Chapter 2: Welcome to the Tournament
Succession is a strange occurrence in the land of Gallia. Whilst other kingdoms would have lineage be the sole factor to decide the rightful next ruler, with the king serving until his departure from the world, Gallia, a land of brute strength and blood lust was different. The king would serve for as long as he was the supreme warrior of the realm. Many of the previous kings lost their throne when a younger rival killed them in a competition. However, those coups usually led to a light civil war amongst the land. To help avoid these situations, many years ago an aging king of Gallia decided to hold a tournament open to any who dared in Gallia. The tournament was one on one fights to the death; no quarter given, no mercy showed. The winner would then challenge the standing king in once more a fight to the death. The winner would then stand atop the throne as undisputed king of Gallia. These tournaments were extremely rare, as Gallia had only ever had 11 kings. Most kings, being peerless warriors served long terms and held the throne for many years. At times in the past, the throne was held for too long however; this was the issue that Caineghis wished to avoid by holding the tournament now. The sitting regent still was a powerhouse and loved by his subjects, but he feared if he tried to hold on too long that wat could break out. He was not thrilled about the possibility of death, yet he knew that for the kingdom his demise at the end of the tournament was for the good of his people. The king rested easy in this fact.
The word spread quickly around the land of the king's tournament. This news riled up many a laguz in the realm as all were hungry for either a shot at becoming the new king or they just longed for the opportunity to fight unrestricted for the first time in many years. All Gallian longed in their heart of hearts for a glorious battle, even if they could not win or even survive the battle. The smell of a good fight brought the beasts forth.
The garden of the castle grounds was full on the morning of the tournament. The beasts were roaring their loudest this day as they sought to intimidate their opponents. Several were shifting just to show off their size and flex their might before the field. Skrimir walked up to the garden grounds were the contestants were asked to register and meet up. He arrived a little later than many of the others but certainly was not the last to arrive. His red mane flowed calmly in the wind. His posture was strong and in a way majestic, as if he already was wearing the crown. Others looked at his posture in disgust. "Who does he think he is?" "He isn't king yet." "I'll rip him apart." these were the whispers of the crowd. The red lion paid no mind to these whispers. Perhaps the same lion twenty years ago would have gone feral at these comments, but the laguz that entered the crowd today was a calmer, wiser, more patient man. The words of the opponents stung the beast, yet he held his composure solid. The red General of the Army paid them no regard as he sensed that the ones bragging and boasting would be an easy kill in real battle.
The young lion folded his arms as he held his posture amongst the crowd. He smiled, as along the ranks he saw familiar faces, tigers, cat, even a few lions that he himself had previously fought beside, some were even officers under his command. The field proved grand as several hundred filled the garden grounds. Some men stretched the limbs, others yawned wildly, a few even roared with all their might.
Skrimir continued to look about the crowd while he stood silent, waiting for the opening speeches. He grinned as he saw Vertus, a panther laguz. A rarer breed Vertus was a wealthy landowner on the coast of the kingdom. He was tall and slender yet was known for having excellent form. He was never a member of the regular army, yet was heralded as a combat genius by his peerage. Skrimir had trained alongside him back in the day; they had the same tutors, as both were of the wealthier class. Skrimir and Vertus had never fought but the lion felt the panther a worthy opponent.
Looking elsewhere the red general saw a long legged man, a man known as Nike, a cheetah laguz. Skrimir was puzzled to see him here as the cheetah laguz sub-race was never used in open combat, and were recruited to the military solely to act as scouts and messengers. Nike was the personal messenger of Ranulf, the blue cat laguz who organized the tourney. Skrimir first thought the man was there as an officer of the court, an organizer of the tourney, but he was not wearing the officiant's uniform. Skrimir was curious to see if the man could hold his own in combat.
He glanced further to his right and saw two of his former officers, Kyza and Lyre. Kyza was a bit older and was a green tiger laguz, while lyre was a lightning quick female cat laguz. She had bells strapped to her and loved to make noise wherever she went. Despite her naive and immature nature, she was still a famed brave fighter who stood out during the war against Ashera twenty years past. Both came together and seemed excited to fight even though it would mean death was a very real possibility.
"If this goes as planned." Skrimir muttered aloud. "Then Gallia will be weakened in military leadership for a time."
