After the Tournament volume 1 chapter 1
Summary: Myrves has won Raven's tournament but still has to prove to the other champions and to herself that she is Ultimate Warrior material. Sometimes off the battlefield stuff can be more difficult to deal with than demons though. A collection of loosely connected stories taking place during the course of one year.
Disclaimer: I do not own Raven; it belongs to CBBC. I do not own the Ultimate Warriors mentioned here either seeing as they are real people; they own themselves. I do however own Myrves seeing as she is an OC of mine.
It was hard to believe it was all over; Myrves was the first warrior who had worn the cloud emblem in the final week of a tournament to become champion and she was grinning. Sure, she still felt a little homesick and she did miss the friends she had made among her competitors but overall she was now happy as she walked alongside Raven. She felt really small though despite having been the tallest warrior competing in the final week of the quest. It didn't help that as she thought of this fact, her worries were coming to the forefront of her mind and she had many questions. Would the values she was raised on clash too much with his? What would the other champions think of her? When was she going to meet the other warriors who had become champions in person? She wasn't sure she could continue to impress her mentor but maybe the other champions had felt the same way at some point.
She thought of the previous tournament winners: Lamar, Grema, Jaddo, Linma, Arnor, Kenat, Versad, Pargan, Dyrel, and Sarjed plus the warriors who had become champions after completing more dangerous missions: Delra, Corso, and Tanel, who had successfully planted an acorn from an enchanted oak in a place far from Alaunus, Raven's homeland, in order to keep Nevar from getting too much power, then Sonro, who had successfully collected sacred waters from the Secret Temple that Raven had needed to unfreeze Alaunus, and Arkil, who had been the only person pure hearted enough to retrieve the Dragon's Eye without becoming corrupted so that Raven could destroy it. Myrves wondered if she could live up to any of them and if they would accept her as one of their own.
Myrves, you almost went the wrong way again. a familiar voice said in the back of her mind.
The blonde haired teenager made sure she was going in the right direction and sighed. "I thought you had forgotten all about how I nearly went the wrong way during the first day of the tournament. You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" She asked her mentor.
"Not until you remember that just because you bear the cloud emblem does not mean you can have your head in the clouds." Raven replied. He seemed amused by her response more than anything else.
"I can't help it being a daydreamer sometimes." Myrves was trying not to laugh though at his statement regarding her emblem but couldn't help bursting into laughter at it anyway. "In all seriousness, I am aware that I still have a lot to work on when it comes to putting distracting thoughts out of my mind but I am making some progress." She said after she had finished laughing. "I promise I will pay more attention to where I am walking."
"I am holding you to that, Myrves." Raven said to her, knowing she would remember. He mentally reminded himself that she was still young and even after becoming champion, would still need to learn from both him and the other champions in order to be better prepared for whatever battles would occur in the future. For now, the warlord continued walking beside his champion, who was silent once more.
For her part, Myrves was just glad that her mentor was not listening to her thoughts right now; sure, she had gotten used to the fact that he could do that but she was still someone who did value what little privacy she could get seeing as she had grown up with quite a few siblings and barely got a quiet moment to herself. Now she was just taking advantage of the fact that she could enjoy some silence at least for a short while. She still held her staff in her hands, wondering if she would be as good with it as Raven was with his staff.
Soon the sun had started to set and the blonde haired teenager was tired and wishing she could lay down. Today had been very eventful and her feet were sore. So Myrves had only one thing to ask Raven. "Are we there yet?"
"We will arrive at the site I have chosen for us to camp in for the night in a few minutes." He answered her.
"I wasn't planning on asking more than once by the way; I just have always wanted to say that since I never did when I was younger." Myrves explained. "My siblings on the other hand often ask that multiple times during family outings and I am certainly not going to miss that even if I do miss them in general." She sighed as she thought of her parents and siblings; would they soon know she had become champion? Of course they will, she reminded herself.
Before she knew it, they were stopping to camp for the night and Myrves had started the fire and gotten water to use when it was time to put it out as well as water to boil and then gathering some berries while Raven cooked some stew. So it's just me and my mentor, she thought to herself. The blonde haired girl was grinning as soon as supper was ready before she had gotten her stew and started eating, remembering to be polite even if she was miles and miles from any civilization. Just like my favorite book series, she reminded herself silently.
Raven had left Myrves to her thoughts since he knew that she was tired and just trying to relax after a long day. Who could blame her for not wanting to talk and for the mixed emotions she felt? Yet it had been seven years since he had a new champion and Myrves, for all her abilities as a warrior, was still a 13 year old girl who would have to take time getting used to being far away from home and would need more experience in addition to learning how to use her own Staff of Power correctly and responsibly. Teenagers were known for being very difficult and thinking they knew everything; the warlord knew this seeing as he had experience with them. Most wondered how he could do it but Raven was thousands of years old and when someone was that old, they had to have plenty of patience dealing with anyone much younger than them.
