Swift Wind and the Eternal Flame were already there when they arrived. They traded greetings with Hayworth’s group, then made small talk, but didn’t mention the wedding. Jason and Parks were getting their armor equipped, ignoring the others.
The announcer brought their attention to the arena floor. “Ladies, gentlemen, and children, welcome to today’s match-up of students from Buldoun’s famous Academy of Magic and the empire’s Magi Academy. We have finished the single match-ups and, today, we get to start something a bit more exciting. Without further ado, let us bring the first fight to the arena floor. For Buldoun, we bring out Eagle House, led by Claudia Firetongue, an accomplished fire mage. However, in the spirit of keeping things fair, she will only be joined by a single peer. Claudia has chosen Pavil Cutter, a wind mage of her house.”
The pair left their waiting area when the announcer paused. Claudia had on a gleaming breastplate emblazoned with flames. Her bracers and leg guards also caught the light as she advanced. She didn’t wear a helm— instead, there was a tiara perched on her head. It had a large ruby in the center, shaped like a flame. Her whip was coiled in her off-hand as she waved to the crowd. Pavil wore a full suit of armor. The steel gleamed in the morning light, and faint images of clouds dotted the breastplate and metal-coated shield he carried. His wooden gladius was shoved through his belt so he could wave to the crowd.
“Since armor is being allowed, the referees will be more active,” the announcer said when the crowd quieted a little. “It will be at their discretion if a hit from the practice weapons would have caused serious injury if it were real.”
Both Willof and Sasha held up a hand. They were each wearing armor, but had striped tabards over the top, making them stand out.
“Now, the empire’s students who will fight Eagle House— as you’ve likely guessed, it’s the Eternal Flame, down to two students to represent them. Jason Argon, a physical enhancement magi, and Jamie Parks, a magi of force magic.” The two men stomped out of the waiting area in silence.
Gregory finally got a good look at both of them. Each was wearing armor similar to his, if less elaborate. It was the style of armor best known in the empire, having been used since the First Eurtik War. Both men wore their anger openly as they crossed toward the announcer, neither waving to the crowd.
When the announcer started talking again, Yukiko said to Hayworth, “We’d like to invite your clan to a wedding.”
“Who’s being wed?” Hayworth asked, turning his attention away from the arena floor.
“Mindie and Greg,” Jenn said. “We’re inviting all our friends who are here.”
“Three, Pettit?”
“I happen to agree with the shock, but I won’t turn love away.”
Hayworth chuckled softly. “Only a fool would, and I’ve come to admit that you aren’t a fool. I will ask Magus Harrison. If he agrees, we will attend.”
“We’ll let you know when and where once it’s settled,” Yukiko smiled. Her gaze went to the other two members of Swift Wind, making sure they knew they were wanted there, as well.
“Egil, you’ll come?” Jenn asked the armsmaster.
“Yes. It will be a nice bright spot.”
“Rafiq?” Gregory asked.
“Hmm… normally, I would have to decline, but I have been tasked to record as much as I can. I would think this event should be recorded, allowing me to go. I will check with the overseer, though, just to make sure it is allowed.”
“We’d like you there,” Gregory said, “and not just to record it.”
“That’s very kind,” Rafiq bowed his snout. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to watch this fight.”
That got them all to put their attention back on the arena just as the announcer was backing away from the two groups. The referees stood together off to the side, waiting for the match to start.
The announcer was directly beside the Buldoun waiting area door when he called out for them to fight. He ducked inside the instant he did, and for good reason— the entire arena was subsumed by a firestorm in the next second. The heat was unpleasant for anyone within a foot of the wall, and everyone in the waiting area stepped back from the viewing opening.
“That won’t get Parks and Jason,” Hayworth snorted. “Parks’ barrier can keep the fire off of them.”
“Jason either has to stay beside Parks, or Parks has to create a second barrier just for him,” Jenn said. “If they opt for splitting up, it’ll tap Parks quicker.”
“That firestorm has to be draining them, too,” Kang countered.
“They both have good control,” Binder said. “It won’t be as bad as it could be. At most, this will stalemate the pair and Parks. That will let Jason deal with both when the storm finally dies off.”
The storm raged for many long minutes before it finally tapered off. When it did, Parks was on his knees, panting in near exhaustion from maintaining his barrier. Pavil was on one knee, looking much the same as Parks. Claudia’s forehead was coated in sweat as she wobbled on her feet. Jason smiled darkly when his body became coated in aether flame.
The next two seconds were a blur of activity. Parks motioned at Pavil and earth spikes erupted from the ground all around the mage. Any one of which could have seriously harmed the man, but combined, they had a real chance of killing him. Every single spike shattered on an aether barrier. Pavil threw a barrage of wind blades at Jason’s blue blur— Jason avoided them all with ease until Pavil fell face-forward, aether exhaustion hitting him. That left Jason free to close the distance unimpeded to Claudia. She dropped her whip and extended a hand, the other touching her tiara. A blast of fire— wider and thicker than any she’d used before— tore through the spot Jason had been.
The flames hit a barrier just short of the wall protecting the crowd, though they still flinched back from the heat. Jason, badly burned, rocked in place, but didn’t go down. Parks was on the ground, the fire having washed over him. When Claudia saw that, she exhaled, then called herself out.
“Stop!” Sasha’s voice filled the arena.
Jason spat at Claudia, but it was more the motion of spitting, as he had no moisture in his mouth. He and Parks had taken items to suppress fire magic with them, having expected the other team to rely on it. They hadn’t expected the degree of fire they got hit with. Without their items, both would be in critical condition and, as it was, they weren’t far from it.
The crowd was a mixture of boos and cheers. There were some who understood that Jason, even as badly damaged as he was, could still have potentially killed Claudia and Pavil, so they didn’t disagree with her call to surrender. The others who didn’t understand booed at her for not fighting it out.
