After getting back from their training, the family was having dinner as usual, yet Kensuke was glaring at Gamor, who was intently eating his greens, focused only on his food. Aurora watched them both, not touching hers at all. "AHEM!" She loudly cleared her throat, both of them twitching at the sound. She takes a sip of her wine "How was the spar today? Gamor?" Her words of honey, her eyes smiled with a hidden agenda. His eyes widened a bit as he looked up, glancing at Kensuke first and then Aurora, with a guilty smile. "I-It was fine actually! I think I can finally make dad slip up one of these days!" He earnestly said. "Oh? Is that so sweety? You've always been smart and talented, so I'm not surprised! What do you think darling?" She wiped her mouth with a napkin and shot her gaze upon Kensuke next, who was already drenched in sweat. "Gamor can make Black Holes!" He blurted out in a controlled tone. "DAD!" Gamor slapped the table. "I'm sorry! I-I-I-I can't lie to your mother! The pressure was just too much a-a-a-and MAYBE she can help you!?" Aurora darted her attention to Gamor. "Excuse me, WHAT!?"
"He's delirious! Drunk! Dad's on the hooch again!" Gamor threw his hands up in a shrug and started shoveling his food down, almost choking. With a scrunched up, puzzled face, Aurora and Kensuke looked at each other, saying in unison "Hooch??". Aurora shook her head, as if shaking the confusion off. "Enough. Gamor, explain to me what your father just said?" Gamor had his cheeks packed with food, he chewed it down and swallowed. With a sigh, he held his palm out upwards and created a mini black hole. "I have the ability of cosmic manipulation. I still don't know exactly what that means.. but from the stories I've read, I can do a lot. I'm just not sure how yet. The book told me not to reveal this power and the right moment would come when I'd know when to use it but... I thought I could share with dad." Aurora looked sickened. "Th-The book told you not to reveal it and you did??" Her whispered tone struck fear within Gamor, a chill down his spine, yet no one said anything. "Was I wrong mom?" Gamors voice trembled slightly. Aurora contemplated, sitting there biting her thumb nail. "You'll train with my guards; Rosan and Rosalia. Every single day, as well as sword training with your father. Afterwards, during the evening, you'll come take apothecary lessons from me. I'll also mold and increase your magical capacity. This routine will happen until I say otherwise, and you have no say in the matter. When I deem it necessary, you'll start sparring with me along with these activities. That type of manipulation.. You will spend tonight reading all of the books which mention any use of it and study it."
"I've done that already, for months now." The young child retorted.
"And you will re-read them again until you know them inside and out!" Aurora rose to her feet, slamming her hand on the table, creating small icicles on its surface. Calming down, she sat, recomposed herself and continued. "If your potential is as grand as we imagine, you need to learn the cardinal elements. Your potential is capped otherwise. Now, take yourself into the library and read these three books." She grabbed some paper and started writing names; 'The Kings Eclipse', 'A Galaxy Destroyers Promise', and 'When Suns Die'. She handed the paper to Gamor. "If you've read them, read them again before the morning, Now go Gamor." He got up from his seat, saying nothing and bowed, going to complete the assignment his mother gave to him.
For the next couple of months, Gamor went through his rigorous training.
Gamor flew backwards, rolling on the floor until he made himself a wall to stop himself. "Huff... Puff... Huff..." he panted, attempting to catch his breath. Rosan, walked towards him, eyes of daggers, menacing aura surrounding him. "Gamor, this will be increasingly difficult if you can't impress me with your hand to hand combat. Two weeks now and I've seen little improvement. The longer this takes, the more intense it gets." Gamor got up, wiping the blood from his mouth. He tapped his heel on the ground and two halves of a box appeared around Rosan, then closed, encasing him. Rosan easily used lightning to obliterate his stone coffin but as he broke through, Gamor was already in his face with an earth fist charging towards him. "Hmph.. better attempt." He sent a lightning kick upwards, crumbling his rock fist and deflecting his punch, "Lightning Axe" and with a swift motion, he threw his heel down with a lightning bolt joining, which Gamor just barely dodged, extending a stalagmite to push his almost limp body out of the way. As he tried to catch his footing, Rosan came with a quick lightning punch towards his midsection, Gamor only had enough time to create a small stone plate to try and protect from the punch, but Rosans fist easily penetrated through it and right before contact? The electricity vanished, punching Gamor in the stomach, lifting his feet off the ground and making him fly. As he flew, he suddenly hit a wall, struggling to turn his head he seen it was nothing. "See, what you should never do is let your enemy touch your cardinal ability. With that, I was able to merge my lightning with your earth and instead of striking you with a lightning punch, which would've definitely incapacitated you, I hit you with a gravity punch. To inflict pain. What's stopping you now, is intense gravity being pushed towards me." As he finished his explanation, he let Gamor drop to the ground. "Lightning and Earth will create this. If you can't use lightning by our next training session tomorrow? I promise, you won't enjoy it. Good job staying awake today." Rosan disappeared in an instant.
"What an asshole..." Gamor thought to himself, picking himself up, stumbling, creating a rock formation to lean on. "Even worse, I have to make it to Rosalia in a few minutes or else I'm in even more trouble.. who could've thought tag wouldn't be fun?"
Half conscious, he stumbled into the forest towards his next destination. Rosalia was throwing thin needles into trees with blinding speed and deadly precision. "X. Square. Hexagon." She would say, making drawings with her needles. "Gamor." She threw one between his eyes but he instinctually grabbed it right before contact. "Huh... Thanks Rosan." He thought to himself before returning the needle back to her with almost as much speed. Rosalia chuckled "Training went well with my brother did it?" She joked. "Wonderfully.." He responded zombielike. "Well, you're awake and I didn't have to get you this time. Not only is that proof you can endure more, it's proof of growth. You'll be fine, but his lessons are over and mine are starting. You know the drill and I hope you're ready. I'll start easy for you." Gamor shook his head "Start regularly please." His eyes gleaming with passion. She smirked "You know the drill then. Once this hits the floor."
