The crowd was loud as they waited for Mikal to announce the fight. Gregory was certain that wagers were being made in the stands. The mostly-Buldoun crowd wanted to see a win, but he knew some would still bet on the empire side. National pride was all well and good, but money mattered most in Buldoun.
“Jason, did you want to know the plan?” Gregory asked.
“No, fringer!” Jason snarled. “Parks and I will win after you fail.”
“Stupid, foolish, and idiotic… ah, must be the Eternal Flame,” Hayworth snorted.
Jason glared at Hayworth. “Just you wait and see.”
The crowd got louder, pulling everyone’s gazes to the arena floor where the announcer was waving. When he got to the middle, he waited, and the crowd noise slowly subsided. When it was down to a mild murmur, he raised a disk to his mouth to speak.
“Ladies, gentlemen, and children, it is with fanfare that we announce the last fight of the martial tournament. But, before we do, we remind you that after tomorrow, there will be an Empire’s Gambit tournament to be held. For those who wish to see the game in play, come to the arena. We’ll have a giant board set up for easy viewing for the crowd that will update as the game advances.”
A mild cheer went through the crowd, but it quickly ebbed.
“Now, let’s get to the main event! The empire has proven the strength of their magi in single combat and in small teams. A few have distinguished themselves above and beyond their allies. Because of that, we introduce the empire’s team, led by Gregory Pettit of Aether’s Guard, the only fighter to have an unblemished record for the entire tournament. He leads his clan, Aether’s Guard, along with the Swift Wind and the Eternal Flame clans. Pettit, bring your allies forth for this grand finale!”
Jason snorted and went to leave before Gregory went, but Egil stopped him. “They called for Pettit to lead you.”
Jason’s jaw clenched, his teeth grinding as he stared at Egil. It was clear that he wanted to say something, or even attack, but he just stood there, seething.
Gregory stepped around Parks and Jason, nodding to Egil as he strapped his mask in place. “I’m ready, Armsmaster.”
“Fight well. For the empire!”
“For the empire!” echoed back everyone but Jason and Parks.
Egil stepped aside from the stairs so the magi could leave.
In a single-file line, they left the waiting area. The crowd went nuts as they cheered, jeered, or whistled for the magi. Gregory wanted to turn to see Elsa, who would be in the boxes above their waiting area, but he didn’t. He’d been called out as the leader, so he marched with his back straight and his head held high toward Mikal. The others formed a line with him as the crowd continued to cheer.
When the crowd’s volume finally dimmed, Mikal raised the disk again. “Eight magi of the empire are here to battle our best mages. In the interests of keeping it fair, the houses have decided to pick one of their nine mages not to compete. Before we call the Buldoun team out, let’s have a round of applause for the mage that was asked to sit out the fight— the water mage of Boar House, Westley Schmidt, come out and wave to the crowd.”
Westley did just that, stepping out of the waiting area to wave to the crowd. He turned in each direction, making sure to give everyone a chance to see him before stepping back inside.
“What a sport! He does Buldoun proud,” Mikal went on when the crowd’s volume dipped again. “And now, let us cheer for the Buldoun mages: the Houses of Eagle, Wolf, and Boar. Led by the prodigy fire mage herself, Claudia Firetongue, her team of mages will try to cap this tournament with a win!”
Claudia led the mages out from the other waiting room. She wore a bright smile as she waved to the crowd. The other mages behind her waved, some smiling, but others grim-faced. The crowd was cheering, whistling, and stomping so much that the arena floor shook slightly with their enthusiasm.
Mikal waited for the crowd to calm some. It took longer than he was willing to wait, so after a couple of minutes, he raised the disk and spoke loudly into it, his voice cutting over the crowd, “Calm yourselves, please!” He followed it with a laugh to ease any sting the words might have had.
When the crowd quieted down again, he spoke to the two sides, making sure they understood that the rules were the same as every other match. When the two sides acknowledged that, he headed for the Buldoun waiting area.
Jason and Parks went to the far left of the arena, which had the most sunlight slanting in from the evening sun. Everyone else from the empire’s side stayed in the middle, clearly showing no fear of a firestorm.