“Those two will be a real problem,” Hayworth said. “Add in the spatial mage they have, and it gets worse.”
“Agreed,” Gregory murmured.
“Let’s get our armor on,” Hayworth said.
Jenn, Gregory, and Yukiko nodded before getting their own armor on, not knowing who’d be up next. Jason and Parks waited on the arena floor, it taking a while for them to be fully healed. Sasha went to go help Pavil, giving him a potion to help with aether fatigue. The announcer came out, exalting the Eternal Flame for being able to withstand the fire. He praised Claudia and Pavil for the longevity of their firestorm, and their last gamble to win.
When Jason and Parks made it to the waiting area, Hayworth’s clan was ready to go. The pair didn’t speak— they just left the waiting area, obviously going to the boxes to join their clan.
“Wonder which of us will be next?” Binder murmured.
“It’ll be us,” Hayworth said. “They’ll want them to go last. Together, they’ve won more matches overall than we did. I expect Aether’s Guard to be the last fight every day for that reason.”
“I concur,” Yukiko nodded. “They started with the clan that had the least wins. I also think it was to re-emphasize the fact that Nick’s gone. If that’d been all three Eagle House members instead of just two, Jason wouldn’t have won.”
“Agreed,” Hayworth nodded. “Adriana could have gutted both of them easily at the end. Then again, if Nick had been there, those fire attacks would have been moot. As much as I dislike him, I have to respect his skill and power.”
“Fire magi cancel each other out,” Gregory nodded. “That would’ve been lopsided to the Eternal Flame’s side if Nick hadn’t been removed.”
“Who will they pit us against first?” Kang asked.
“I’m thinking Wolf House,” Hayworth said. “That’ll leave them,” he nodded toward Gregory and his wives, “to fight Eagle or Wolf on the last day. It’ll be a better fight for the crowd.”
“Again, I concur,” Yukiko smiled, “which means we fight Boar today.”
Hayworth’s clan was called out for the second round. The fight was easier to watch, and much more competitive. Kang and Ivan ended up fighting each other while Binder did his best to deflect Lukas’ fire, even managing to throw it back once or twice. Jessica had gone into hiding, and Hayworth did his best to down Lukas with small rifts for his sword.
Lukas had an item that gave him barriers, letting him stay up longer than Hayworth wanted. Jessica picked her moment to appear behind Binder, hitting him with three quick taps of her dagger. She almost got away cleanly, but Hayworth tagged her left arm. Sasha called Jessica’s left arm out as the fight went on.
That attack by Jessica let Lukas turn and throw fire at Kang. Having to defend himself from Ivan as it was, Kang grimaced, now having to dodge fire, as well. His defense ramped up when daggers came flying at him. Kang did his best, but he was going to lose from attrition.
With all of them focused on Kang, Hayworth ripped a larger portal and came up behind Lukas, driving his sword into the man’s back. A second after that, flame flashed out from Lukas, coating Hayworth.
Willof called the fight to stop and had a brief discussion with Sasha, who nodded. The fight was put on hold for Hayworth to heal, and Sasha went over to Lukas to talk with him. The dwarf nodded, then explained. Hayworth said something to both of them, and Lukas shook his hand before walking off the field. When he went, Binder did, too.
“Mage Grimm was dead and wouldn’t have been able to do what he did,” Sasha explained to the crowd, who’d been speculating about why they’d stopped. “Once Magi Hayworth is healed, the fight will continue.”
“Physical and spatial against physical and shadow…” Jenn said slowly. “This will be a close fight.”
“Hayworth can win if they take Ivan down before Kang loses. If Kang goes down first, Jessica will win,” Yukiko said.
“That’s the way I see it, too.”
When the fight started again, it ended soon after. Jessica gave up hiding long enough to wrap Kang’s feet in shadow, hindering him for Ivan to land a decisive blow. That moment of being visible cost Jessica, as Hayworth got her with a well-placed portal thrust.
That left Ivan against Hayworth. The ensuing fight was swift— Ivan had enough aether to make it to Hayworth twice as Hayworth portaled himself away the first time. Hayworth used his shield to stop the first two attacks, buying himself the time for his own last-gasp attempt to win. He ripped a portal at the last moment as he thrust. The other portal appeared above Ivan, driving the sword into the top of his uncovered head. His sword hit at the same time Ivan’s zweihander clipped Hayworth’s head.
Both referees stopped the fight before conferring on the outcome. They were still debating when the announcer joined them.
“What do you think?” Binder asked.
“Tie,” Jenn said. “They killed each other.”
“Yeah. They might be debating if one hit first, but it doesn’t matter,” Gregory agreed.
“Unless they want a win to be viewed as who killed who first, but that’s a distinction of fractional seconds,” Yukiko agreed.
Everyone was healed by the time the referees came to an agreement. The announcer told the crowd the verdict of a tie, then explained why. The four still on the arena floor bowed to each other before walking off.
“Close,” Gregory said when Hayworth entered the waiting area.
“Better than a loss, but I thought I had that win. I just couldn’t get my arm up enough to block that last blow. He almost broke my arm with the two hits I did block.”
“Worst the empire can do today is tie,” Kang said.
“We’ll win,” Jenn said.
“I was meaning to ask about your armor,” Hayworth said. “Is it from Aether’s Shield?”
“It is,” Yukiko smiled. “It was our gift from the clan for winning the tournament.”
“Expensive. I’ll watch this with interest. It’s said the elf who crafts the armor there is highly skilled.”
“Mistress Nightsong,” Gregory said, “and she is highly skilled. My armor won’t use its special enchantments during this fight.”
“But ours might,” Jenn chuckled.
“Almost certainly,” Yukiko agreed.
