Finally the fighting festivities are beginning to take shape as the crowds once again make their ways to get the best seats in the house for the second trail, the groups separating into the different sections of the arena, some going to the front, to be covered by the debris, bolts and blood. The High seats will get the best view but the least of the effects, id say with these rabid dogs the middle ground should be best close enough to feel the power radiating off for these fighters. But alas the refreshments are in the front...bitter shame for most...But that is a fun question is it not? Where would you sit? Me? I'd personally be in the royal box, not because of any other reason than they have the comfiest seats up there but in all truth, I'd take any seat that was not the same that our false heroes are in waiting for the battles to commence...Oh don't you just wish you were there.
The cities laughter was cut in one clean sound, The signal for the second round had started echoing through the streets indicating they all had three hours till Dawn's first light and the start of the opening bout, Wilt turned to Willabaar seemingly in his own world before snapping him out of it,
''How can you be so calm? Ya know you got to fight the old and wise leader right? You must have a plan or something?''
Willabaar shrugged his shoulders with a childish smile on his face making the goblins drop and think of how this may already be over before it even begins, then Willabaar spoke,
''You may have more experience here than anyone in the group...But you ain't been trained by the best you could find since birth have you? Just trust me and I will see you in the final for that rematch right?
The goblin smiled and shook the half-mixes hand,
"Don't get too confident. I know your royalty and all but these guys are monsters you know. Still good to see ya proud"
Willabaar laughed as he walked on towards the main square,
''We only have a few hours before I need to clean the wood with the old man's blood...Should probably get some breakfast, don't you think?
Silver broke into the conversation,
''Serious? You lot eat almost everything in the pantry!''
''Yes...Now it is time for second breakfast!''
Willabaar kept walking, Bee agreed, moving next to the half-mix,
''The Forest's Crown? It is right next to the coliseum so it would make this a lot easier.''
Orelia's eyes opened before replying,
''Good point! Could go for some more grilled bug..''
Her voice seemingly stuck between sarcasm and seriousness as the rest made their way behind towards the central plaza.
The parlour closed in on their fates, going towards the large opening archways, the first of the sun's light descending gently and lighting the area in a golden hew as the sun started shifting in the sky outside. The great canopy illuminating the throne in a silverish blue pillar of lights, The two leaders' eyes passing through them as if contemplating something as they noticed the pack make their way to the centre, the crowd paying them no heed but their aura obviously had shifted. Treevoar rose from his throne looking even further down on them than he normally would before letting out a laugh, throwing his head back for it to only be silenced by a blade entering his neck, he gargled and clawed as his vision started blurring out with everyone watching on before he slept.
His eyes opened to find he was still where he stood only not continuing his laugh and the crowd all looking scared at why their leader looked like this, looking into the group, seeing Willabaar's Violet purple and forest green were bright, magic resonating through him with a smirk and a wave, Treevoar thought this was a stupid move but then realised, this was meant as no more than a threat, he coughed once to clear his thoughts before he bellowed out his tribes tongue as the the tournament matches appeared again with Willabaar and Reev's name becoming big and bold before Treevoar spoke,
''Time for the first fight of the second trial! On one side we have our ancient leader! The elf who reigns over us all to guide us to nature's glow! Reev!!''
The crowd erupted as the lights shone towards the throne now vacated leaving only a puff of smoke before the ground next to Treevoar cracked violently, the tall elf turned to see Willabaar now thirty feet in the air,
''Fuck this I have to fight soon to ya know! Reev versus Willabaar! Go!''