She flipped a coin into the air with her thumb and propelled it with wind. After a few moments, the coin dropped right between them, it looked as if it was in slow motion and as soon as it touched the ground, they took off. While playing tag, Rosalia always kept just enough space between the two, that Gamor would reach out and barely miss her. They darted around the condensed forest, jumping over stumps, sliding under obstacles, swinging and bouncing off of trees for more speed. She turned around, backstepping with the same immense speed, retaining the distance. "I admit, you've been getting a lot better with utilizing your wind attribute for speed. You're keeping up with my 'Notos Step' a lot better than the weeks before but still-" As she finished, she turned around and went through a tree as if it were water, Gamor on the other hand, slapped right into it at full speed.
"THUD!" the leaves rustled, and he bounced off and hit the ground. Rosalia peaked from behind the large tree. "Still, you need to be able to combine that water element and earth element so you can manipulate the nature around you. You're so focused on me, you lose focus on your surroundings and if this was a trap, you'd be dead. Now ge-" Gamor was on the floor, passed out and snoring. "Resting are we?" Rosalia created a large cloud and dumped water on the sleeping Gamor. "GAH! Glub! GAAAASP! COUGH COUGH!" He jumped up drenched in water, gasping for breath. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME!?" Rosalia leaned against the tree. "If you weren't worried about taking a nap, you wouldn't be worried about drowning. Get up and let us continue." They resumed their game of tag, Gamor never touching Rosalia but with every fail, every tree hit, root grab to his foot, trap fell into, he became faster and Rosalia picked up on it. Their next game was hide and seek. Rosalia was masterful at stealth and Gamor impressed her with his skills of stealth and speed, especially in jungled areas. He was never able to sneak up on her when he did find her, but he did always have her guard up during his search.
His next event was potion mixing with his mom and as much as he loved making potions with her, she was an extremely critical teacher. How finely to ground each herb and ingredient, the order of insertion, temperature, very meticulous steps and he wasn't allowed to miss anything. His punishment for a bad mixture? Was to drink it. The effects varied and Gamor learned quickly not to mess up. Sparring with Aurora was the worst, she was tactical, cunning, ruthless. Not only was she always impairing movement, she controlled the elements within their very environment and that meant he was never able to relax fully, constantly having to watch everything. Her favorite thing to tell him was "Fight me as if the earth itself was an enemy." It wasn't an exaggeration either. She taught him how to combine advanced elements together, but it was too much for him to control. Her manipulation of magic was masterful and if he wasn't trying to survive her constant onslaught, he'd be more impressed.
Some time passed as Gamor became quite adept in all fields of study, he was able to control his elements longer, create larger abilities, utilize multiple elements in quick succession for longer periods and not become fatigued. One night he decided to read 'A Galaxy Destroyers Promise'. It was one of his favorites, as well as the best information for his own ability. The Antagonist surprisingly wins but he was able to create portals, yet never explains exactly how. Gamor liked the book because the plot twist wasn't like normal stories and the action was superb. As he walked into the library, clutching his mothers magical book and his favorite story, he decided to have a chat with the magical being as usual.
He entered his space realm.
"It's been a while since I've been in here.. Am I allowed to test some abilities out?" He asked as he opened and closed his hand, gauging his capabilities. "Gamor, you've messed up by coming here, and this is your worst mistake." The being said in its multi-toned voice. Gamors head snapped up, eyes wide "What do you mean THIS is my worst mistake!?" Sweat trickled down his cheek, his eyebrows furrowing. The being continued "When you leave this place, you're always fatigued to the point of unconsciousness and that won't change, ever. With that being said, I'm expelling you from this realm, you have something more critical to witness." Before Gamor could utter another syllable, a black hole sucked up him and his world, hurling him back out into reality. "Witness?" Gamor said faintly, as he felt drained, lightheaded as usual. A second later, he heard something that sounded like fireworks going off. Confused, he stumbled to his feet and tried making his way to a window, but he heard running and frantic footsteps outside of the library, so he went to investigate that instead. 'SHEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW... BOOM!' The walls started crumbling, the ceiling falling with bits and pieces of debris. "What the-!?" He said out loud, as Kensuke and Aurora came busting into the library. "Gamor! Come quickly!" Kensuke said as Aurora noticed her book in his hands. "Kensuke! He won't be awake much longer! Grab the boy and get as far away as possible, you must hurry!" She commanded her husband. "No! I will not leave you my Queen! I'll have Kota or Lorena take him, I'm staying here to protect you!"
"Queen! King!" Up came a running Rosalia, holding a short sword. "Lord Kensuke, please take this sword I had forged for Gamor and leave. I will protect our Queen with every ounce of life I have!"
Kensuke was adamant in his resolve to stay but Aurora argued back, imploring him to leave with their son. "I trust no one else with him Kensuke.. if he dies? I.. I'd have no reason to live.. He has something important to do in this world and I can only trust you to protect him my wall.. please! That ball of white fire... it can only be one person and I need you both to leave!" Her eyes twinkled with love, care... fear. They shared a passionate kiss. Kensuke nodded. Gamor could see the pain he carried, leaving his beloved but he said nothing, grabbing Gamor and carrying him outside of the castle.
When they exited the doors, the night sky, which used to show Gamors favorite stars and moons, was now filled with a white hail of fire, yet the city wasn't in flames, even as the fireballs struck down. It confused Gamor as to how that could be, but his questions could wait, he had enough on his plate struggling to stay awake. They ran towards the stables, Kensuke dodging the hail of fire, kicking large plates of earth from beneath his feet into the sky to block danger, ducking into alleyways but it was as if the deadly fireballs were following them specifically.
