The Weirkey Chronicles: Chapters 19-20 (Patreon)

First up, Podium made an animated cover for the new Audible release of The Brightest Shadow! That's a downgraded version, because Patreon won't let me upload the bigger one. The pre-order is up, so if you're interested, check out the direct or geni.us link for other countries. As I've mentioned, it's decent value for a credit at 33+ hours.

Second, r/fantasy has put up its new poll for top self-published novels:

https://old.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/jabxs3/the_rfantasy_top_self_published_novels_voting/ 

If you're already a participant in such communities, consider voting! You get up to ten votes, so maybe one of those could be me. Or not, if you have more favorites. ^-^

Moving on to TWC news, the story is doing great on RoyalRoad! We were briefly on the front page by trending and the rating has stayed in the top 25, but those are ephemeral. More importantly, we're up to almost 1000 followers - more people giving the story a chance is my main goal!

With all of that out of the way, it's finally time for the chapters. Please do take a moment to vote or anything else you feel led to do. Meanwhile, this pair of chapters brings us to a tournament. I've tried to change up the formula to reflect the culture and lead to some interesting strategy.

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Chapter 19

"May I join you?"

Nauda jumped when he asked the question, but Fiyu only smiled, having no doubt felt his approach. The two of them were sitting with trays of food in a shaded area of the courtyard, away from the noise of the dining hall. Fiyu might no longer be in pain from the light and noise, but she still preferred to stay away from them.

"Please sit down, Jake." Fiyu leaned over to pat a seat some distance from her, or normal spacing by Ichili standards. He bent down, carefully balancing his tray, and then got ready to eat. Nauda had paused, regarding him thoughtfully before she spoke.

"You look better. I'm not quite sure what you've done with your soulhome, but... are you out of your head now?"

"Sorry it took me so long." Theo swallowed his first bite before speaking further. "But I didn't come to talk about myself. The contest is in three days, isn't it? Have they explained the terms?"

"Two days, and yes, they have." Nauda took a drink from her cup and stared out over the city. "Thankfully, they won't be making it into a celebration for everyone, just a private tournament. It will be spread out over an entire month, with each family fighting one complete match each week."

Fiyu bobbed her head in agreement. "With a week between each match, there is time to scout your opponents and attempt to adapt. I did not think there would be time to craft new chambers, but Nauda pointed out that most are barely beginning their soulhomes and so might be able to soulcraft something significant within a week."

"So it's a contest of secrets and flexibility. If you can make it through earlier rounds without revealing yourself, then you'll have an advantage in later rounds." Nauda regarded him thoughtfully. "Or if you can come up with something new. Are you going to be ready?"

Though Theo had gotten started on his meal while they spoke, now he had to stop eating with a wince. "Unfortunately, there's no way I can provide anything other than another body in the first round. But by the second round, I might be able to come up with something new. Can we be knocked out in the first round?"

"No, everyone participates in all the rounds regardless. But the total number of victorious matches will be counted, and on the third and fourth weeks, they will begin setting the teams with the best records against one another. Everyone who participates will receive a prize, of course, but only the top four teams will receive anything valuable, and only the winning team will be able to choose from the vaults."

"That is strange to me." Fiyu toyed with a long slice of fruit, her pale finger spinning it effortlessly. "Is it not insulting to give someone a meager reward for taking the last place in a contest?"

"Maybe for some, but not many here think like that. You should see the ordinary Farmguard tournaments: everyone wants to be noticed and impress their village, but there are rarely any true winners or significant prizes. In fact, often victorious towns only win the right to host the next feast."

"I see. That is... also strange to me."

They continued talking, apparently having grown closer in the time he'd secluded himself. Fortunately, it didn't seem he'd done any permanent damage, so he was free to focus on what he could add to the contest. Without his established blueprint, he needed all the sublime materials he could get, in case one of them finally cut through the knot he was dealing with.

Another thought occurred to him, however. "How much healing do the teams receive in between matches?"

Both turned to him, Fiyu nodding in agreement while Nauda looked momentarily puzzled. "No one would be left suffering, of course. I can't imagine there wouldn't be healing." Nauda's lips turned down as she understood. "Ah... but you're thinking that some injuries might not heal in a week?"

"Exactly. Would it be a viable strategy to try to crush every opponent so they can't fight the next week?"

