournaments are Capricornus, Aries, Scorpios, Cancer, Gemini, Libra, Taurus, Sagittarius, Pisces, Leo, Aquarius, and Virgo. They have to be beaten in that order."
"And how do they work?"
"The entry part is tricky, up to 100 contenders are selected at a time. Afterwards, those 100 are split into two groups. Each group is given a task and only the first 8 of each group to complete their task is allowed to move on. Finally, those 16 fight in 1v1 matches. The winner gets to move on to the next tournament."
"If they're 1v1, how did your father win with a team?"
"Teams are pretty common, rarely anyone goes into the tournaments solo. Most teams are about 4-5 people, the limit is 10. If one member of the team is selected during entry, then the whole team is automatically entered. They can even work together for the task but only one can fight. During fights, the contenders are allowed to call upon their teammates as support."
[Pretty sure I can convince her dad to help me. His healing abilities would be an advantage.]
Dimas taps the area above his upper lip with his index finger. This would be his thinking mode. A tic he had since he was a kid.
"How long ago did Alastor become champion?"
"About 6 years ago, he was only 12."
[Alastor could be a problem.]
"Is he the reason nobody has been a champion since?"
"Kind of… Each new champion must fight the winner of the Virgo tournament. If the champion loses, the Virgo winner becomes a champion and then it's their turn to fight the next Virgo winner. If the champion wins, then there's no new champion. However, champions can choose a surrogate to fight on their behalf. Alastor's surrogate is the reason there hasn't been any new champions."
"Why stay as a surrogate? Why not try to become a champion themselves?"
"Then that would mean having to defeat Alastor. Besides, being chosen as a surrogate is close to being a champion, sort of."
[I can understand why Corvo chose me now. My fighting skills are good… but I doubt that they can even the odds. ]
Dimas thinks about his fight with the brothers earlier. If Alastor hadn't intervened, Dimas would've lost. Badly.
[And that was just kids.]
For a second, the whole weight of the situation threatens to crush him.
[Stop.]
He takes a deep breath. Calming himself and pushing down all doubt.
[I need to try. Rolling over and admitting defeat is not my thing.]
"Hey… I don't want you to feel pressured or anything, but where are you from? Can't imagine there being a place where Brío and the tournaments are unheard of."
"Like I said before, it's not a place worth mentioning." Dimas answers rather coldly.
[Besides, I just need your dad and I'm gone. We'll probably never see each other again.]
"I don't mean to be nosy. It's just that… I've always wanted to travel. So, hearing about new places is always interesting."
Dimas looks down. It was something he can relate to. His town always felt like a cage to him. Everything he had worked for was meant as a means to escape that cage. Not in a metaphorical way either. He had always planned to move as far as he could when the time came.
[Can't get any farther than this. ]
"There's my house." Lilee points at a small cottage surrounded by trees. No other house can be seen.
In front of the house is a small girl. Dimas assumes it's Lilees younger sister. As the duo get closer, they can see that the child is crying.
"What's wrong?" Lilee asks, kneeling down next to her younger sibling.
All the little sister could muster are incoherent sobs.
"Lilee! Thank the stars you're safe!" A woman, Lilee's mom, opens the cottage door and hugs Lilee. Tears streaming down her face.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Lilee looks around.
"Where's dad?"
"A group of thugs came and took him! They want 50,000 Crild by the end of the day!" Her mom begins sobbing heavily in Lilee's arms.
[Perfect…]