"GENERAL!" A female voice called out; it was Lorena. She ran to his side as they continued. "Sir! We finished evacuating the Southernmost side of the town, Kota and his team went to the Western area, but I haven't heard back from his Verdin bird. We sent a team to investigate the area of where we believe the assault is coming from." Kensuke nodded. "My top priority given from the Queen is to get our child to safety. Once that's done, I will come back and fight off our assailants. I need you to rendezvous with Kota and go assess the situation with those fireballs. You two are the only ones I can count on to stop or at the very least stall the intruders. Whatever team you sent, I promise it's not enough." As he finished, they arrived at the stables and Kensukes horse, Yato. He sat Gamor on top of the horse and turned back to Lorena. "You musn't die on me Lieutenant.. and if defeat seems imminent, you run and you take the Queen and you protect her with your soul. I'll.." He stared at Gamor "WE'LL come find you." His gaze rested upon Lorena again. "Did I make myself clear Lieutenant?" Her eyes gleaming and with a salute, Kensuke quickly created a stone spear and as if they shared the same mind and body, she took it, turned and threw it at an incoming fireball. The stone spear glowed with electricity as she held it, quickly letting it dart through the sky, piercing the ball of white flame, obliterating it into small, harmless embers. And with her back turned she responded with, "Sir yes Sir General Kensuke." dashing away, saying nothing more, as Kensuke hopped onto Yato with Gamor in front of him. "SHIA!" he yelled and Yato sped off, as if one with the wind. Gamor had one eye closed at this point and the other half opened, fighting the sleep his mystical book put on him, clutching it as hard as he could. "I-I.. Won't be able to stay awake much longer.. I have to keep this book safe at least." Gamor thought to himself, as he tucked it safely inside his shirt and pants. "This horse is unusually fa-" He could no longer fight the sleep and started succumbing to the darkness, but before he did? He seen a figure dashing quickly towards Kota, Kensuke and an extended hand coming at his face.
"NEIIIIIIGHHHHHH!!!!" Yato let off, rearing itself.
"Oh, brother-in-law, it has truly been a while, no-no-no?" a strange voice echoed as Gamor drifted off into his deep slumber.
SPLASH! WOOOSH! CreeeAAAK!
The sounds of waves crashing against something old, wooden, as well as the motion of what felt like a boat, woke Gamor up. He groggily opened his eyes and looked around, adjusting to the darkness. He went to rub his eye with his right hand, yet his left followed suit, along with the rattling of chains. "Huh? What the heck? Am I chained?" Gamor said aloud, rubbing his eyes and blinking. He noticed both of the walls were filled with an array of people in chains. Tattered clothes, nice clothes, no clothes, some weeping, some with dejected, blank faces, some with menacing smiles and then him; confused.
"What gave it away, was it the chains? Obviously, we've been captured." A girls voice said harshly. Gamor looked to his left, next to him sat a girl. Long, jet black hair, with a hint of purple streaks. They looked about the same age, but he couldn't make out her face, since it was covered by her hair. She had her legs scrunched up towards her body, and her face resting on her hands, which laid on her knees.
"Yeah.. I guess that was a dumb question huh? I just.. don't know how I got here? What happened to my father? My mother? My village?"
The girl scoffed "For someone who doesn't know about how they became a slave, you're awfully calm about it weirdo. If you're here, everything you just talked about was probably killed and destroyed." Gamor stared at the girl and slightly smiled "Nah.. My father wouldn't go down to anyone however-" He looked up at the wooden ceiling "I wonder how he lost me?" The girl peaked at the spaced out Gamor through her hair and flipped it back, revealing her face. They locked eyes for a moment, as he stared at her dark purple pupils, with a mesmerizing blue hue to them. "Wow... her eyes are beautiful." Gamor thought to himself. "You're nieve." Her words colder than his mothers powers, cut through his trance. He responded with a big, warm, smile. "Hahaha, yea I know but I tend to try and keep positive. Anyway, do you know where we're heading?"
"Messius Isle but it's called 'The land where souls depart'. You fight for freedom or you work until you die.. That's your new home." Her eyes saddend, returning to her previous position. "I'm Gamor Sentient by the way and you are?" He asked with a friendly face. She peaked at him again, from the corner of her eyes. "Jewel Levin." She mumbled.
"It's nice to meet you! I would shake your hand but kind of hard to do so." He said, rattling the chains.
After about two weeks of sailing, surviving off of eating stale bread, somewhat moldy fruit given by the crew and fish passed down the line of chained people, they finally come to a halt. "Everyone get your asses up and move out!" A large voice bellowed from up above, as one side of the ship opened up, slapped onto the sand. The sky was dark, night-time. The only sources of light was from the lantern being held by the shipmaster and from the moon and stars looming above, silently watching them. The shipmaster held a manifest in his hands "Walk out in an orderly fashion, state your name and go to the respective area I send you. If you fuck this up, you die. Excessive questioning? You die. Unnessecary movements? You guessed it; you will die. Is everyone clear on this? Good. Contestant number one, come on dooooooown!" The man joked but no one other than his crewmates gave a reaction. Gamor and Jewel were about halfway down the line of the first group of people being sorted, so their wait wasn't long. Gamor seen people going left or right and was only ever able to make out him screaming "Next!" amidst the crashing waves. Jewel was first to the shipmaster out of the two, as one of the crewmates unlocked her shackles and cuffs. "Ahhh... the Levin girl." He checked his list- "You came here with.... one lance and a torn book with no writing in it? A diary perhaps? Anyway, you have the special priviledge of not having the choice of not going to the arena." The crewmate directed her to the left path. "Left path is the arena, right side is slavery I guess." Gamor thought to himself, as he heard the booming "Next!" He stepped up, smile on his face and raised arms as the crewmate unshackled him. "Pretty chipper for someone who spent weeks in a cramped hull. What's your name boy?" Gamor rubbed his wrists "Oh, I thought I would've been on the list. I'm Gamor Sentient." The shipmaster darted his gaze from the manifest to Gamor. "Repeat that name for me one more time?" He said, words heavier than a mountain. Gamor hesitated for a second "Sentient. My last name is Sentient, first name Gamor." The shipmaster skimmed through his manifest, tapping the back of the clipboard it rest on. "You're the no named boy, with the sword and empty book as well. The one who was delivered to us. Hehehehe-" the slender man chuckled "You're going directly to the arena, no questions about it, your highness." He gave a mocking bow, which Gamor bowed back in response.
The man took no delight in Gamors nonchalant attitude. "Roya!" The shipmaster beckoned one of the crewmates. The man named Roya quickly sprinted over "Yes sir!" He saluted and rested. "Take this one to 'The Gods' quarters. I'm sure he'll have plenty of questions. Give him this paper as well and inform him that he can find me here or in The Pits if he needs more details." The crewmate said nothing, grabbing Gamor by the wrist and swiftly took him up the right path. "Hey hey! At least relax on your grip! I thought I was going to the arena, why am I going thi-" and before he could utter another syllable, the shipmaster had appeared in his face, accompanied with a strong fist in his stomach. "GAH!" Gamor spat out saliva, crumbling down to one knee. The shipmaster grabbed his hair, pulling him up to eye level "I KNOW you heard me when I said excessive questioning, meant death.. Don't try your luck just because you're actually valuable. If The God says you're dead, you won't see the sun again and if I deem it necessary, again, you WON'T see the sun. Shut up and go where you're told or being taken." He unhanded Gamor, as he fell on all fours. "Bring him where he needs to be Roya." Roya saluted and grabbed Gamors wrist, forcing him to catch his bearings, breath, and footing, to keep up and avoid being dragged.