"It might be effective," Nauda said slowly, "but it wouldn't be approved of. I don't know if they would change the rules for such behavior, but I wouldn't risk it. But you're right: we need to be be careful so that we're still in fighting condition each week."

"That strategy might also help other teams," Fiyu pointed out. "We wouldn't face the same team the next week, so would another group receive free victories?"

Theo nodded. "Good point. Nauda, do you think we're likely to sustain heavy injuries? I was thinking that we could try to alternate so that everyone has more weeks to recover, but I realized I don't know the terms. Individual matches? Fighting until surrender, or first blood?"

"No defeat terms were stated aside from leaving the ring, but they would not approve of heavy injuries." Nauda tapped her fingers against her tray, food forgotten as she considered strategy. "Each individual can only compete once each match, to prevent a team from only fielding their strongest members. But there are tactical questions when it comes to the order we go out... yes, there's a great deal to think about."

Fortunately, their group was more than up to the task. As they discussed potential strategies and which other teams were likely to be a major threat, Theo found himself relaxing. He might not work with Fiyu and Nauda in the long term, but for now, he was content to stand with them.

In just two days, they would all be tested.

~ ~ ~

On his first journey through the Nine Worlds, Theo had participated in countless battles and high stakes tournaments. Time and time again, he or an ally had come through at the last second, everything aligning just right. Now that he thought back to it without the lens of nostalgia, he found himself wondering if it been manipulated in some way.

In any case, he made no genius breakthroughs in the day before the competition: his soulhome was more stable, but just a dull container for cantae. Rather than risk further damage on anything drastic, he simply accepted that he wasn't going to win and determined to do the best he could for his allies.

As the time of the match drew close, he found Nauda seated on a bench in the lower courtyard, twisting her hands around her staff. He was surprised just how anxious she seemed and hesitated for a time. Most Tatians weren't troubled by too many worries, and she'd never struck him as particularly competitive. Yet here she was, as if today was the most important day of her life.

"Is everything alright?" he asked as he approached. Nauda flinched at first, but smiled when she recognized him.

"Don't mind me. Nothing but trivial concerns before the match, small problems like the fact that Trathis has abandoned us. He's joined another group."

"Maybe we shouldn't have antagonized him." Theo sat down on the bench beside her, patting her shoulder to move beyond concerns of blame. "I didn't realize that it was possible to change teams. Aren't we supposed to be families?"

"The instructors weren't happy, but they permitted him to join one of the smaller groups."

"Then we're down one soulcrafter. Does that put us at a disadvantage?"

Nauda smiled grimly. "It's actually an advantage in the short term. When I asked about groups with different numbers of members, they said that the team with fewer is allowed to use someone twice. So unless we're exhausting ourselves, we might be able to count on an additional victory."

"I assume you're going to send Fiyu out twice... unless you mean yourself? Are you allowed to fight?"

"Archcrafters aren't permitted to participate, but yes, I can. I will attempt to face the other team's leader whenever possible, and if we have extra matches, I could likely win one. Today we're set against Mogi's team, so I expect us to win the majority of the matches."

Theo blinked, racking his brain for the name and coming up with nothing. "I don't think I know who that is."

Nauda gave him an odd smile. "I'm not surprised. You may not behave like Fiyu, but you're remarkably oblivious to people, and I don't simply mean by Tatian standards. Mogi is a Farmguard from the far Westlands. He's strong himself, but not a good teacher, so his group is relatively unremarkable. Mostly standard Farmguard blueprints."

That might be unremarkable for her, but Theo wasn't sure how he would fare. Most of them had begun with at least a little training as soulcrafters, and three months of steady training as a Farmguard wasn't trivial. If he recalled the blueprint correctly, there would be chambers dedicated to increasing strength, stamina, and speed, making them superhuman by non-soulcrafter standards.

"Umm..." The quiet voice from the side drew their attention and they discovered Fiyu shuffling up the stairs, her hood lowered. "I thought... I should wear it for the first time, since everyone will be looking..."

As she drew closer, she drew back her hood and Theo understood: the improvised mask had been replaced. Instead she wore a band of dark crystal that molded to her face, covering her eyes, forehead, and the bridge of her nose. He wasn't sure how it was affixed, as the bands disappeared into her hair, but it had the feel of a soulbonded armament, which meant it likely connected to her defensive window. Though he could almost imagine that he saw her eyes through the crystal, intricate patterns across the surface obscured her face underneath.

