Leodore walked towards the arena area, tons of tents stood around. The giant circular arena was the most common duel place in the Human Kingdom. Used only on special occasions such as this. People crowded the entrance slowly walking inside the arena to find a place to sit. All of them were wealthy or special guests and nobles.
The security, a few dozen soldiers of the army stood in formation. Lead by one of the highest-ranking people of the army. The commander Neal Crellot, a 47-year-old veteran. One of the most celebrated and decorated people in the Kingdom. Known for his exceptional combat skills and ability to teach. The man commanded respect with everything he did.
And despite not participating in the duels this time around, he was still no slouch in that regard. He had amassed a record of 56 wins and three losses. Two of those had come from the hand of Berteram Singlestrike. His black hair and goatee were well kept, matching his well-composed style.
Neal was standing in front of a bunch of soldiers and was fired up, explaining something. As Leodore got closer he could finally hear what the man was speaking about.
"Your duty is to protect and keep your eyes peeled, but that's not all. I demand that you all keep your eyes peeled as today you will see some amazing and powerful individuals. You can all learn a lot just by observing. So any questions?" Neal spoke to the rookies assigned to stand guard.
"Yes sir! What separates them from us? How do we know they are better?" one of the soldiers asked, raising his hand.
"I suppose since you lot are new to the army, you don't know about Mana Focus yet. It is what separates a novice from a powerful warrior. Well, at least one of the aspects. So let me explain it to you shortly. The nature of Mana Focus is pretty simple, but deep and hard to master.
Mana focus is the act of focusing the mana in your body and channelling it into a weapon or desired part of the body. But that is easier said than done. While mages train to focus their mana to cast spells and create shields. We swordsmen, spearmen, and such, work to focus the mana into our weapon of choice. It takes a long time to learn not only to get it there but to maintain control. Let me demonstrate." Neal said, pulling out his axe. He pointed it at the rookies and after a split second, a vibrant light blue aura appeared around the edges of the axe blade.
- The rookies audibly gasped.
"Now, you might ask what is the advantage of this. It's pretty simple, by using Mana Focus you power up your weapon. Its attack potency and defensive abilities rise. And the more proficient you are the more major this effect is. To make grouping proficient we have what's called Mana Focus stages.
Stage one - the aura is invisible, but your weapon gets a slight increase in power.
Stage two - Faint aura of mana appears around the weapon, the colour depends on what affinity you were born with.
Third stage - Vibrant and very visible aura emerges around the weapon. And at this stage, you learn the ability to turn your weapon into your affinity element. Coating it in your element gives it extra possibilities depending on what affinity you have. This is called Elemental Focus. The said element is equivalent to magic type. However, this too takes a different kind of practice. And not all learn it. Some chose to simply master the third stage of Mana Focus without ever stepping up to the fourth stage.
The fourth and final stage - this stage is reached by mastering the Elemental Focus. Weapon arts like Sword Arts, Spear Arts, and anything in between become possible to learn and create. Because by mastering Elemental Focus you are able to not only coat your weapon in the element but to manipulate it in other ways.
Gaining control lets you use it freely, but of course - this takes quite a lot of mana if you don't use it right and in a controlled manner. That's why most tend to learn already existing Weapon Arts. As they are already tried and have been written down and taught. Making them efficient when it comes to mana and reliable moves. However, some talented individuals can create their own Weapon Arts.
That is the very basics of Mana Focus. What's worth mentioning is that weapon-type artifacts dormant powers are activated by using Mana Focus too. Any more questions?"
The young soldiers whispered amongst themselves for a minute, taking in the lesson. Before one of them spoke.
"Sir what stage are you at?"
"Ah, that is a touchy question, hahaha. I am at stage three as I haven't been able to master the Elemental Focus. However, I am one of the best Mana Focus masters in Acoptia as I've been teaching it for decades now," Crellot responded.
Leodore smiled reminiscing about the day he saw Neal battle Singlestrike. The Prince was still a boy. He, Jacques, and Aveline all gawked at the two warriors' legendary rematch duel. Leo recalled Berteram's flawless performance, but what stood out too was Neals's grit and heart. He fought even while outclassed until the very end.