They entered a cave and emerged through the other side, which looked almost like a hollowed-out volcano. From the outside, you wouldn't have guessed anything like this was hidden inside. The sound of pickaxes hitting rocks filled the air, vibrations of those actions filled the cavern, creating the feeling of your own body shaking, as if you were the rocks themselves. The faint sounds of whips and screams of agony underlined. They were on the top floor of a swirling path, leading into the bottomless pit of workers, stretching even lower than the underworld itself. Instead of going down the mesmerizing abyss, they stayed on the upper level, entering a thin, slightly lit tunnel, which opened up into a lush sanctuary within the cavern. Gamor looked around, nervous, curious, intrigued, as Roya let go of him and bowed, head to the floor. "The God... I have bought you an interesting subject deemed by the shipmaster. I was instructed to leave this paper from the manifest with you." Nothing was said but the air in the lavish room felt dense, Gamor knew it only as 'danger' and was frozen in his spot, seeing no one, hearing no one, yet feeling a presence that demanded everything. Roya left the paper on the desk in front of them and quickly left, saying nothing, leaving Gamor with this intimidating presence. In a second, Gamor was met by a dragon masked figure in a white and golden robe, encrusted in gems. He found it hard to breathe at this point, his physical body demanded even the air from his body. The person known only as 'The God' walked, which looked like gliding, over to the paper and looked it over. The jeweled dragon figure paced back and forth before walking up to Gamor and roughly grabbing his face. He dared not shake off, he felt that even if he made the slightest twitch, not out of fear but to escape, would only end in the snapping of his neck. He felt fragile in The Gods hand. "Ohhhh... you're beaming with potential, aren't you boy?"
"A... womans voice?" He tensed up more. "Boy, relax. Nothing will happen. Sit down and talk to me. Do you know why you're here?" The lady inquired, pulling out a seat for young Gamor. "I don't.. I was bought aboard when I was unconscious."
"And your family?"
"They're alive."
"But not here with you why? Not sheltering you? You're making assumptions based on feelings boy." She removed her mask, showing a partially burnt face but beautiful. Gamor stared at her but then the air got dense.
"Boy, quit your staring. My looks, good or bad, should be the lease of your worries. What about your family of royals?"
"W-w...We were attacked.. I f-fled with my father but collapsed during our escape. N-next thing I knew, I was on the boat here." He struggled to say.
"Well boy, I'll be honest with you-" She rose from her seat and went to the window, which overlooked the sea. "I was planning on using you for ransom. I know how you got here, I know who bought you to my boat and I know about your family. Extensively. Instead of holding you hostage for ransom, I'll have you fight for me. You'll fight for me, draw in a crowd and generate revenue for me that way. Will I let you leave? No, but only until one of your parents come. Once they arrive? I will fight them both to the death. You will watch and then you'll leave, win or lose."
"I..I can't accept that! I will fight in this tournament, but my only condition is that WHEN I win, you let me and one other person out of this place. I'll return home and send you my father to fight or the ransom money you wanted; no strings attached. I just want one person out of here with me."
The God laughed "Amusing! You're so afraid, yet giving demands like this? Oh, you're a good one. You have a deal boy but don't think it'll be easy. Now begone from my chambers, I have important things to attend to. Rest up, you have a long day for sure." She retrieved her mask with her back towards the exit and before Gamor knew it, a different person was grabbing him away, back to where he first arrived, where the captured individuals were still being assigned their areas, up the left path and down to an area of fighters. It was very well lit but nowhere near luxurious. There were 4 large cells in the back, a mess hall with people drinking, eating and fighting. "You'll be residing here until told otherwise." The crewmate said, leaving Gamor. He scanned the room; people on the ground, drunk or dead, a fight arena in the middle of a crowd of people, food on a table being ravished by what Gamor assumed was the strongest fighters and then in a corner, inside one of the cells was Jewel. He decided to grab two pieces of meat but was questioned by one of the nearby fighters. "Hey boy-" Gamor quickly cut in "My name isn't 'Boy' it's Gamor, please remember that and you are?"
"Call me 'Stone' smartass, but more importantly, what makes you think you can just waltz in here and take some of my food?"
"Well Mr. Stone Smartass, I noticed this food was just out on the table and I've also seen people grabbing food and drinks from here, lastly, I don't believe I've seen your name on anything here, so that must mean it's for the masses, right? I'll just take my two pieces of meat and leave you the rest." Gamor continued on his way, but Stone jumped up. "You some kind of comedian now!? If you won't drop my food, I'll just have to ta-" Mid-sentence, Gamor rushed over to him and put a swift knee, accelerated by air, into his gut, knocking the wind out of him and jumping slightly back. Stone didn't go down but let out a large, deep growl and came charging at Gamor, who shot him a menacing look, which didn't faze him, but the battle was stopped before it even started by another, who quickly got in the middle within the blink of an eye. "Stone, he's a child. He's here for a reason but let the newcomer eat for the night why don't you? We can assess him tomorrow, I'm sure The God will have all of the newbies here fight. If he puts on a good show, we know tonight was well deserved and judging by that hit and his glare-" The mysterious man looked at Gamor with a smile "I'm sure he'll live up to our expectations. Please, enjoy the food."