"So that's why you were visiting Navim?" Not really a question, but he asked it so that she would have something to easily answer. Fiyu immediately smiled at the name and nodded.

"Yes, Navim is very kind. I wanted to speak more with him, but there are always so many people entering his room..." Her smile faded and she cocked her head toward the arena. "There are so many people watching... I am confident in my soulcrafting, but having them all looking at me..."

"You'll be fine." Nauda stepped up to her, speaking warmly as she contained herself from making contact. "I'm sure you'll win your fights today and help us take the match."

"But everyone will be judging my appearance, and I don't know what to do with that... I went to a pool at night to look at myself. I think... I look strange in the daylight. Moonlight is much more natural. I don't... know if I have the wrong appearance, somehow."

Though Theo wasn't sure exactly how to reassure her, Nauda seemed happy to take the lead. "You don't need to worry, Fiyu. Everything is fine as it is... but if you're concerned about making a good impression, we could do something with your hair. You have beautiful hair, but it isn't shown very well, tied up like that."

"Really?" Fiyu reached up and unbound her hair, which fell messily around her shoulders. It quickly became clear that she was only accustomed to dealing with it a specific way, and Nauda kept starting to help and then pulling back to respect her personal space. At that rate, it was going to take them forever just to get it into a part.

Not interested in such fumbling, and not useful when it came to hair in any case, Theo looked away. Fortunately, several others arrived soon, including Kuber. The young man carried a ceremonial stick, the type a village leader might hold on Tatian except that it contained powerful cantae bound within. He couldn't judge just how powerful it might be, as it was all tightly sealed inside.

"Jake." Kuber jerked his head to the side to ask him to come away from the others, so he followed until the other man explained. "It's too late for the match today, but no one else will help me. I want to use this armament, but the Farmguards say that it's impossible."

"Let me see it." Theo tried to take the stick, but the other man kept it at a distance, just presenting it for him to look. "Obviously an armament, and it feels like a soul-bound weapon, but what is it?"

"It was a gift from my grandmother, an heirloom of our family. They say that it's... an Archcrafter armament. A powerful one that's been soulcrafted for generations."

Theo's eyebrows rose despite himself. That explained why Kuber was so desperate to reach Archcrafter, especially if the armament was truly something special. But even if they'd had more time... "I'm afraid the Farmguards are probably right. Is there a way to activate it only partially?"

"None of them asked that... but no, I don't think so." Kuber lowered the stick angrily. "This is everything I've been working toward. Without it, I'm just an ordinary soulcrafter. Surely there's some unusual blueprint that can allow me to use it..."

"Not a good one. It would be just like the Archcrafter sublime material: the pressure from it would destroy your soulhome. Here is what I'd recommend: devote an entire chamber to this, just as an ordinary short staff. Use it to channel cantae, or whatever it's meant to do. Then once you ascend, you can open the ceiling into a second tier chamber and use the armament at its full strength right away."

"That's the best you can offer?" Kuber stepped back, disappointment merging with anger in his eyes. "I know you got an Archcrafter material and you managed to make it work. Would you have a different answer for me if I was truly part of your family?"

"I'm being honest: that's the quickest way you could use something this powerful safely. If this goes well, you'll have new sublime materials soon enough, so plan for them."

Kuber stalked away to join the others, clearly dissatisfied. Though Theo thought about it for a while longer, he couldn't think of any logical way to build for an Archcrafter armament. Contrary to the accusation, Theo doubted he would get a request like that from anyone else, but if the Farmguards hadn't gotten through to Kuber, he wouldn't either.

Eventually a loud bell signaled that it was time and their whole group headed for the staircase. Stonecrafters had been working on one of the upper parts of the village for some time, but no one else had been permitted to see their work. Now that they reached the arena, he understood.

One of the benefits of living stone was how easily it could be reshaped. Where there had once been an old storehouse and a narrow street, they now walked onto a flat plane of stone. The newly grown stone felt soft under his feet, and that was no accident: it would mean fewer injuries when anyone fell to the ground. A shallow trough inscribed a ring in the center of the arena, forming the bounds of the combat circle itself.