The Buldoun mages scattered, no two of them within arms-distance of each other. Gregory chalked that up to keep Parks from possibly hemming them in at all. It wasn’t like they had a magi who could target more than a single mage at a time.
The tension on the arena floor ratcheted up as they waited for the call to start. Gregory exhaled as he centered himself, calling his resonance to aid him and triggering foresight. Dozens of paths opened up— it was his first time trying to use it with so many people involved, so the future was chaotic. But with resonance, a single path beckoned him. With a smile, he followed that path when the announcer called them to fight.
The moment everything began, chaos erupted. Claudia and her allies didn’t bother trying for a firestorm, figuring that it was pointless since so many from the empire had negated it. But both sides had a similar idea— the instant the fight started, Adriana and Hayworth opened portals. Stallo and Ivan came through the Buldoun portal directly behind Parks and Jason, and Gregory stepped through their portal, followed by Kang and Jenn.
The fights that erupted when the physical enhancement users were directly atop the other side were a mess. Enchanted items flared as shields and other enhancements were called into being. The others on the field weren’t idle— wind blades, earth spears, and more whipped into the other teams. Both Yukiko and Jessica had vanished into the shadows, playing their own game of assassin with the other.
Gregory flowed down the path his resonance directed him toward. His appearance forced Lukas to use a barrier while he tried to burn Gregory, which had no effect on him. The fight lasted seconds. The moment Lukas’ barrier went down, Gregory managed to remove him from the field. The next second, he was as far across the arena as he could be— Adriana had expended more aether to remove the most dangerous threat to her team even for a little while.
That just had Gregory shift to go help Jason and Parks. Parks had been eliminated with a brutal hit from Ivan, breaking his barrier before flinging the force magi to the ground. Stallo finished Jason in the next instant— not through brute force, but from a wind blade hitting Jason in the back of the head.
Willof called Jason out as he rushed forward to check both Eternal Flame magi.
That left Gregory with Ivan and Stallo facing him. Eyes narrowing, Gregory trusted his resonance to guide him. A brief thought that Jenn’s ring was what would let him manage it was there and gone as Gregory ducked under a sweeping maul, then deflected Stallo’s overhand strike.
The crowd was in a frenzy as they watched the fight. There was no shortage of exciting moments, but everything paled compared to watching Gregory fight two physical enhancement mages by himself.
The fluid fight almost ended when Jessica suddenly appeared out of Gregory’s shadow, and he didn’t react to her. That heartbeat of anticipation was snatched away as the same shadows that delivered Jessica clamped down on her, dragging her back down. The crowd was in awe that Yukiko seemed to overpower Jessica’s shadows and used them against her.
Gregory suddenly leapt a half-second before Ivan lunged to tackle him. He just cleared the other man, his feet slamming into Ivan’s back, as he spun and parried another strike from Stallo, guiding the attack into the back of Ivan’s head.
As Gregory leapt away, he had a brief moment of concern for Ivan. Willof was just finishing checking the other two and would come to help Ivan in a moment, as the mage was out cold. Stallo cursed colorfully as he jumped over his fallen ally, intent on getting Gregory.
The rest of the fight saw Kang go down under Claudia’s fire and Jenn smashing her way through earth spikes and over pits to down Brian, the earth mage. Hayworth was taken out by Adriana coming up behind him, before she was eliminated by Binder. Jessica came out of the shadows, grappling with Yukiko. The two of them fought to control the nest of shadows they dragged with them. Pavil, the Buldoun wind mage, spun and got both of them with a single wind blade. The two women quickly pressed hands to their necks before using the combined shadow to leap to Sasha, the other referee, who helped stem the flow of blood.
Binder was caught by Claudia’s fire— he hit the ground rolling, declaring himself out. Jenn plowed Pavil into the ground a little harder than she normally would. She was upset that he’d hurt Yukiko as he had. A cut to the neck could’ve killed her if it had caught her wrong. That moment cost her when Claudia covered her in fire. The flames failed to grab hold for only a second before they engulfed Jenn, as her ring couldn’t keep up with the continued assault.