Gamor nodded to him and continued. "Hey! I bought something to eat for us if you haven't eaten anything yet. Real nice people we have here don't you think?" He extended a piece of meat to Jewel, with a big smile on. She looked up at him and turned away "I'm not hungry." Gamor sat by her "I'm sure that's a lie, we've been eating stale bread and bad fruit for weeks, this has to be a warm welcome for your tastebuds." He removed his shirt and set it on the ground next to her. "I'm sorry I don't have a plate to set it on but my shirt isn't too dirty. I'll leave it here for you. That Stone guy give you any problems when you got here?" She scoffed "Yea and I literally had to stop myself from decapitating him. I took my seat here instead to calm down." Gamor snickered "Then you're definitely hungry! I was taught that getting upset is the fastest way to get famished and since we're going to have a rough day tomorrow, it'll be good to get some kind of energy tonight." She cut her eyes to the grinning Gamor, then to the meat, back to Gamor. "I'll wait for you to pick it up before I eat if that'll make you feel better?" He asked her. "Shut up..." She lightly said before picking it up and devouring it. Gamor sat there wide-eyed "Hungrier than you let on." He whispered to himself before joining her on the feast.
They talked for a few hours, joking and laughing. They talked about their respective families, and he learned that her parents were held captive here and she decided to fight for their freedom. Admirable, yet sad. At the end of their conversation, Jewel took her leave to head for bed, Gamor stayed awake just a while longer, watching the crowd of rowdy individuals slowly die down, until nothing was heard but the waves. He looked into the night sky "I wonder if you guys are ok?" He lightly said to the moon before calling it a night himself.
The next morning, Gamor was one of the first to wake, along with Stone and the mysterious man. With a big stretch, Gamor decided to head towards the mystery man. "Good morning!-" he said while stretching. "-I wanted to thank you for last night, the meat sure was a great change of pace from what we came here eating." The man chuckled "Don't mention it newbie and don't take it negatively that I'm calling you a newbie, I just don't care to learn peoples names from the first night. I can tell you have a bunch of training and potential but maybe after your first bout, we can chat some more. My name is Moss, and if you survive, I'll have a present for you. You and your girlfriend."
Gamor got flustered, stammering "N-n-n-no! It's not like that! She's just a friend of mine, I promise!" He pleaded as Moss laughed. "I don't care either way, you have a good one on your hands. Protect her outside of the ring but lets hope her skills are as good as we both believe." He said, walking off with a slight wave. Everyone slowly started waking up, some still sleeping in, expecting not to fight today. Stone shot Gamor an ugly look, which was met by his serious stare.
"Stop antagonizing him dummy." He heard Jewel say, walking up to him, rubbing her eyes. "There's no reason to start so early, if you really want to spar, take me on." Gamors eyes shot to Jewel, taken off-guard by her comment. "Wait, what?" She started stretching, getting herself loose. "I didn't stutter, spar with me! I don't care about you but I need to get ready for my match, whenever it starts. It should be soon actually."
"This something you heard before I arrived?"
Jewel nodded, jumping up and down "We aren't the only new people in here. Once the sun starts peeking over the mountain, our day starts. So, lets warm up."
Gamor thought to himself for a bit, then shrugged. "Might as well. Lets not go too hard on each other, ok?"
As he finished, they both got into their respective fighting stances.
"Interesting guard she has. A few openings but I can tell she knows that. I'll leave myself open for an attack and see how she reacts." He thought to himself, lowering his guard just slightly. As he did, she quickly stepped in, boosting herself with wind and threw a sharp punch at the weak spot he created. To Gamor, the quick rush from Jewel was fast but slower than what he was used to training with. In an instant, he blocked her fist with the palm of his hand, redirecting it to his right and getting ready to catch her with an uppercut to the midsection. She seen that, using one of her legs to jump into the air, dodging the blow from Gamor and using the momentum to twist and strike down with a violent heel. Gamor was forced to jump back, smirking. Jewels eyebrow furrowed "What's with that creepy smile?" Gamor chuckled "Oh, you're just good. I wasn't expecting someone my age to give me much of a challenge, so it makes me happy." She returned the smile, scoffing "Just because you underestimated me? I'll make sure to win before our match is here. First to 3 clean hits or a submission. No more powers alright?"
They nodded in agreement and rushed towards each other. With a flurry of strikes, all that was heard was the slapping of punches being blocked. Slight side-steps, back steps and small leaps to avoid sweeps. They ended with a clash of their fists, still smiling, enjoying their sparring match as a loud speaker blarred- "GOOD MORNING WARRIORS AND FODDER." It was The God, as Gamor knew, but her voice sounded distorted and nothing like what he heard in her quarters. The God continued. "WE'VE ALL SEEN WHAT WAS BOUGHT TO US DURING THE MOONS HIGH. ALL OF OUR NEW GUESTS, RISE AND SHINE, TODAY IS THE DAY YOU PROVE YOURSELF OR BECOME A MEMORY. THE FIRST TOURNAMENT FOR THE DAY WILL BE THE NON-TRADITIONAL TWO-V-TWO. GAMOR & JEWEL VS TOKTA & MURA. YOU FOUR HAVE 5 MINUTES TO GET PREPARED AND IN YOUR RESPECTIVE SPOTS. IF YOU'RE LATE? LETS JUST SAY YOU'LL BE FORFEITING MORE THAN JUST THE MATCH. THE GOD HAS SPOKEN."
As the announcement finished, a team of well-armed guards immediately appeared to escort the contestants. "Gamor, Jewel, follow us." One group of guards said as the other said "Tokta, Mura, follow us." As they walked, Gamor asked Jewel a question. "Hey, I hope this isn't too personal, but I heard the shipmaster talk about you arriving with a spear and a tattered book? Was it your journal?" She shook her head "No, it's a book that was handed down the generations of my family. It's said that someone who's chosen to do great things can read what's inside."
"And have you?"
She gave him an inquisitive look "I'm able to just barely make out a voice, why is this interesting to you?" They arrived at a locked gate, awaiting it to open to the cheers of the crowd. "I might have a similar book and if it is, you can use mine."