Of course, most of the others were more focused on the audience, seated on benches that had also been freshly grown. Three stair steps of benches in a circle allowed a large number of people to watch, and also reminded him of large village bonfires. No doubt, when they did have contests in Tatian, they took a form much like this.

"Welcome!" Nanjuma stood atop a bench on one side, apparently delighted to see them. "Please, take your seats in the small area there. And Mogi, guide everyone to the opposite side! We will begin very soon, but please maintain a respectful silence as we form the circle."

Two portions of the audience seating had been removed, replaced by recessed areas with wooden stands to provide shade or privacy. Underneath there were several more benches for their team to use, exactly opposite the area on the other side. In their recessed alcove, they couldn't see most of the audience, but they could watch their opponents directly.

As everyone shuffled into position, uncertain how to behave for the first match, an extremely old man tottered from the stands carrying a jar. He looked like he might be swept away by a stiff breeze, but Nanjuma walked beside him with utter respect, subtly touching his arm at one point to keep him from stumbling. When the elder reached the arena, his shaking hands tipped over the jar and crystalline water fell into the trough, forming the ring.

Theo examined it carefully, but didn't think that it was a sublime material, just unusual water. It sparkled in the sunlight and somehow retained that gleam even in the stone trough. By the time the jar was empty, a circle of shimmering water clearly marked the boundaries of the ring. Task done, the elder was led back to the stands and Nanjuma stepped up beside the circle.

"I ask all of you to remember that we come together today to strengthen our communities: not merely our strength of arms, but our strength of spirit! We compete against one another, but only as iron sharpens iron. A friendly competition has never done anyone any harm, but take care to guard your hearts from anger or jealousy as well as your bodies from blows."

That speech might have fared well with a purely Tatian audience, but this group was mostly from other worlds. No matter what pretty words Nanjuma put forth, they knew what this was: a competition for limited resources. Everyone might smile and agree, because he was the most powerful soulcrafter present, but they would never truly accept it.

"I believe all of you know the rules, so I will not waste time repeating them. And if you don't, I suppose you'll learn soon enough, won't you?" Nanjuma laughed to himself, then rubbed his hands together. "One more thing: I will be maintaining a defensive barrier between the ring and the stands, so please, show us the full fruits of your labor!"

With that, he stepped away and the match began. There was no announcer or fanfare, and the only judges were a group of several instructors who were not attached to any team. An old woman rose to her feet and spoke in a voice that was audible only because the arena was so quiet.

"Our first match is between Mogi's family and Nauda's family. As Mogi's family has ten members, and Nauda's family only nine, the latter will be allowed to repeat one family member. In addition, Mogi's family must put forward the first contestant."

As a muscular Fithan man stepped into the arena, Theo realized that he'd actually misunderstood the rules slightly. He'd been under the impression that each team would send out members blindly, but it seemed that they could respond to their opponents' choice. That added an element of vulnerability to any strategy, as anyone who stepped forward first would be targeted.

"Fiyu?" Nauda turned to her and smiled. "This one is yours."

She nodded and stepped forward, her hands tight in her robes. The match had begun.

-

Chapter 20

When Fiyu entered the sunlight and heard the audience cheering, she flinched, despite the fact that all the calls were encouraging. Still, by the time Fiyu stepped over the ring of water, she appeared fully in control of herself, hands ready at her sides.

A bell rang to signal the beginning of the match, but neither moved immediately. They remained motionless except the breeze moving their clothes, then without any apparent signal, the Tatian man hurled a sphere of cantae across the arena.

In a single motion, Fiyu stepped aside and raised her hand, unleashing a torrent of bolts. They slammed directly into her opponent's torso, driving him off his feet and out of the ring.

Just like that, the first match was over. The cantae sweeping past her had blown down Fiyu's hood, leaving her hair streaming in the wind - it seemed she'd redone it in a loose braid. Her lips were parted in slight surprise, as if she hadn't expected to win so easily, but it was already over.

Another Tatian man moved forward to help his teammate up - he felt like he'd finished soulcrafting his first floor, so he was probably Mogi. His gaze swept over Fiyu, not angry, but clearly marking her as a dangerous opponent. Winning the first match so decisively, that was likely on everyone's mind. Fiyu hesitated a moment, glancing back toward them with a bit of worry, but then politely lowered her head to the audience and returned to their seating area.