Leo stopped smiling as he reminded himself that this was not the time to get nostalgic. Walking past many tents he finally spotted Aveline Lionheart sitting on a chair outside one of the tents. She smiled and waved at him.
"I guess that's my tent?" Leodore assumed after walking up to Aveline.
"Yep, your armour is inside. Get ready, the tournament will be commencing soon. If you need anything else just ask Leo," Aveline replied.
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," the prince answered before walking into the tent.
Inside the tent stood his armour. Golden armour with the symbol of the Kingdom, a blazing sun. Much like Crownguards' armour, except much shinier and fancier with an added emblem of a crown inside the sun. Leodore stared at it for a second, he hadn't worn elaborate armour for quite a while. He much preferred simpler armours, as Berteram once told him "Only fools wish to stand out in a battlefield."
After taking off his noble clothing and slowly and methodically putting on his armour Leodore glared at the mirror. His hands were shaking, this day was always hard for him. Thoughts of his mother chewed at his mind and yesterday's fight with his father didn't help at all.
"You've got this," he mumbled to himself, before turning around and making his way out of the tent.
"You look good Leo. Here, your sword," Aveline handed Leodore his sheathed short sword.
"Thank you, Aveline. I couldn't do this without you, truly," Leodore smiled attaching the sheathed sword to his hip.
Avelines' cheeks turned slightly red as her eyes averted from Leodore's.
"L-Let's get going now," She muttered.
"Ah, I suppose it's time," Leodore let out and walked towards the arena.
People were already almost all inside their seats. Leodore saw the announcement board on which the tournament brackets were.
"I'm going first," Leo spoke, taking a deep breath in.
"And my opponent is Francus Lionheart... Isn't that your cousin?"
"Yeah...He's an asshole. Leo, be careful and good luck," Aveline answered before heading for the stairs which lead to the spectator seats.
Leodore looked around, realizing there's no reason for him to go anywhere else but towards one of the participant gates. The two gates were across from each other. That is where the fighters waited for their fight to begin.
"Ah! Here you are, prince. We are almost ready. After the king makes his speech the tournament will commence," an official told.
"Understood," Leodore responded, closing his eyes he stood behind the gate, waiting. His heart was pounding in his chest. After a bell ringing, he heard his father's voice coming from the spectator seats inside the arena.
"Welcome everyone to the death anniversary day of my beloved late wife Elanore Crownstone. Like every year I want her name to be remembered and celebrated, and I want her to know that we miss her. Thank you everyone for coming here today. Now! Let the tournament begin!" Arnald announced to the crowd.
- Clapping erupted from the seats.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I will be your announcer today. My name is James Brudewater. Let us begin! As you can see on the board our first match of the day will be one to be beheld."
The gates slowly creaked open. Leodore slowly stepped into the light, blinding him for a second. Coming to his senses, he slowly scanned the spectators. Hundreds of people were sat around the circular arena. At the king's seat sat Arnald Crownstone and next to him Jaspar Terric, the Cardinal. Meeting eyes with his father for a split second, Leodore looked to the other side. Spotting Berteram shuffling amongst the crowd towards his seat.
"Introducing first on the right side, we have the Crown Prince, the general of the army, Leodore Crownstone! With the record of 27 wins and two losses, at only 19 years of age!" the announcer shouted out as the crowd began to cheer and clap once more.
- Leodore beamed, his confidence finally growing.
"On your left side ladies and gentlemen! We have the first of the two representatives of the prestigious Lionheart family. Introducing Francus Lionheart! This 20-year-old has amassed a record of 23 wins and three losses! This fight is bound to be great so keep your eyes peeled!" Jack screamed out, his voice bouncing around the circular arena.
As Francus walked out of the gate, waving at the crowd. He had long curly blonde hair, his upturned blue eyes gave away that he was enjoying the attention much like his smile. Francus Lionheart was the cousin of Aveline and Arnet, he was known around the kingdom as a womanizer who liked starting fights with the defenseless.
Standing at around 184 cm tall, he was quite fit, and his inverted triangle-shaped jawline was sharp. A longsword sat sheathed on his back, the man smiled at Leodore. A mocking look in his eyes.
"Combatants, get ready!" the announcer spoke.