Jewels eyes widened "So that means you're also-" and before she could finish, the gates opened, hearing "CHALLENGERS ENTER!" The guards nudged the two into the arena, the cheering so loud it felt as if the stadium itself was shaking, the sand under their feet vibrating, feeling as if it was alive with the same energy from the crowd. Across from the two youngest, were their opponents and in the middle was the jeweled encrusted dragon; The God. "Lets make a lot of noise for our challengers!" The God said, raising her hands into the air, as the crowd erupted into cheers and stomps. She put one hand down, symbolizing silence, as the crowd quickly came to a halt, completely silent. "We have a staggering amount of newcomers this rotation, 40 to be exact. Hence the two v two. Today, will highlight that and depending on how fast this goes, we'll have the next brackets ready before nightfall. For our contestants, I'll state the rules that we all know and live by. First! You will be provided any weapon we confiscated from you, arrived with no weapon? You get no weapon. Disarm if you can. Second! Feel free to use powers as you see fit but try escaping? You and your partner will forfeit the match. Third! The ONLY way to win is by death! We don't count knockouts. They fall unconscious? You take it upon yourself to kill them. Breaking or the disregard of any of these rules, will result in a forfeit and immediate discipline. I hope all contestants are clear about these rules. Any objections? Trick question; I don't care. When I leave this arena, the battle will start. Throw down their weapons!"
As she finished her speech, a spear was thrown down in front of Jewel, sticking out of the ground, which she swiftly kicked into the air, grabbed and twirled around in her hands, getting into her battle stance. "Way more talented with a spear than without one." Gamor watched in amazement, as his sword came twirling from up above, which he caught in mid-air. He stared at the blade "Rosalia... Please, be safe. Keep my mother safe.." Tokta's weapon was a flail and Mura had nothing. As soon as everyone got accustomed to their weapons, The God vanished from the middle of the arena and the crowd once again, bursted into a frenzy. Mura wasted no time, as the white haired lady, with her hair in a bun, a long black shirt and long black pants, with no shoes, came rushing towards Gamor. Her first strike forced him to block with his blade, just narrowly getting there. He got pushed backwards by her brute strength but as he tried recovering, she was already in his face. As his foot attempted to touch the ground, so he could dodge better, she would aim for his footing, keeping him stumbling and trying to readjust. During one of her assaults, he used wind to toss him to the side of one of her attacks in attempts to dodge but her foot followed suit with fire, for a blazing, high-speed kick. Gamor got caught right in the ribs, which sent him flying across the arena.
During the same time Gamor was being charged by the pugilist, Jewel rushed at the flail user. He tossed his flail directly at her face but she twirled her spear, deflected it, tossing it in the air and went for a pierce through his chest. The flail looked as if it extended but as she thrusted, his flail turned and came crashing back "BOOM!!" into the ground, forcing her to jump away. As it hit the ground, it not only created a shockwave but it changed the turrain around them as well, forming chest high stalagmites. He pulled his flail back and spun it around. Jewel sucked her teeth "Tsk.. So annoying.. How does he control that damn flail?" she thought to himself before spinning her spear, which gathered purple, electrical current and struck the ground, piercing the sand and lifting it up, which created 6 pillars of lightning that erupted from below towards Tokta. He masterfully dodged each one, jumping into the air towards Jewels left and hurling his flail at her again, which she easily dodged but she wasn't his target, the flail hurled directly towards the flying Gamor. He noticed and went for a perfect parry but as he did, Mura came in with a blazing fist, ready to connect. A split secound before her fist was about to obliterate the side of Gamors face, a lightning bolt darted at her hand, forcing Mura to halt her assault to dodge and with a flying lightning kick, Jewel kicked her in the direction of her bolt, which turned out to be her spear, that wedged into the wall.
As Jewel kept Mura on her toes, throwing lightning kicks, knees, elbows and fists at her, Gamor had parried Toktas attack, sending the spiked ball flying into the air. His foot touched the ground and he immediately used wind to close the distance between the two. He accelerated his attacks, quickly slashing his opponent and removing one of his arms. Simultaneously, Jewels attacks were keeping Mura on the defensive and she landed a devastating lightning kick to her midsection, sending her flying back and leaving a nasty mark. Mura spat out blood as she recovered, still on one knee and thought to herself "If I didn't use earth to reinforce myself at that moment.. I would've died..."
"Hey woman, how did you not die from my kick? It was solid and my lightning has an insane amount of current within it, so how?" The crowd cheered as they talked "YEAAAAAHHHH!!!! CUT MORE OF HIS LIMBS OFF!"
"ALRIIIIIGHT!! PIERCE A HOLE IN HER NEWBIE!"
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING MURA!? I HAVE MONEY ON YOU!"
Mura paid them no mind, getting to her feet "You are a good fighter child. I'm more durable than meets the eye." Jewel lowered her guard. "Your accent, where's it from?" Mura shot her an intrigued look "I hail from Durad'dhai. Mountains of sand, wells of blood and lessons only from life herself. Yourself young warrior?" Jewel humbled herself enough to give a slight bow "I come from Korsovo. My mother has the same accent but never told me where she came from. Your reward is a quick death-"
"As is customary to your culture"
"As is customary to my culture." They both said simultaneously, as Mura continued "You are well informed, and I thank you for a chance at a great death. Yet, I haven't shown what I can do just yet."
The fighters stood in a plus sign formation, Gamor to Jewels left, Tokta to her right and Mura ahead. "Mr. Tokta-" Gamor started, as the silent guy raised an eyebrow at him "I noticed that when I cut your arm off, you didn't bleed any, want to explain?" Tokta looked at the missing space on his right arm. "You sliced me right above the elbow." A deep, almost earth quaking voice boomed before continuing. "That arm was a fake, given to me by my clans master craftsman." He lifted his arm, revealing an empty hole within "As you can see, the whole arm, up to the shoulder, was a fake. However, what you didn't know was that I had a limiter in the bottom half, controlling my power and making sure I didn't go out of control. So for that, I thank you." As he finished, he connected his flail where his old arm was. It didn't budge a bit as he moved it around, testing comfortability. "Boy. You swordsmanship is beyond your years, even beyond most adult fighters. You're most definitely a prodigy, you both are but that also makes me sad. You two must not have lived a childs life to be this sharpened in combat. I also feel bad that Mura and myself are the two assigned in terminating the lives of such promising warriors. No.. You in particular, you're an assassin. A warrior indeed but assassin is the most fitting word. I've studied you both during this bout and you, I can't read you sometimes and the look in your eyes suggests you've lived a life no one here could fathom."
Gamor stood there staring, amazed at his accurate synopsis. "Seems I was correct. Assassin, work on your facial expressions during battle. I also have a feeling that you haven't even shown us any of the aces up your sleeve. With your battle prowess? I don't believe wind is the only element you control. Same with your girlfriend." Gamor and Jewel looked at each other, wondering what each other had.