Several members of their team whooped, startling her more than the cantae blast to the face. But Nauda was prepared, leading her back down to her seat without actually touching her, a warm smile on her face. "That was wonderfully done, Fiyu. That's one match in our favor."

"Send out your fighter!" Mogi called from the opposite side, hands around his mouth showily, as if he actually needed to shout across the short distance. "Unless you're not so confident without knowing who you'll be facing?"

This was where strategy came into play. If they traded turns, that meant that there were effectively two different kinds of strength: the ability to remove specific opponents or to resist an unknown opponent. The early matches would be the most dangerous, given that anyone from the entire enemy team could potentially fight.

Theo realized that would also lead to the matches dwindling to the weaker participants, which wasn't a very showy way to organize a tournament. Clearly, Tatian crowds weren't in it for the bloodlust. Mogi continued to taunt them, so at least he wasn't lacking competitive spirit. Judging from the way Nauda pursed her lips and marched out, she wasn't lacking either.

"I apologize for my cowardice in not leading my team into the arena." Nauda bowed deeply before stepping over the water. "As a small recompense, I will step forward now and do my utmost to challenge whoever is sent against me."

Mogi grinned... and stepped back to allow another member of his team to enter. It had been a trap, and a hypocritical one, given that Mogi hadn't stepped forward either. The opponent who stepped up to face Nauda was an ordinary-looking Tatian woman who drew two small rods as she entered. Theo would have thought they were an ineffective weapon, except that they were covered in the same dark studs as Nauda's staff.

The instant the bell rang, Nauda thrust the prongs of her staff forward, but she wasn't quick enough. Her opponent raised both rods in front of her, blocking the invisible force. Nauda hissed and tried to push forward, but couldn't overcome her opponent. In fact, the other woman jerked one rod to the side, pulling Nauda with the movement, then thrust out with her other hand.

One of Nauda's legs trembled in place and Theo understood the trap. Mogi clearly knew about Nauda's technique and had prepared one of his team members who could do the same, but with two separate armaments. Most of Nauda's body seemed frozen in place as she struggled to level her staff toward her opponent.

With an abrupt wrenching movement, Nauda twisted her staff free of her opponent's force. But this time, even as she was beginning to thrust, the other woman flipped both rods upward, jerking Nauda's arms into the air. While she was off balance, both rods thrust outward, the air rippling as force caught Nauda in the shoulders and hips, driving her backward.

She fell back a step... but not over the ring of water. Nauda grimaced, straining against her opponent's force. Theo was surprised to find himself raptly watching the invisible match, while Fiyu clutched the bench beneath her so tightly her knuckles were bloodless.

Again Nauda twisted out of her opponent's bind, her staff sweeping horizontally. Once more, her opponent deflected the force with both rods, smiling as she started to extend one again.

Nauda reversed her staff, the base thrusting forward. 

Though the force was invisible, it knocked her opponent off her feet, doubling her body over as if she'd been impaled through the stomach. She remained frozen in the air in that position, one rod clattering to the ground. A hush fell over the crowd and Fiyu breathed a sigh of relief.

Theo's combat instincts expected Nauda to slam her opponent into the arena, but instead she lowered the other woman to the ground gently. As soon as she touched the ground, the match was over. Nauda bowed to the other team with perfect humility, then returned to their side as the crowds began to cheer.

"Mogi's family, please choose your next contestant." The judges spoke gently when no one was forthcoming, but the other side continued speaking in low voices. They didn't seem furious, but Mogi had definitely been humbled by the defeat.

When they finally broke, they sent a Fithan man out into the circle. Theo frowned, trying to glimpse the man's soulhome and reconsidering his thoughts about strategy. This man hadn't followed a Farmguard blueprint, but his cantae felt unremarkable... Theo glanced toward Nauda.

"Is he hiding something?"

"No, I think he's bait." Nauda considered him a moment longer, then turned back to the rest of them. "Not their weakest, but they're trying to lure out more of our skilled fighters. Kuber, do you think you could fight him as you are?"

"Probably." Kuber stood up, reluctantly leaving the ceremonial rod behind to step into the circle.

