Seth
Seth panted heavily as he pushed aside the flap to the festival’s medical tent. Sam had been rushed there immediately as soon as she collapsed, the rest of their fight be damned. Clint followed him in uncharacteristic silence. Everyone in the RGT had been restricted to nonlethal weapons, but even that couldn’t negate the risk of two quick people colliding at top speed, especially when one of those nonlethal weapons hits you cleanly in the chest.
When the two champions found Sam, however, she was already conscious and anxiously questioning them about the result of their match.
“It was close, but we pulled it off,” Seth said with a smile. “I’ll tell you about it later. Are you going to be okay for the final?”
Sam nodded and replied, “I had the wind knocked out of me, but I’m fine now. I’m just waiting for the doctor to clear me to get back out there.”
“I’ll see if I can hurry that along,” Clint said awkwardly. Seth nearly jumped at the sound of his voice; this was the first thing he had said since the semi-final ended. He then walked away, leaving Seth to shrug at his apprentice.
“What’s the matter with him?” she asked.
“I think he blames himself for what happened to you. It was his idea for you to try to distract the Gazelle, and it didn’t work.
Sam looked miserable when she responded. “But it was a good idea! Clint can’t help that he was faster than me!”
Seth rolled his eyes. “It’s not going to help anybody for you to blame yourself either! We won, and all that matters besides that is staying focused so we can win one more time.”
Sam looked a little more hopeful, but still uncertain. “Do you think we can after that close call?”
Seth grinned and said, “Oh, we can and we must.”
Sam was thankfully discharged from the tent just in time for their match. This didn’t leave Team Salamander with enough time to check in with their friends, which Seth found particularly annoying. He already knew their final opponents were Team Moon, a trio of sisters he had once met through their uncle, Hector Marzett. This made the spellwarrior think about talking Maya, but he never had a chance to talk to her. For the first time in his four attempts at the tournament, he knew nothing about his upcoming opponents.
Anxiety seemed to set in for all of Team Salamander as they entered the pit once more to emphatic introductions from the announcers and thunderous applause.
“Team Salamander has clearly come to win this year!” Mark Winstrom shouted as they stared at the black hemisphere where their opponents were set to appear. “Ever the crowd-favorites, Midas and Blackstone’s journey to the top has certainly been a strange one this year, but they’ve climbed further than ever before! Today will answer a question that I am sure is in everyone’s minds right now--”
“Is this Team Salamander’s year or will they have to wait another year for the Royal Boon?” Maria Harret chimed in.
“With that, let’s introduce their opponents!” Mark shouted excitedly. “They are fresh faces in the RGT, but they have captivated us all with their stylish tactics! Not one of their matches has gone longer than three minutes yet! It’s Team Moon!”
Three women walked out onto the opposite side of the arena, brandishing identical smouldering smirks. They were not triplets, but their familial resemblance was clearly strong. One held a crossbow and a belt of blunted bolts, another seemed to be unarmed; presumably a caster. In the center of the trio was a woman garbed in the armor of a peacekeeper and brandishing a strangely glinting rapier.
“First up is the silent shooter, Celine. She is joined by the rain witch Chloe and the spell cutter Cierra!” Maria informed everyone. “This team seems like a perfect match against Team Salamander, making this a battle of efficiency versus sheer will!”
“Both teams are intensely focused on the other, and Her Highness has graced us with her presence!” Mark exclaimed passionately. “From the RGT Committee, we welcome you back, Queen Penelope!”
Both teams, and probably everyone else in the tent, turned their attention to the dais where the commentator’s podium was located. The Queen of Resta had taken her customary seat behind the podium. Mark held out his microphone to her with an overly courteous bow. She took it with a regal smile and held it up to their face.
“People of Resta, I apologize for my long, but necessary absence! This year’s tournament coincides with divine omens, both dark and hopeful. As we bear witness to this final match together, hold this question close to your hearts: are we here to witness history, or tragedy?”