The sound of the old drum banged but that meant nothing to the prince. Floating in place in the air, eyes darting in every direction, looking for the little man, seeing the bark on a tree close to the far right, grinning as he raised his hands before kicking hard through the air, sending him spinning so fast all the crowd saw was a ever shifting flow of Gold from his Gi, the cloud of the same colour started to form from the very spot slowly taking up the whole inside roof of the cradle, Reev was camouflaging himself with the shape and colours of the bark he stood by, eyes now shaking at what he saw before uttering his incantation,
''Oh this child needs to be taught a lesson O great one, I beseech the, plea-''
Eyes opening, seeing a small surgical knife flying towards his face, jumping up only to feel a thunderous crush on the top of his skull smacking him back into the ground, sending some of the tiles and bark flying off at high speeds, The dust clouding his eyes as he feels a sharp stab through his right eye, feeling the warm flow of blood leaving from it, now with a foot placed hard on top his neck of Willabaar smirking and raising his hand, Reev goes to move his hand only for it to sliced clean off spiralling upwards, looking to see the damage he saw a small shadowy imp with claws the size of a Gnomes longsword, seemingly smiling with the pain pulsated through the old man's face, He closed his eyes and uttered one sentence that made the half-mix and his Imp seem to freeze,
''My life is not yet over...Use me as a conduit of great goddesses of the forest's sword and shield!''
Willabaar knew what type of incantation this was before grabbing the little shadow and jumping into the dark shade of the tree, the old man falling to the ground, screaming before his body shined a searing red burning the ground to charcoal around him, foaming at the mouth and shaking violently until Otto moved to the front of the crowd pushing most aside until hitting a elf of dark grey skin and deep emerald eyes stopping him with his hand on the giant chest,
''Why ya stopping me? He is dying ain't he?''
The young elf huffed at the tall man before responding,
''That old man ain't dying...but ya friend has pushed him hard I'll give him that, Reev will give him a swift end just like I will to that pretty little elf, might just have to take her with me ya kn-''
The elf was pushed to the ground quick and with a searing crack but was quickly surrounded by the guards, the goliath lent in and whispered soft,
''Trust me...She is going to hurt ya more than I could...Even if you somehow pull off a miracle and win I'll happily squash you after the bird got that?''
The panicked elf nodded profusely before Otto stood and walked closer seeing that the body of the old man was still not moving but now saw Willabaar up in the shadow above, he had gotten used to watching the shifting darkness to see this royal move and knew he was checking out his opponent before he thought,
''Come on ya royal asshole, finish the old fuck and go through already.''
Out of nowhere he heard the royals voice clear next to him,
''Asshole? I'll remember that big boy''
Turning only his eye he noticed the hooded figure standing next to him and turned back smiling,
''Okay boss..show me what ya got.''
The old Elf screamed a horrid screech, clutching his chest, throwing himself into the air like a puppet being picked up by the torso, beginning to shine a glorious gold broken by streaks of brilliant white and sending petals of a crimson red flying around, softly floating on a non existent breeze with Reev now standing in the centre of a charcoaled floor, pushing his fresh hand stub into the embers, starting them up and sending steam and a venomous hiss through the air, removing it showing a primal scythe still shining the same gold and white with veins of red embedding into his freshly slashed eye, making it catch flame and look like a freshly stoked, over fuelled young firepit. His face now had a blank tone that washed over it, twitching at the mouths and eyes corners. Slowly scanning the field looking for his opponent before speaking again, this time sounding about half his age with the voice of elven woman overlapping and intermixing as each work was uttered,
''Show your face half-mix..I know you are close.''
No response was heard as he still kept his eyes open, listening to every movement, looking at the petals slowly burning into the bark seeing if any had been risen but none seemed to have yet,
''Fine...Petals land, Petals rot, Petals start the pits new summer blaze!!''
As he spoke, petals he spread all flared into life, fires white hot spewing from the crimson red centre making the field look like a layer of a burning hell and seeing the young half-mix fall from to the ground with his Gi burning off on his torso landing hard into the ground, his skin now charred with the clothing melting into the skin only being stopped from the organs by the wrappings he had placed around his chest stopping his heart and lungs from being burnt,
"You don't deserve any last words''
Reev was descending like a comet dragging the bark, burning it, forging the embers and ash into a cindery spear extending it downwards on his descent, moving it in for maximum effect. Seeing the fading glow of the beast's green and violet eye knowing that he would suffer more before his cursed life ended by his hand,
''I Reev will burn this dog to down to hell.''