Their fight turned out to be much less interesting than the previous, as neither combatant had any polished techniques. Though the Fithan man had a knife, Kuber disarmed him with a huge burst of cantae. His every movement was overpowered, as the only real advantage he had was the massive store of cantae inside his over-sized chamber. In a longer fight, his lack of organized rooms might have led him to lose, but eventually he managed to out-wrestle his opponent and throw him from the circle.

Three victories, no losses. Theo swallowed when Nauda pointed to him, because he had a feeling that he was going to break that streak.

He walked to the ring calmly, trying to display as much confidence as possible. It wasn't that he was completely helpless: he had a well-crafted soulhome that stored a decent amount of cantae. Over the course of his life, he'd honed his fighting instincts and learned several martial arts. Plus he still had the spear armament Navim had made for him.

All he could do was stand and wait, hoping he could draw out one of their stronger fighters. Based on the amount of time it took Mogi's team to choose, he must have caused them a bit of worry. Eventually they sent out a middle-aged man with a heavily fortified soulhome.

That wasn't good, or it was great, depending on the perspective. Then the bell sounded and he had no more time to think because a wall of wind swept toward him.

It almost knocked him from the ring at the very beginning of the match, but his instincts told him to drop to the ground and dig in. The wind stung his skin with an edge of cantae, not quite a focused attack. The sapphire currents swirling around the man's hands definitely were, though. He leapt away from the first burst, which dissipated against the ground with nearly enough force to make him stumble.

His only hope was to get close enough to use his spear. Theo drew as much cantae from his soulhome as he could, reinforcing his body and moving him faster than his opponent could hurl the bursts of sapphire wind. Unfortunately, the older man didn't panic, merely raising another wall of wind to keep him back while steadily hurling bursts at him.

Without any special techniques of his own, Theo was definitely going to lose. His only hope was to put everything he had into a single charge, so he lunged forward.

As expected, the middle-aged man raised a wall of wind with one hand while sending out a burst with the other. Theo ducked underneath the burst and this time charged directly into the wind, throwing his own cantae against it in an uncontrolled blast. Then he was through, thrusting his spear forward and activating it...

His opponent's hands closed around the tip of the spear, catching the force in a swirl of his own cantae. Theo realized too late that he should let go of the spear, but the whirling force caught hold of his body and threw him into the air. Before he'd even finished tumbling, a burst of wind smashed into him, then another, then another, then he was crashing into the arena floor.

Outside the circle.

The conclusion was announced and the old man nodded politely to him, but Theo ignored him and the crowds. Defeat was bitter despite the fact that he'd expected it. When he returned, Fiyu gave him an encouraging smile like a knife to the gut, while Nauda clapped a hand on his shoulder approvingly.

"You made them use up one of their stronger fighters. That's good enough."

But it wasn't, not for him. It wasn't just that he had lost, it was that he had lost badly, outclassed in both power and technique. Theo sat on the bench gloomily, trying to figure out if there was another way he might have won, but given so little to work with, he didn't think it was possible.

Their next fighter went out in a close wrestling match that ranged across the arena before Mogi's fighter won. It had been a close match between roughly equal opponents, making morale a more important factor and leaving Theo wondering if he was responsible for that loss as well. Mogi's team was certainly exultant now that they were catching up, and Nauda's expression suggested that she agreed.

"Fiyu, can you fight again?"

The Ichili woman bobbed her head agreeably. "Do you need me to?"

"Yes. We're both running out of skilled soulcrafters and we need to end their streak."

When Fiyu stepped out into the arena a second time, there wasn't a pause like before. Instead Mogi himself walked forward with a broad smile on his face, as if he had been waiting for that moment. Nauda bit her lip and reached out, as if she could take back the decision, but Theo pulled her hand back. They could only trust in Fiyu's strength now.

"You're strong," Mogi said, "but you should stick to ambushing opponents who aren't prepared for you. Just a suggestion for future fights."

Fiyu didn't respond at all, hands loose at her sides. Mogi tried to smirk at her, but it dissipated against the lack of response. He eventually bent down and readied his fists, fully serious. Unfortunately, it did feel like he had a fully soulcrafted first floor, so the fight wouldn't end swiftly like Fiyu's previous one.

The instant the bell rang, Mogi smashed both his fists together. A cacophony of flashing lights and blaring horns exploded over the arena, so intense that it nearly blinded Theo from a distance and made several of the judges fall from their seats. In the instant that Fiyu flinched, Mogi leapt across the arena to strike her.