She seemed to be looking at Seth and Clint as she spoke. You just watch, your highness! This is our year! It has to be!
“With that said, let the final RGT match begin!” The queen said before returning the microphone to Mark.
Cierra was the first to move. Without missing a beat, she thrust her rapier toward Seth. This took him by surprise, but he was able to parry the strike at the last moment. It wasn’t a flawless counter, thus the other spellwarrior was able to strike again before he could retaliate. This time, he sidestepped her attack with a gasp. Meanwhile, Clint and Sam had already split up to go after their other opponents.
“Focus on the mage!” Clint had shouted. “She’s the most dangerous one here!”
Besides me, Seth thought as he erected another barrier of black fire to give himself some breathing room. Unfortunately, Cierra’s rapier cleaved through his wall as if it were made of paper. His flames extinguished, Seth looked on in shock as she walked casually closer.
“Midas’ Black Flame Wall is shredded!” Mark roared to the audience’s approval. “That’s the power of Cierra Moon’s signature weapon, Nexus’ End!”
“That sword is a relic of the Wave of Death, when Maula walked on Comalan,” Maria explained. “Cierra has personally told me that the metal used to forge it was smelted on the petrified skin of Maula’s own servants.”
“True or not, we’ve seen this sword cut through countless spells in this tournament!” Mark said with an excited grin. “Midas is going to have a hard time gaining the upper hand with his magic!”
I’ve been marked!
“Ouch! That looked painful, but Blackstone remains standing!” Maria suddenly shouted.
Seth chanced a glance in the direction in which Clint had run. He had just pulled himself to his feet after being knocked down by one of Chloe’s spells. He barely managed to dodge another thrust when the crowd erupted in cheers.
“Celine Moon is down! She has been quick on the draw in this tournament so far, but Desmond was quicker! This is now a two on three battle!”
Seth didn’t dare to look this time, but shouted, “Nice one!”
“Celine wasn’t going to be the one to win this for us anyway!” Cierra shouted as thrust yet again. This time, her sword struck his shoulder.
Pain jolted through Seth as he staggered back and Mark shouted, “Team Moon may be down a member, but those who remain are putting plenty of pressure on Team Salamander with a clean hit to Midas!”
“If Nexus’ End hadn’t been blunted, that might have pierced him clean through!” Maria observed. “As it is, he’s going to be feeling that for the rest of the match!”
Seth found it annoying in that moment how smart Maria Harret was. The attack had indeed left a throbbing ache in his shoulder. I can’t beat her! He turned to Clint and shouted, “Trade me!”
“Oh, no you don’t!” Cierra shouted as she attempted to intercept Seth, only to be blocked by Sam’s quick intervention.
“Be careful!” Seth shouted as he charged toward the mage. Clint, meanwhile turned on the spot and took aim at Cierra.
“Once again, Midas and Blackstone are switching things up! This may be the best choice Team Salamander could possibly have made!” Maria announced with a grin.
“How so?” Mark asked.
“Midas is severely crippled in a fight against Nexus’ End, but as a spellwarrior, he is trained to resist Storm Magic! If Desmond and Blackstone can keep Cierra distracted, this match could end in victory for Team Salamander!”
Seth’s charge was suddenly stopped by a sudden gust of wind that Chloe had conjured. Seth cursed as he planted his feet into the ground to wait out the spell. Winds of Terror, he reminded himself. I need to calm down. He remembered that standard storm mages weaponized the emotions they could sense with Salican Empathy and used them to influence the weather. She was quite literally using his own fear against him, which reminded him of Chaos’ lecture. He needed to conquer his fears, but he couldn’t just do so on command. He would need to try to resist the spell itself since he couldn’t stop her from casting it. Fire and disease won’t be effective in this wind!
“Desmond is down!” Mark exclaimed.
“No surprise there,” Maria commented. “A mere apprentice against a fully credentialed spellwarrior is a fight that can only end in one way!”
Seth could hear a flurry of gunshots.