"3...2...1! Begin!"
Leodore grabbed his sheathed shortsword, pulling it out. He breathed in and out, slowly and methodically. Focusing, his sword getting embraced in a faint red aura. Leodore smiled, relaxing. While his opponent slowly walked towards him, unsheathing his longsword.
"Let's make it quick!" Francus yelled out, jumping towards Leo, bringing the blade down onto him.
Leodore jumped back, avoiding the longsword as it hit the ground with a loud thud. The crowd gasped. The prince, acting quickly, while Francus was still off-balance, he sprinted towards him. He barely had time to react. Their blades clashed, clanging loudly as a few sparks shot out. Leo smirked as the exchange blew back his opponent.
Hitting the ground Francus let out a yelp, Leodore moved towards him. Quickly regaining his thoughts Lionheart stood up, clutching his longsword.
"Shit. You haven't won yet!" Francus spat out angrily. Once again moving in to attack, he swung his sword wildly. Leodore evaded the attacks, ducking and weaving them, looking for an opening. Leodore swung down his blade once again clashing with Francus. The swords vibrated under the impact as they both struggled to push each other back.
Leodore smiled, suddenly taking a small step backwards and spinning around. His sword hitting the opponent's blade with a powerful force. Losing grip the longsword was sent flying, hitting the ground about 15 meters away. Francus now unarmed fell to the ground on his back. Leodore pointed his sword at him.
"It's over! Good fight Francus." Leodore declared.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Looks like the fight is over as Francus Lionheart is unable and unwilling to continue! Leodore Crownstone wins and improves his record to 28 wins. He's moving on to the next round!" the announcer roared with enthusiasm.
Spectators once again erupted into applauding and cheering. Leodore's eyes again met with his father's, he was too applauding, before walking out of the gate and towards the spectator seats. As he would have to wait for quite a while until he fights again.
After finding a seat, Leo kicked back, relaxing. His eyes were searching for familiar faces. He spotted Aveline, she was sat on the other side of the arena next to her mother and father. Nygell Lionheart and Emblyn Lionheart.
Nygell, a 58-year-old man, known for his ruthlessness, as the head of the second most powerful family in the Human Kingdom. He was considered one of the scariest men to cross. His bald head was shinning and his thin lips twisted into an expression of frustration. His narrow brows and face, wrinkled, always conveyed serious expressions.
His wife Emblyn was feared too, people knew not to anger them. She was 41 years old. Her long hair was dirt blonde, she too was annoyed.
"Mind if I sit here?" a voice with a foreign accent called out to Leo as someone patted him on the shoulder.
To the side of him stood a tall man. About 186 centimetres tall. He wore a long green robe with strange designs on it. His round brown eyes looked at Leodore questioningly. The man's medium-length black hair covered his ears and was carefully taken care of. An earing was hanging from his hidden ear. It was a golden serpent with tiny red gems for eyes.
"I'll take that as a yes," the man said and sat down next to Leodore.
"Oh, where are my manners! My name is Emerick Lauremont," the man added, offering a handshake. His hands had many golden and silver rings with various gemstones.
"Nice to meet you, my name is-" Leodore blurted out, shaking the man's hand.
"No need. I already know your name Leodore. I would say nice to meet you but I am unsure of how you truly are. All these people I met here in this Kingdom have been insufferable snobs. Disappointing really," Emerick spoke.
"I hope you don't disappoint me too much," he added.
"So I take it your not from here?" The prince answered.
"Mhm. I would be offended if you took that I'm from here. I'm from the Free Cities. Lannercoast to be exact," he announced.
"And what brings you here? Pretty far away from home," Leodore asked, staring at the centre of the arena anticipating the second match.
"Life, gold, women... Work. I would like to say I'm here for fun. But that would be half the truth. Work is the main reason," the man confessed with a grin.
"Work? Is duelling part of your work?" Leodore returned.
"No, no. That's the fun part. I run a mercenary company and they are dealing with something in another city within the Kingdom. So I took the opportunity to have some fun and test out the waters of this kingdom, see what you all are made of out here," Emerick spoke with confidence.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Match two is going to start very soon! So be ready and don't go anywhere," the announcer shouted out, cutting the conversation short.