After they had finished eating, Myrves looked up at the stars then took a picture of her family out of her bag as well as a picture of herself with her two best friends from home. "I really miss you guys." She said softly.
"Myrves?" Raven looked at her, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, these are images of myself with either family or friends. I miss all of them right now but I think they'll be happy to hear I'm an Ultimate Warrior." Myrves explained, showing him both pictures. "My family may not be as big as the famous big families often talked about in the media but it's still a lot of people compared to most families. And this other picture is of me and my friends, Carnam and Gelmak. Both of them were my only friends at school since all 3 of us were outcasts so to speak or at least felt like it." She paused and took both pictures back from her mentor. "They're probably thinking of me just as much as I'm thinking of them."
Watching her put the two pictures back in her bag, Raven could sense that Myrves was feeling like she couldn't say anything else since she didn't think he was that interested in hearing more. Of course, he actually was interested in hearing more about her homeland and her previous life even if anything she mentioned was confusing; she would find some good way to explain said confusing things seeing as she was smart.
The blonde haired girl took her glasses off and wiped them off with a cloth from her bag. She wondered how strange she was to the warlord who was her mentor seeing as she was used to a world of fast food, electronic devices, indoor plumbing, and so many other modern things. That all seemed miles away though and Myrves wouldn't mention it unless asked. She was used to being without those things now.
"Funny how you are not being so talkative when you were interacting with your fellow warriors with no issues." Raven commented.
"They're close to my age, you're who knows how many thousands of years older!" Myrves argued.
"We both know that's not the real reason, young warrior." He said to her in reply, having sensed that she had just made that up.
"Well, I'm probably really strange considering that most people in my homeland would probably be very unnerved at some of the things that happen to warriors and/or think I was crazy if I told them I won a tournament to become the champion of a warlord who is practically immortal." She explained. Not to mention he'd get in trouble with who knew how many world governments if they knew about Raven having had child soldiers. Then again, the idea of kids competing in a contest to become a warrior fighting in Raven's army did sound unbelievable and most who believed that story probably didn't think that they or someone they knew would be called to compete in such tournaments. Myrves herself had been included in that number of young people who didn't think they would be called even if there was a small possibility of it occurring. "I mean, a few other families living there besides mine believe the stories about you too, including my friend Gelmak's family; he was just as encouraging as my family was when I let everyone know I was leaving to compete in the tournament. He wasn't jealous even if he did have every right to be seeing as his physical disability is bad enough that he couldn't compete even if he wanted to."
"Did Carnam believe you when you told her about it?" Raven asked, genuinely curious.
"She did and was just as encouraging." Myrves answered. "Carnam was always a good friend despite being one of the not so great students in the sense of not doing well in school and getting into fights. Most people wondered what I saw in her as a friend seeing as I was the teacher's pet in school and never getting into trouble."
"You are very fortunate to have such good friends, Myrves even with all their flaws." Raven assured her.
"I know; they are both really great friends." Myrves said. She wondered how they would react when they got the news that she was an Ultimate Warrior. "I wanted to rub it in my tormentors' faces if I won the tournament but I'm not. I'm too nice for that and maybe too nice for my own good like Sabon and Aljos said."
"Do not sell yourself short just because of your kindness, Myrves. You have shown that you know how to be kind without letting others walk all over you in this most recent quest and you can continue to do so." Raven replied. He knew she was not to be underestimated after seeing how she had performed throughout the whole tournament.
"I guess I am tough enough to handle whatever happens next then. I was worried I wasn't." She admitted, taking Raven's words to heart. "Maybe I can handle it all and get used to being away from home even if it is difficult."
"I'm sure you will, young warrior. Just remember something I have told other warriors before: as a gem can not be polished without friction, a warrior can not be perfected without trials." He said to the young champion. "Perhaps you might want to sleep on this seeing as it is getting late now and we have far to travel tomorrow if you want to meet your predecessors as soon as possible."
"Very well then. I guess that's a great idea." Myrves yawned. "Good night Raven; see you in the morning." She went to unroll her bedding, feeling optimistic and safe. Once she had her bedding unrolled and her pillow near where she would put her head, she laid down on it and pulled the blanket over her after putting her glasses away. The blonde haired 13 year old girl was soon out like a light.
"Good night Myrves." Raven replied. As he always did when he had a warrior with him, he kept watch and had cast a protection spell to also keep Myrves safe. Only time would tell whether she would actually be as good as her predecessors but anything could happen; there was no way of predicting the future after all.
For her part, Myrves slept peacefully and dreamed of being accepted by the previous champions. She hoped she would be upon showing them what she could do. She just had to handle everything one day at a time.