“Without Desmond to watch out for, Blackstone is unloading on Cierra!” Mark pointed out then added, “This is still either team’s match!”
Seth gritted his teeth upon hearing that. Clint was not going to be able to hold off the other spellwarrior for long. The next team to get the upper hand was essentially guaranteed to win, and if he didn’t do something quickly, that team would not be his. What he needed was a spell with actual weight if he was going to overpower Chloe’s gusts.
“Kayan braka!” he roared as he flung his arm out toward his opponent with as much force as he could muster. This caused a meteor-like object to appear in the sky and fall into the storm mage.
Chloe fell to her back, but Seth cringed when he heard, “It’s a double knockout! Chloe Moon and Blackstone are both down!”
“Damn it!” Seth hissed while quickly rounding to where he had last seen Cierra. She stood over Clint, who was sitting on the ground, clutching his right arm with a look of pure agony. Must be broken.
Without any further recourse, he charged toward the other spellwarrior in the hope that he could gain the upper hand this time if he was quicker to attack. He needed to end this fight with pure sword skill, but he wasn’t feeling confident. He had never specialized in magic or martial arts during his years at Hem Academy, so he couldn’t consider himself a master of either. He managed to keep her from attacking him again with his quick attacks, but he was far from mounting an offense. What was worse, his shoulder injury was slowing down his attacks.
“This final RGT match seems to be coming down to a classic sword fight! Everyone, give it up for these incredible warriors! Chaos smiles upon us today!”
Chaos’ voice seemed to thunder in his head at that moment. “Do NOT fear your power!”
Seth ignored the voice and continued fencing with Cierra. I’m doing my best!
Another voice, one which was hauntingly familiar, whispered into his mind. “Are you, though? You could end this voice in a single touch!”
“Shut up!” Seth shouted in frustration, but he quickly paid for his distraction as Cierra disarmed him with a blindingly quick riposte.
“No,” Seth groaned as he watched his sword tumble through the air.
Ordinarily, being disarmed would be no problem for Seth, but he couldn’t rely on his magic either. For all intents and purposes, he was defeated. But he couldn’t afford to be. The same dark sensation he had gone into his coma with returned, making his skin feel clammy. Just a touch.
He scanned the tent as Cierra looked on with a triumphant smirk. This match was too important to lose, but her guard seemed to be down. She’d never see it coming! But somewhere in the audience, he saw two people he never expected to see together sitting near Sara. Maya was talking in silence to a woman who could only be Ruby Midas, his mother. The sudden absurdity of this sight brought him back to reality.
“Pyris amul groz!” Seth said as he flung a star of black fire at his opponent.
Cierra blocked the spell with her sword, but from the look on her face, Seth could tell that she had barely managed to do so. So Seth found a way around his anti-magical problem. He cast the spell again, then again; quicker and quicker without pause. She swung her blade wildly to defend herself, but Seth kept up the pressure. She can’t stop them all!
“In a fit of desperation, Midas has begun unleashing spell after spell!” Mark announced. “But one by one, each attack is falling before the enchanting power of Nexus’ End! He’ll tire himself out eventually!”
“Not necessarily,” Maria said, a little more excitedly. “He seems to be casting Black Flame Star, an obscure spellwarrior technique that’s known for having an extremely low inertial propulsion variable! What this means is that this spell is considered physically light, so he’s trading less energy for more power! This could still go either way!”
You’re damned right! Seth continued to pepper her opponent with fiery projectiles. Soon, they were moving so quickly that they began to resemble a black blur. Cierra continued to parry them all as quickly as she could until…
“Direct hit! And Cierra is on fire! This could be Midas’ chance!”
Seth took advantage of his opponents distraction to reclaim his sword and slam it down onto her shoulder. As Cierra crumbled to the ground, the cheers of the crowd grew deafening and his euphoria grew overwhelming
“Cierra Moon is down! Team Salamander wins the Resta Grand Tournament!”
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