Ziel turned, his gray cloak fluttering behind him. He could find another crown.
“Dawnwing!” the Stormcaller exclaimed.
The man recognized the symbol of Ziel’s sect. He had been there that night.
He should have kept his mouth shut.
The next thing Ziel knew, his hammer was covered in blood that slowly dissolved into light.
~~~
It felt like no time at all when Lindon reappeared on the beach. The first thing he saw was a panting, bleeding Pride crouched on the sand next to him.
Golden light streamed into the sky behind him.
Lindon's head jerked up, scanning the treeline. He knew an hour had passed, but the thrill of battle and the shock of death still flowed through him. “Where's Sophara?” he asked.
“Passed,” Pride said, struggling to his feet. He was broken, battered, and almost two feet shorter than Lindon, but he still held his head high. “It worked.”
He held a crown, and Lindon looked to it. “What happened to the other crown?” Sophara had been carrying two.
“My sister took one, and Yerin Arelius the other,” Pride said. “She actually refused to take it. Mercy had to force it onto her head just like you did to Sophara.”
“What about that one?” Lindon asked.
Pride held it out. “This is for you.” He glanced to one side. “I suggest you take it quickly. It hasn't been long since I won it.”
Lindon stood still, watching him.
[It's an imposter!] Dross said.
“Gratitude, but why would you...”
Pride made an irritated noise and shoved the crown onto Lindon's head. Instantly, Lindon was bathed in a pillar of white light.
“I owe you nothing,” he said, turning his back to Lindon and limping toward the trees. “Defend it on your own.”
[That was nice,] Dross said. [I still don't like him.]
~~~
Naru Saeya flew low, dodging branches, as she circled a tower of gold light in the distance. She couldn't know what had happened since she was killed, so she had to assume that she was the last remaining member of her team.
Her victory wasn't important. It was the team that mattered.
As she kept her spiritual sense extended, hunting for danger, she felt something behind her and slowed down. After making sure there was no one else close to her, she flew backward.
Eithan had emerged at the edge of the jungle, just where they had arrived at the beginning. He brushed his robes off, giving an annoyed huff when he found a spot of mud around his knee.
“You didn't last any longer than I did,” she said, and in truth it soothed her pride. She had thought that if anyone survived, it would be Eithan.
He gave her a beaming grin. “I thought you could use the company. No telling how many crowns are left, but we should be able to grab a pair.”
“On one condition,” Saeya said. “You take the first.”
He paused. “I have to admit, I was expecting a different condition.”
She folded her wings and began walking, perception extended. “I'm not a fool. I know you didn’t have to take that hit.”
Eithan glanced up at the sky, perhaps looking to the invisible constructs that allowed the participants to watch them. “What? How dare you. Perish the thought.”
“I don’t want my name to spread, but the name of the Blackflame Empire. I need you to make that happen.”
It hadn’t been an easy journey for her, but Saeya had eventually admitted the truth: she wasn’t cut out for this. The more she trained against Yerin, the more she saw the girl’s unlimited potential. Potential Saeya didn’t have.
Besides, her true passion wasn’t advancement. She just wanted her home to prosper.
Eithan stretched one arm, then the other, the thread-of-gold on his ornamented robes flashing in the sun. “Bargain struck,” he said. “Let’s go give them a reason to remember us.”
~~~
The second round worked as intended, dividing the number of participants in half, but it also split the Akura faction.
Only one of the Frozen Blade competitors made it out, and none of the Akura backup team. Akura Grace told them how the team of dragons found them before they made it to Lindon, and she had been eliminated. When she returned, she hadn't been able to claim a crown in time.
He was greatly relieved when he saw that Eithan and Yerin had both passed, though neither Pride nor Naru Saeya had managed to secure a crown before time ran out. He had mixed feelings. True, the fighters most likely to win had passed, but Pride and Saeya had given up their personal chances for the team. That only increased the weight on him.
When they returned to their rooms, Mercy and Lindon were gathered together and visited by the Ninecloud Soul.
“Congratulations on passing the second round!” The warm voice said from within the rainbow light. “In the morning, you will be led to the Archlord prize vaults, from which you will select one sacred instrument of your choosing. In future rounds, you will be permitted to use weaponry up to Archlord in your matches...although allow me to caution you that an Underlord weapon suited for you will produce far better results than an unsuitable Archlord weapon.”
“Understood!” Mercy said brightly.
Lindon's imagination was already running away from him.
The Archlord vaults of the Ninecloud Court? What would they be like? Why did he have to wait all that time until morning?
“One week after you claim your prizes, you will fight in the third round. These will be one-on-one matches to the death, although of course the protection of the honored Northstrider is still in effect. However, unlike later rounds, you are not competing as an individual, but as a team. Only when the last member of your opposing team loses will you be considered victorious.”
Mercy stepped closer to the rainbow, hands clasped behind her back. “Question! Can the same person fight each time?”
“Full rules will be provided to you tomorrow, but yes, of course. As long as you win. Someone who loses this fight is eliminated from this round...but not from the competition. Either your whole team will survive, or none of you will.”
[Ah, so last round was intended to reduce half the remaining individuals, and this is designed to get rid of half of the remaining teams. It's like some kind of human-eliminating system.]
“Who is our opponent?” Lindon asked.
The light flashed, acknowledging him, and the image of a human bound in chains appeared in its center. Lindon had noticed the man around the tournament, but hadn't spent any time investigating him. He looked older than thirty-five, haggard and worn and no more than skin and bones, but maybe captivity could do that to someone.
“You face the one remaining member of the black dragon team. He was registered in the tournament as the Black Dragon Prisoner.”
[You know, I saw his name on the lists, and I assumed I was reading it wrong. Or there was something wrong with your eyes.]
“During the second round, he was unchained and left to his own devices,” the Ninecloud Soul went on. “He ran around the island eliminating everyone and everything he encountered. Our records do not make it clear whether he sought out the crown or whether he accidentally ended up with it after killing everyone else.”
The image of the man started wildly thrashing, tearing at his restraints, snapping his teeth and lashing a long black tail behind him.
“Now that the rest of his team has been eliminated, we have decided to list him under his real name: Naian Blackflame.”
Dross gasped. Mercy covered her mouth with a hand and looked to Lindon.
Lindon watched the broken man strain against his chains.
For almost two years, Lindon had heard about how the Path of Black Flame would erode the mind, body, and soul. He had seen Orthos' transformation after the damage was reversed by the wells of Ghostwater.
But he had never seen what happened to a human.
After a few more pleasantries, the Ninecloud Soul vanished, leaving Lindon in a quiet room with Mercy. Birds chirped from the rafters, and clear water babbled as it ran in a creek throughout the room.