"HEYYY!!! GET THIS FIGHT MOVING!"
"WHAT IS THIS, A SEMINAR!? LETS SEE SOME BLOODSHED!"
The crowd grew impatient, yelling insults. Tokta and Mura looked at each other and nodded "We'll be using full force to finish you both." Mura said, widening her stance, with her elbows on her hips, and clenched fists. Tokta let his flail fall to the ground "Fair warning assassin, this flail has infinite range." The ground started shaking but not from Tokta. A mass amount of sand was swirling around Mura, as magma slowly seeped from the ground at her bare feet, infusing with the sand, as it formed a dense dragon-like armor. In the center, a pulsating core, burning inside of a rocky, molten exo-skeleton of scales. "Asahalagon." she said as her dragon head helmet formed around her face. The dripping magma solidified, making her body glow a darkened red mixed with the hardened sand. Jewel backed towards the wall behind her, where her spear was, never taking her eyes off of the powered up Mura and retrieving her weapon. As Jewel grabbed it, Mura rushed in at blinding speed, catching Jewel with an uppercut which she barely had time to block. It looked as if she was hit by a cannon "BOOM!", a crater appeared under Mura and where Jewel was, as she shot into the air in an instant. "JEWEL!!!" Gamor yelled out, preparing to rush at Mura, who was gathering magma at her feet once again, ready to assault the airborne Jewel. "Not a chance!" Tokta roared, hurling his flail at Gamors face. He blocked it with his sword but noticed the tip of it now had ice on it, which quickly started to spread, encasing his blade, creeping towards his skin. He let it drop to the ground, narrowly escaping his hand being trapped as well. They were easily 20 feet apart from each other, so he wondered how Tokta extended his chain. Gamor stomped his foot on the ground, using earth manipulation to make the sand move his sword, which shot the frozen sword into the air as Gamor leapt, dodging the seeking flail, as it followed him. When he was in the air, the flail turned and shot up at him but as it did, he did a twisting motion, dodging once again, and kicked his sword with a foot infused with wind "Boreas kick!". Once he kicked it, the ice on the sword melted away, striking down at Tokta. "Crystal wall!" Tokta said, as he knelt down, touching the ground, as a huge transparent wall erected from the ground but Gamors blade piereced right through it, shattering it into particles, yet Toktas wall misdirected the blade slightly, which caused it to only cut the side of his face, instead of going through it.
During that instance, Mura had shot up, "Dragon Flare Flurry." And like a blinding sun, she rushed Jewel with a flurry of strikes. As soon as Jewel blocked the uppercut, flying into the air, she held her spear diagonally "Teshubs Reflex!" her weapon glowed a blue hue, her body becoming charged by electricity, as she glowed a similar hue, having just enough time to start blocking and dodging her opponents rapid assault. During Jewels perfect countering, Mura suddenly disappeared and reappeared at her back "Dragon Inferno Hammer!" and came with a blazing double fist but Jewel had enough reaction time to slightly turn and block the hit with the hilt of her spear, speeding down back to the arena but instead of hitting the ground, she springboarded, dashing away from the impact zone into a stance; standing on one foot, spear above her head pointing up, still glowing. "GTC, Staccato Rush." She rushed up towards Mura, emitting a loud thunderclap, followed by a blinding light and a lightning bolt that didn't budge. Mura floated in the air, motionless. "Branch out." Jewel said, as multiple lines extended from her bolt of lightning, piercing Mura multiple times, then subsided.
As Jewel finished off Mura, Gamor was close behind in his task. Toktas wall breaks, as dark clouds started forming overhead, due to the heat of Muras strikes. The rumbling of thunder in the clouds, mixed with Jewels, filled the ears of everyone around. A light shower commenced. "Thank you mother." Gamor thought to himself, staring at his opponent. "Tokta, it was an honor to face an opponent such as you." Tokta squinted his eyes "Heh, you speak as if you've already wo-" and before he could utter another word, the water around him stopped moving, his body quickly turned into ice, except for his head, the raindrops that were suspended midair, turned into knifelike icicles, ready to rain down upon him. Tokta used his manipulation of ice to unthaw himself, attempting to quickly move but the sand, mixed with water around his feet was already being manipulated by Gamor, trapping him place as the icicles impaled his body. The shards stuck inside of him glistened a crimson red, like lights on a christmas tree. The crowd was silent, the only sounds made were of the rain hitting sand. 'The God' appeared next to the still standing Tokta and checked his pulse. As soon as she was done there, Mura had fell from the sky, crashing into the ground on her back, Jewel following but landing on her feet.
Mura coughed up blood, gasping for breath. Jewel approached her opponent, kneeling beside her and clasping her hands together. Mura reached up and lowered Jewels hands "Do not pray for me young warrior, you have given me an honorable death, you both did. Don't lose each other, you are both special, not many can fight together like you two." Her armor started to slowly crumble away and with a smile, the life in her eyes started to leave as they slowly closed. The God came to check her pulse. "Hm.. still alive but she'll die shortly. Considering the fight you both displayed, I'll be nice and let you leave but any other day? I'd tell you to finish your food little Levin." Gamor went to retrieve his sword and walked back to Jewel, who had a nasty face on. He tapped her on the shoulder and whispered in her ear "Not even if we both tried it." He stared at the masked lady, whos mask was turned back to look at the duo, feeling an intense amount of battle aura, bloodlust, malice. "Lets have a round of applause for the first match of the day!" The God said, as the crowd went wild. "You two can go back to where you came." She said to the two, who walked back to the re-opened gate, ready to follow the armed guards.
"She pisses me off.." Jewel growled almost to herself as Gamor responded with a slight chuckle "I could tell. Did you feel that aura she gave off when you wanted to pounce on her?" Jewel cut her eyes at him "Yea, I did. Why, were you scared?" The guards held out their hands for the weapons, as Gamor and Jewel handed them over. "I was actually. Even if I used my full power, I feel as if she'd completely negate it and that's nerve racking for me." They walked in silence until they got back to The Pits. Jewel gestured him over to her corner. "So exactly, what IS your true power? Everything you've used is strong but you don't use it like how others do. You mentioned having a book similar to what I have but in better condition, meaning you must be special. Yet for a prodigy, you're using very basic moves, sharpened, but basic. So why does that dragon bitch have such an interest in you?" Her eyes squinted at Gamor, leaning in close to his face, grilling him intently. "Woah! Way too close!" He thought to himself, glaring into her eyes before sniffing *sniff sniff* "Y-you.. smell really good still." A bead of sweat went down Gamors face, nervous, blushing through his lightly bronzed skin. Jewel wasn't phased in the slightest. "Answer. The. Questions." she sternly said.