Reev pivoted his body, getting as much power into this strike as possible, sending the crowd into a frenzy of applause and screams. The flames accelerated at the same rate as his naturally burned wood spear creating a blinding hot light that pierced the golden cloth, ripping into skin, muscle and then through his core making the old rustic bandages murk a dingy black as Reev turned to the crowd arm raised only to hear no applause and actually see faces of terror, he thought in that moment that time slowed to a pause in his mind, did he kill this young man for his own jealousy? A fit of over power usage? Old age senility finally sinking in now he was closing in on the big six digits? All these ran through his head only to be broken by a blur finally starting to show on his eyes as blood landed on his face making it hard for him to see the crowd but able to make out his arm falling to the ground spewing crimson all on the ground. The sound of a great roar emerging from behind him but he was not able to see anything but darkness but when that shadow came close he was thrown by the force, time resumed to the old man as he went through a elder tree and landing in the front row of the arena now blurred and exhausted he decides to try and end this here beginning his incantation,
''O great one hear me spea-''
He was interrupted by his mouth being grabbed either side of his jaw, him now looking up to see the half-mix smirking with his hood over him making his eyes shine even brighter before in a swift motion slices the tongue out of the mouth before disappearing into the crowd once more, Reev tried to let out a sound but noting coherent came out, his mouth warm and sticky from the blood pooling up, The rage was building as he stood, he had enough at this point and decided in his mind that he was going to end this insolent worm, here and now.
Stamping around, breaking the tiles into the air and spreading his reserves into the roots, conjuring them forth almost smouldering and pulsating like the veins of a demon lord wrapping around anything that stood and rendering them all into the air ripping the arena and reshaping it into a lily like shape of roots and vines smouldering red. Sending all the tiles and debris into a pile forming a molten floor fifteen feet in the air. the elven man using the forces to will his body up into the treeline like a cannon, forming new blades from the ash and cinders in the air around him sending them down in unison with a single lift of his hand towards the tree he originally took his new shape, burning it to a crisp watching the leaves burn and the branches break then hearing it, a breeze from above, he looked up to see the half-mix ten feet above him taking a stance having both arms placed high behind his head and his legs planted with no bend in the knee, Reev realised how much he had used of his power and knew that if he could outpower him here then that would be the end of this impudent little prince, he surged his reserves through to his hands, now slowly eroding away from the sheer amount of magic now residing in such a small surface area, he used what little reserves he had left after to communicate one message to his opponent ,
''You were a great bout young man...But now your life will end...well your soul will anyway, your body will defend this city for generations to come when i burn it to a crisp!''
He could not see the face of the half-mix but could see that evil smirk and the shine of his open eyes, he smirked back before swinging his leg as it turned to white flames of searing heat taking the shape of a crescent moon heading up towards Willabaar as his stance finished it's sequence, his hands and feet both pushed forward from above releasing four pure grey blades of compressed wind circling at great speed heading to intercept the flames, Reev looked on and smiled thinking there was no way such a small attack could stop him, and right he was as they collide and engulf the greys only increasing the size of the oncoming fire, We see the crowd faces looked excited for the killing blow but we see the fire pitter out before hitting the half-mix still smiling, looking back at the old leader whose smile was still there only to cough up blood as we see his torso had four huge gashes in them, two on each side as if a giant beast had bitten him and swung him away, the fires he made all dripped away as he started to fall a dark blur caught the body and landed in the tall tree before a few seconds later landing at the foot it, The battle was decided. Willabaar was now carrying a broken, sliced and bruised Reev over to his throne placing him there still unconscious before bowing and kissing his comatose hand and walking away, turning to walk up to the other version of himself, they share a smile and a laugh to everyone's confusion before shaking hands, the copy becoming one with his host before the half-mix did his usual stretch and walking back to the thrones, Treevoar looking panicked over the old man with Silver and Kyu looking over him doing what they can, on noticing Willabaar the tallest stood and smiled to his surprise before walking over, lifting his hand into the air and proclaiming strong,
''In the bout between Willabaar and Reev...Willabaar has won! Our dearest leader has been bested after giving his all!! We better do the same ya hear me?! The next bout will be..''
