'Revenge has been served!'
"So then, what's your name lad?" Barrett (The black haired old man) asked. When Dom looked at him he instinctively straightened his back, he wasn't sure if it was the aura the general released, or if it was just because he wanted to see who was bigger. Dom assumed it was both reasons. "My name's Dominic, if I'm not wrong you're Mr. Hellion, right?" Barrett saw Dom's adjusted posture and he couldn't help but chuckle as he said, "Well Dom it's nice to meet you, and your assumption is correct. If I'M not wrong you're Tutu's nephew, right?" Dom was stunned that Barrett referred to his aunt that way, but seeing that she didn't care about it, he simply nodded.
After chatting with the general for a bit, Dom found out that Mr. Hellion was a very close friend to the Amare family. It turned out that they were so close that he was the one who trained his mother! The conversation continued between the table for a few more moments until the mayor walked up to a platform with a microphone in hand. "If you want to talk more about those days with your mom, come to my office at some point, okay kid?" Dom nodded enthusiastically. He wanted to know as much as he could about his mother, but for now he had to wait so he turned his head as he and the others looked at the mayor.
"Hello, and welcome everyone! I will be the hostess for tonight's banquet. My name is Mayor Linda Fleur, and I invited you all here to mingle with other influential members of our community, and to allow this cities brightest inhabitants to shine. We even have some guests from out of town, I'm sure you've all noticed them. Please offer them the hospitality that they deserve. I've prepared a little gift for them that I hope will bolster our alliance." When she was done speaking Linda gestured to the entryway behind the stage and some men rolled a crate up to the platform.
"I sincerely hope that you all accept this gift!" Linda proceeded to chant a couple of words before a the box dismantled itself and flew away, revealing its contents. Inside was a little sapling of a tree. It had smooth gold bark and red leaves that rustled even without the presence of wind, and the whole tree radiated a soothing and yet somehow regal aura. Upon seeing it, the elf who seemed to be the leader crushed a glass in his hand. He was so enchanted with the tree that he didn't even notice the blood dripping from his palms where glass shards had embedded themselves. The other elves didn't fair much better.
"An Emperor Tree sapling..." Tu mumbled with a sweat bead going down her temple, even Barrett had a somewhat shocked look on his face. 'Now where did she get her grubby little hands on that? And why the hell didn't she bring it up to me or one of my men? We could have kept it safe for our city... If the elves wanted to, they could have wiped us out because of this!' Barrett thought. Dom looked like the only one who didn't know so he spoke up quietly. "Aunt Tu forgive my ignorance, but what's an emperor tree?" Tu could barely pry her eyes from it, but after a short struggle she turned to Dom and, with a small sigh, she answered. "Emperor Trees are the rarest plant on our entire planet! Wherever they are planted, that entire region becomes a bountiful holy land of endless herbs. It also acts as a guardian for all those within the forest!" Right as Tu finished what she was saying the elves walked up to the sapling, dropped to their knees, and began bowing to it. "Oh, and I forgot one very important thing. Forest Elves worship them religiously to the point that they'll wage wars for a simple branch. No, not even that much, a leaf would be enough to start a war!".
To say Dom was shocked was an understatement, but he believed his aunt given the elves' actions. The elves got up and began using magic devices to communicate with their home. They knew that getting the tree home was important, however now they felt a huge debt to the mayor and decided to stay until the end of the night.
After that spectacle the night grew dull and everyone that was set to speak after the mayor felt their presentations were rather bland in comparison. Tu was among them so she decided not to participate, preferring to spend time with her friends and family instead. Everyone enjoyed their meals while catching up with old friends and business partners, however towards the end of the night the mayor realized she made a mistake by bringing out the tree at the start of the evening. With a nervous smile on her face she approached the old general. "Barrett? Do you think your son could duel someone... you know, so everyone can leave on a high note?" Barrett thought for a moment, "I have no problem with him dueling someone, but who would he face?" Suddenly an idea popped into his head and he looked at Dom with big eyes. Dom immediately knew what he was implying and also got excited but before he could say anything a sharp voice interjected, "ABSOLUTELY NOT." Aunt Tu noticed the small exchange and was less than pleased.
However, to her surprise both Dom and Barrett stared at her the exact same way, as if they were a puppy begging for a piece of table scraps. "Tutu... he won't get hurt! I promise!" Barrett said in a pleading voice, and Dom nodded vigorously. "Haven't you forgotten?! You literally just awoke magic yesterday! You haven't been in any duels! The only thing you've done was get in brawls... and the only reason why you survived those is because combative magic use is illegal without government approval!" Tu had a very good point, however when Barrett heard that Dom only awoke magic yesterday it threw him for a loop, but he grinned deviously as it gave him an idea. "Then that's even more reason why he should! Gerard is very experienced so he can tell Dom his faults after the fight, and control himself enough to not hurt him! Think of it like sparring practice Tutu!" Tu looked at the pair of puppies whose eyes had gotten even bigger. She thought for a moment and sighed, "Fine... but if you get hurt it's your own damn fault!" Both Dom and Barrett simultaneously shouted with joy.
Dom and Gerard walked to a space that was opened up for them. A faint glow came from a ring on Gerard's hand, and shortly afterwards a rapier materialized in front of him. 'Does his ring have spatial storage? I guess his family does get a lot of money thanks to his dad.' However after that thought, a sudden realization dawned on him. 'I don't have a weapon!' As if he read his mind Barrett called out and threw something at Dom. He caught it and a massive smile appeared on his face, he was given old steel gauntlets that looked very beat up. They had flat protrusions coming from each knuckle, and many scratches from war.
Dom thanked the general before putting them on. He began feeling a surge of excitement, and his eyes began to change, becoming like slits just like the time with Sebastian in the car. Everyone in the room began questioning the change in Dom except Tu. "Tutu, what's with the kid's eyes?" Barrett asked since he could easily perceive the difference. "They're a part of his mutated magicore, when he gets excited or begins focusing intensely his eyes change. Coincidentally they also work as MDEs" Barrett looked at Tu with a complicated expression, but no one knew what he was thinking.
The two in the new arena began sizing each other up, and Dom was left with one thought in mind.
'This is going to be fun!'