"I don't know why! Maybe... maybe she knows my parents? After I told her my last name, it piqued something within her and she's had a target on me ever since. She doesn't call me "Sentient" like how she calls you "Levin" but I can tell she has an unnatural attachment to both of us."
Jewel didn't back away, unsatisfied by his answer. "And your true power is what? You avoided that completely." Gamor quickly scanned the room and sighed. "Jewel..-" he said in a hushed tone. Her serious demeanor switched to interested and curious. "I.. can use every element. Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water, Air, Darkness; I have an affinity with all of them. I can also learn and use the skills of others with incredible ease. Usually, just one look and I can replicate it, if the skill itself resonates with me." Jewels eyes gleamed, waiting and wanting more of an explanation, as they stared into each others eyes. "Wow.." Gamor thought but then the shine in Jewels eyes faded, as she nodded and responded just as quietly. "Hmm.. You're not lying to me but you aren't being completely honest with me either. That's fine, I think it's pretty cool you can pick up on skills just by seeing them and if you have an affinity with all elements, you're dangerous. I can see why the dragon bitch has an interest in you. However, since you won't tell me your real power, you should hope we don't have a chance to fight because I WILL make you use it."
As she finished, she got up and made her way to the middle of the room, where the feast was laid out as usual but with breakfast items this time. She grabbed some eggs, meat and bread, put it on a wooden plate and grabbed a mug of dark liquid. Gamor followed suit, grabbing only bread and meat, with the same drink, heading back to their spot.
"And what about you? Mura and your mother come from the same area right? But you've only used Lightning, which I'm assuming comes from your father, or maybe just an innate ability to you, so what's your true power?" Gamor asked, as they both started chowing down. "Lightning. Advanced lightning is all I have." She nonchalantly said. Gamor hung his head down and sighed "Look.. IF we have the chance to meet in a 1 v 1, I'd love to show you but it's really dangerous to use and I'm not sure how to control it yet either, which is why I won't use it and I'd be devestated if I was the cause of you getting hurt or worse.. So, once we leave this island together, I'll show you on the mainland. I also can't let The God know anything about this, she'd never let me leave otherwise." The air around them got lighter, she looked over at him, mouth full of food. "Pwomish?" Gamor chuckled and held his pinky out. "Pinky swear it." They interlocked pinkys, solidifying their contract. "What makes you think you're leaving WITH me anyway?" Jewel asked. Gamor laughed it off "You wouldn't have pinky swore with me. Plus, I like you and I'd hope we can keep being friends even after this." He said, breaking eye contact and going back to his food, taking a sip of the dark liquid and making a 'yuck' face in response. He didn't notice Jewel blush a bit, getting back to her food as well.
During their moment, they didn't notice a few eyes never left from them since they re-entered The Pits; the mysterious man from the other night, a lady who wore a cape, long pants, with a sleeveless crop top and lastly, Stone. The two children ate and joked about, getting interrupted by the caped woman. "Hey, girl, you're interesting, spar with me for a bit why don't you." The smile on Jewels face quickly dissipated into a serious demeanor. "No." Her answer short and simple but the lady stood there still. "I wasn't asking though." She threw a left kick at Jewels face, which Gamor quickly blocked. Jewel didn't even budge. As Gamor blocked the kick, 'SLAP!' the lady twisted to the right at an almost blinding speed and came with an elbow to gamors face, which he again, blocked 'SLAP!'. "I believe she said she wasn't in the mood to spar." Gamor said, words carrying an immense amount of distaste, face of a demon. "Hahaha, scary!" The lady laughed, responding with an equally evil look.
"Gamor, get your butt out of my face and don't get sand in my food!" Jewel said, grabbing and twisting her body and plate away from the action in her face. Gamor looked back, confused "I just saved you from getting hit!" he said, outraged.
"I never asked you to do that, now move." She rebuttled.
"Ugh... you're impossible sometimes you know that?"
"And you're insufferable."
"Must be why we're such good friends then huh?"
"We're friends?"
Gamor scoffed "Oh whatever, can you at least move my food then?" He asked, as Jewel responded with "Nope but I can eat it for you?"
"Uhh.. NO!?"
"You said go?"
The lady that assaulted the two just laughed "Young people in love is always cute." The two simultaneously shouted "WE AREN'T IN LOVE!" She backed off, turning away and waving "Right. Don't worry girl, we'll resume this at a later time. I go by Locus by the way, remember that."
"Alright. It might be your name but stop being a pest." Gamor snickered "I don't think she meant the bug." She shrugged in response "If the mandible fits." Gamor laughed as Jewel just watched with a slight smirk "You are so laaaame." Gamor hung his head low again. "Yeah, I know, I couldn't help it. I love bad jokes." They spent the remainder of the day hanging out, talking amongst themselves and watching the other 2 v 2 fights.
None of the fights as groundbreaking as theirs but definitely a variety of abilities and techniques were displayed. The two soaked it all in. At the end of the day, at the end of all the battles, the carnage witnessed, the arena ground looked almost crimson-black. The God raised a hand, demanding silence from the crowd. "I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED OUR FIGHTS TODAY!" The crowd roared in response, while The God lightly nodded her head. "I'M PLEASED! THE FIGHTS THROUGHOUT THE DAY WAS ONLY TO DWINDLE DOWN THE WEAK, GRASPING ONLY THE STRONG AS THIS LAND IS KNOWN TO DO! TOMORROW? WILL BE THESE WARRIORS TRUE TEST! THE BRUTAL MATCHES WE'VE COME TO KNOW AND LOVE! THE MATCHINGS WILL BE POSTED WHEN THE SUN WAKES!"
As she finished her speech, the crowd got directed back to their respective areas by the guards. Jewel and Gamor headed back to the Pit for dinner and to rest, awaiting what was in store for them tomorrow.