Gregory perfectly guided Stallo where he wanted, forcing the mage back and tripping him over Parks before slamming the naginata into the man’s helm. Willof called Stallo out when the mage lay there, stunned for a moment.
Jenn was ruled out by Sasha, who went to help her with the burns and Pavil with his ribs. Gregory turned to find himself and Claudia as the only fighters left on the field. Claudia bowed her head, knowing her fire would be useless against him.
The two of them walked toward the middle of the arena, the one place that hadn’t seen any combat at all for the entire fight. The crowd was in a frenzy, and Gregory was sure extra bets were being placed.
The two of them stopped a dozen feet apart. Gregory bowed slightly to her, and she smiled as she returned it. The tension rose as the pair set to continue the fight.
Two minutes passed as they danced; there was nothing else to call it. Claudia and her whip against Gregory with his naginata— the pair both seemed to always be in the right spot to avoid the other’s attacks. It was like Claudia had gained foresight, and the crowd was in awe.
Claudia grimaced as her edge was about over. She played her last trump card: a gust of arctic air blasted from her. Gregory shifted, giving up his left side, unable to get away from the full attack. Ice covered his side, freezing his leg and arm into position. Claudia’s eyes gleamed as she went to rush him, only for Gregory to vanish into shadow.
The next second had Claudia spin, her whip lashing out, but she was a heartbeat too late. Gregory’s thrown naginata caught her right arm. With a yell of pain, she pulled her deeply bruised arm to her chest, holding it there.
Gregory came limping forward. His left leg still had ice on it, and he kept it locked in place, his left arm pulled to his chest like her right. He nodded again and let go of foresight— his aether was near gutted, and the ring was empty.
Claudia hissed as the enchanted item that’d let her keep pace with him ended. Now, they faced each other with suboptimal capabilities. With a nod of her head, she advanced on him, intent on winning.
Willof and Sasha had finished tending to the fallen, so they closed in on the pair to make sure they could call the fight. They glanced at each other, impressed by what they’d seen, and thankful the other one had been quick to help everyone.
Down to hand-to-hand, the fight should have gone Gregory’s way; he was taller and had vastly more experience in unarmed combat. But with his left side all but done, Claudia was able to use her mobility to do to him what he’d done to Jenn in the very first tournament— she kept moving to his bad side and attacking him from there.
Gregory didn’t give up, continuing to try to get to her. The crowd was in a frenzy, cheering for Claudia, who seemed to be on the edge of winning. The other fighters leaned against the walls, recovering as they watched the last of it. Everyone cheered for their fighter except Jason and Parks. They sneered, hoping Claudia would win.
Gregory stumbled, dropping to his knees when Claudia buckled his leg. She capitalized on that, slamming into his back with her arm going for his throat. Gregory ducked his chin so she couldn’t get the angle she wanted. The moment she was on him, he used the shadow leap ring to port them across the arena.
The disorientation they both felt from the trip was harder on Claudia than Gregory. He also knew where he was going— as soon as they’d reappeared, his hand closed on the item he wanted. Claudia jerked him backward, straining to get under his chin. That meant she didn’t catch the dagger to the neck, but to her left arm.
She staggered backward with wide eyes, shocked that he’d gotten her arm. Gregory rolled away from her, getting to his feet with the dagger in his right hand. He gave her a nod of his head before reversing the dagger, ready to attack her.
Claudia flooded the open area around them with fire, knowing it was futile, but she was out of other choices. Gregory walked through the inferno, the flames parting around him. Claudia backpedaled as he closed on her. The dragon mask and his scowl made him look like a demon intent on claiming her soul. When her back hit the arena wall, the flames vanished. Staring at him, her heart pounded as she dropped to her knees. Gregory paused, wondering if she had a last trick, but Claudia raised her hands, crossed her wrists, and bowed her head.
Sasha came rushing forward to make sure Gregory didn’t attack. She was certain he’d never seen that before and that he might not understand the significance of the gesture.
Gregory stood there, stunned. Claudia hadn’t just given up the match— she’d used the imagery of subservience to do so. He bowed to her formally as a native of Buldoun, as his left arm was still supposed to be out. Dropping the dagger, he sat down slowly, then fell onto his back. He breathed deeply, feeling exhausted.