"Good thing we'll have a champion as king then!" a voice said in a thunderous voice. An open hand then slammed down on the red lion's shoulder. Force did not hurt the lion, but it did shake him a bit. The young general turned around sharply, he clenched his fist tight as he readied to punch the man who touched him so rudely. However, when he turned he found his face pressed against the chest of a tall formidable creature. Skrimir instantly unclenched his fist as he looked up to see an old friend. Giffca, a lion laguz whose shifted fur color was black. He was still even after twenty years about a foot taller than Skrimir. The lion Giffca was known throughout the realm as Caineghis' only true rival. However, they were the best of friends; Giffca loved the king and always supported him so. Skrimir knew this man well, the black lion who was also a leading military general of Gallia.
"Giffca, you bastard!" the red lion hollered in joy. "If figured you weren't going to show for this. I figured you'd figure yourself too old for such a battle."
"Hahaha!" the black lion bellowed. "No my friend. I as all laguz do, seek a valiant battle." the black lion scanned the crowd of contestants; he had a pleased look upon his face. "Skrimir, I may just get that here!"
The two smiled as they shook hands. both knew they may face each other during this competition, yet the two felt the other would be a grand opponent and a worthy king if it came down to it.
"ATTENTION!" the herald screamed from the balcony. Trumpets sounded in unison as they quieted the crowd of warriors, gaining their full attention. The herald cleared his throat and then proceeded to introduce the master of ceremony. "WARRIORS! I GIVE YOU, MASTER RANULF!" the appearance of his old advisor now ranked so high made the red general very happy. He loved Ranulf like a brother and knew he was always talented beyond his station in life.
Ranulf was applauded in Gallian fashion as he emerged to start the ceremony. He lifted his arms to silence the roars. "Friends. Welcome to the tournament of succession." more roars bellowed forth. "I know we have a grand mix of the beast tribe's sub-races out there. I am honored to see you here to compete. May you have solid luck in the tournament?" Ranulf paused and scanned the field as he noticed his friends and peers in the crowd. "We will be competing to the death! For the right to challenge the reigning regent of our kingdom. If you win the tourney and then defeat the king then the crown is yours to wear." the eyes of many in the crowd lit up at the thought of being king regent. Ranulf could tell many had noble ambitions to rule justly and be a wise king, and he saw other faces with looks of power and lust, men with evil desires in their minds who sought to rule with an iron claw. Ranulf felt confident that a worthy heir would emerge as he saw towering above many in the field his old friends Skrimir and Giffca. Ranulf smiled as he gave the next statement.
"However, the tournament will not be held here, but in the arena on the other side of the castle. But to get there you must brave the dungeon below." two officials of the event opened two large cellar doors in the floor of the garden. The entryway was massive, large enough to fit seven men across. The inside was dark and wreaked a foul smell. Several of the warriors vomited from the smell emitted from the chambers below. All present stiffened up as they realized that the time for pleasantries had ended and the real challenges were now at hand.
Ranulf continued. "All those who make it through the dungeon below to the other side in the next hour will be granted entry into the one on one tournament." several hands went up as they wished to ask a question of Ranulf. "To answer your questions, we don't care how you make it through the dungeon, except no fighting with each other inside. And the other question; it does not matter how many of you make it through the dungeon in the hour, all who pass the trial will compete in the arena." Ranulf raised his right arm forward as if he were placing his hand upon the entire crowd. "Now go forth and pass this challenge. MAY YOU ALL BE BLESSED!"
Ranulf lowered his arm; this signaled the commencing of the dungeon test. Many of the warriors charged in recklessly as if they believed it was a simple hallway they must run through. Skrimir and Giffca remained calm and watched as most others bolted into the smelly darkness. "I know of that dungeon." Giffca spoke as he took a step in front of Skrimir. "Let's sit back and let the dregs trigger the traps and feed the beasts inside." both of the lions began laughing at the bigger one's words. They knew the dungeon would be a tough challenge and would weed out those unfit for the tournament. They waited calmly until all others passed into the corridor. Finally, they were the last two needing to enter. Skrimir nodded at the bigger lion by his side, they then walked calmly into the dungeon. As they passed the doors and were inside the two officials closed the doors and locked them shut. There was only one way out and it was on the other side.