Looking over to Silver who nods and grabs the elders arm softly as Willabaar takes it to Treevoar's worry, Willabaar responds,
''It is okay...He was a tough old bastard just like my father...he has next to no reserves left so I will imbue the item to do the draw acceptable?''
Treevoar smirked knowing there was nothing he could do about the seedings anyway and waved him on.
The names shined bright but were murked by the dark shadowy black around them from Willabaar's reserves showing the next round which Treevoar proclaimed loud,
''The second fight will be...Kyuuwin versus Otto!! You have one hour to prepare! Fight well and true!''
Willabaar walked along the edge of the seating gesturing to the crowd to be louder to no avail before he shrugged and walked towards his group all smiling and clapping the half-mix before Wilt stopped everyone to speak,
''Okay that's enough we don't need his ego getting worse!...In all seriousness though well done that was one hell of a scrap!''
Willabaar smiled and shock the goblin's hand,
''Thank you, now that I have proven these leaders are not so difficult I should expect to see you in the finals correct?''
Still smiling and walking up to Otto whose face was the same, the goliath spoke,
''Well boss...guess ya did show me eh? Having your little shadow Willabaars run around distracting him while your main body stood next to me drinking a damn horn!''
Willabaar shrugged and stretched his arms behind his head and clicked his bones in his usual mannerisms, laughing back to the goliath,
''Well the show was amazing was it not? Even with me not really doing anything''
''What the hell ya mean not doing anything?!''
Orelia broke between the two as they shared a look of glee before the woman interrupted it by slapping them loud and clean connection on both their cheeks, shaking their heads quite violently, even sending Willabaar to the floor then hugging the goliath and crying soft, Willabaar sat up wiping the drip of blood from his mouth before smiling at the two, Orelia was pulled away by Otto's big arms as he spoke,
''Okay I know I'm not….hundred percent...but the bird?...Really? Has my strength dropped that much?''
The girl laughed through the tears, cleaning the sparkles from her face and punching the goliath in the arm,
''Good point now go prove it ya self!!''
Otto smiled and ruffled the girls hood revealing strands of bright lapis blue drop down before he walked towards the fallen one seemingly uttering a prayer before the goliath sat next to him clasping his own hands and uttering a pray of his own, the tongue in that he spoke it made Kyu open his revealed eye noticing the dead pious language from his travels and thinking this could be interesting, he extends his fallen hand smiling at Otto who does the same before both wish the other good luck and make their way to the ring as we hear Treevoar's reverb from the centre stage once more,
''Everyone! The second bout of the second trial is about to take place! Let us welcome Kyuuwin Kurama versus Otto Gaar-Eek!''
The crowd erupted as the two entered the light that led to the next round.
Well id say that was eventful, the young usurper beating the old 'rightful' leader, alas the truth of this world is dictated by the strong winners of this revolting world, some may say it's only fair but the resentment of the past is a stain that cannot be simply washed away as the rot runs deep and in the words of Reev's predecessor proclaimed 'only though flames can the roots and weeds be truly eradicated' through what do you think hmm? Does Might make right or something more than that. Would you get the roots before they imbed to deep or allow them to grow into something; after all some of the most beautiful things in this world are also the most toxic an eldering trap for vermin but certain creatures like the feral pack of False Heroes seem to have already made a resistance to such problems...Most interesting wouldn't you say?