He was met head on by a burst of light from both hands. His technique might have been disabling to Fiyu not long ago, but Theo felt a surge of pride when he saw her completely ignore it. With her soulcrafted window combined with her new mask, no attempt to strike at her weaknesses would be effective.

Though a huge number of her bolts landed, knocking Mogi backwards, they didn't drive him from the ring. He straightened with a grimace and emerald light flickered around his torso. It was some sort of spiritual armor, battered by all of the bolts but not broken. To his credit, Mogi didn't attempt any kind of distraction again, he just attacked.

His first leap was terrifyingly fast, nearly bridging the distance between them in an instant. Fiyu released a hail of bursts at his location, but he easily dodged aside, a surge of cantae preventing him from losing any momentum. She'd held back her other hand and the burst from it caught him in the face.

Mogi kept coming, grimacing as her bolts impacted against his armor but not about to stop. Just before his fist collided with her face, Fiyu shot to the side, quick as a shadow. He was puzzled for only a moment, and in that time she sent more bolts slamming into his side.

Seeing that her attack was ineffective, Fiyu retreated to the edge and conserved her strength. The enemy leader was hesitant as well, surprised that his opponent was so quick. He took a step forward, then retreated as soon as she raised a hand, taunting her into sending out more bursts. Considering that Fiyu couldn't release limited strikes, that was an effective strategy. Mogi began to shift around the arena, so quickly that he was just a blur, every movement a potential attack.

Fiyu spread her fingers wide and unleashed a hailstorm of light. Eyebrows rose and jaws dropped all around the arena as she utterly blanketed the entire ring with bolts. Even if Mogi could have dodged them, his strategy shifting from side to side sent him slamming into several of them before he could correct. The green aura protecting him began to crack and he grimaced before leaping into the air.

As soon as he did so, Fiyu raised her hands to strike. But Mogi brought his fists together again, this time releasing a shockwave of force that smashed aside her bolts.

In an instant he was overhead, his fist slamming down toward a defenseless Fiyu.

It looked almost like she fell forward at first, yet Fiyu tucked into a roll and passed just under his attack. Mogi stomped down into the arena, his boot gouging deep into the stone, whirling around to strike her before she could escape his range...

Instead, Fiyu extended a hand behind her, fingers aligned like a knife. A searing stream of bursts struck him in the torso, shattering through his aura and sending him flying back toward the audience.

Multiple people gasped and flinched before he collided with an aura of green cantae that had been invisible before that moment. Mogi flattened against the cantae wall, his chest bleeding severely. He began to fall forward and Nanjuma caught him before he hit the ground.

"You see? There is nothing to fear." Nanjuma smiled over the crowd, but his eyes moved quickly to find the healers. "Would someone come forward and help this lad? We'll take a brief break to return everything to order."

In that time, a pair of healers came to attend Mogi, who was conscious but in pain. Someone else walked out to repair the arena, the stone throbbing as if to a stony heartbeat as it slowly flowed back into position. Meanwhile, Fiyu walked back to their area very slowly.

Though she looked serene, Theo could tell that she was exhausted. She barely even flinched when everyone cheered her, then slumped down onto her bench. Nauda was smiling broadly and ended up clapping Theo on the shoulder as if she couldn't resist touching someone.

"That was exactly what we needed, Fiyu. They've sent their strongest, so we have this well in hand. Everyone else, I expect you to fight your best, but the remainder of this match is about gaining as much real experience as you can."

As it happened, they still dominated the remaining set, as Mogi's team had been severely demoralized. The remaining fights weren't particularly interesting, yet Theo found himself watching closely, invested in the outcome of his team. Of the remaining four fights, they won three of them, and even the loss seemed like only a temporary setback, the loser not even ashamed when she returned to their group.

So they'd won seven to three, a strong showing for the first match. Some of the fights had been a close thing, but they also had more to reveal. Theo was fairly certain that Fiyu and Nauda both had something left up their sleeves, while he hoped that in a week he would be an entirely different soulcrafter.

Just as he was starting to put his loss behind him and enjoy the celebration, Theo caught a glimpse of Magnafor in the crowd. He didn't even seem to notice anything that had gone on in the arena below, his gaze locked on the vast tree overhead.