October 17, X791, 11:00 A.M, North of Brightholt City

The path before the two women was paved with large jagged rocks. With their small statures, they had to hop from rock to the other as a means of clearing the forest they were in. They were supposed to be preparing for their up-coming match in the coliseum, but Master Seigfried asked them to take this reconnaissance mission.

The taller of the two miniscule women looked over at her partner who was devouring a series of different candy from the bag she had been bribed with. As they jumped from rocked to rock she said, "Geez, if you're gonna be bribed so easily at least make it last Tally".

The one she called Tally pulled her head out of the goody bag to respond, but all of her words were jumbled by the mouth full of candy. She finished her latest piece of candy and said "I'm sorry Aoba. You know I can't help it when I see candy."

They cleared the last rock and landed on even ground. Aoba dusted herself off as soon as she landed. She was almost doll-like in size standing barely over 5 feet. That combined with her lovely pale skin often attracted the attention of many men. Aoba had a tendency to always dress her best. She could usually be found in kimonos of various colors all with a floral design of some sort. Today's kimono was dark red and what seemed to be a design of pink roses wrapped itself around the kimono. Years of training had given her the ability to traverse the terrain behind them with little to no effort even while wearing wooden sandals. It also could have simply been the allure of the unknown that attracted their attention of men. She wore a light veil that covered her face from the top of her face to the tip of her nose. Her green eyes were always hidden and her silky black hair was always pulled into a neat bun.

She finished cleaning herself and saw that Tally had already moved on without the slightest desire to dust herself off. "mhmm," she said bringing Tally's attention to her. Tally caught Aoba's silent meaning and sighed in disgust. "Is it really necessary?" she asked.

Aoba walked over to her friend and began dusting her off. "You know how I feel about it. I won't have you trouncing about covered in dirt."

Tally wore a pastel pink tube top that left her stomach exposed and seemed to only cover her cleavage. She stood a few inches lower than her friend and her childlike figure was accented by her dark, mocha colored skin. Her freckles dotted her shoulders and nose. Aoba was currently in the process of dusting off the detached pastel pink sleeves that started just above her elbows and covered her hands. The sleeves had golden trim on both ends, making them sparkle. Her shoulders were exposed. Though most womanly features seemed to elude her, her hips had a nice curve to them. They were covered by baggy, beige colored pants that fell just below her knees. They had golden trim on the ends that hugged her calves. Today was a special day, because for the first time in the last week Aoba had won their daily game of "Will Tally Wear Shoes?" So today Tally wore dark brown sandals that had a strap over the top of her feet and behind her heel. She had a golden chain anklet with a pink rose on it on her right ankle. Tally wore a golden choker necklace with a pink rose in the center of it around her neck. Her dark brown hair was tied up in two buns, most likely the result of another game between Tally and Aoba. Her hair had been tied up by sparkly golden ribbons.

Aoba finished dusting off her younger friend. "I'm almost certain Master Seigfried was prepared to bribe us. I mean, he just pulled the bag out of nowhere," said Tally.

Aoba looked at Tally and exclaimed, "Us!?"

"Fine, fine. Me," responded Tally.

She had barely finished speaking before several loud thuds could be heard all around them. When the dust cleared, they could see several over-sized Forest Vulcans. "Damn it, I just finished cleaning you off," said Aoba.

"It doesn't seem like they want to let us pass," said Tally half laughing.

"Urgh, I don't have time for this," said Aoba

The vulcans all converged on where Tally and Aoba stood, but with the small sizes they slipped out from between their legs.

"Couture de Affûtée" said Aoba calmly as her clothes became visibly sharper. She burst forward towards the Vulcans and began her assault.

She was fighting off two of them. Her small frame made her seemingly untouchable as she danced between them and around them lacing them with several sharpened punches.

The two other vulcans charged Tally now, but she also expertly dodged the sluggish punches coming from the over-sized combatant. She continued dodging until her back was against a wall of some sort. The vulcans saw this and both tried to connect a punch. She rolled through their legs again and their fists collided with nothing but stone.

With both of them dazed, she gathered her breath and unleashed her magic. "Violet Djinn Slayer's Hymn!" A blast of purple magical energy collided with both the vulcans and the wall behind them.

The wall crumbled and both Vulcans were sent flying into the opening Tally just made.

She turned to see Aoba in the air above the last Vulcan. Her sleeved fist collided with his head as she landed on it and the Vulcan fell defeated next to his partner.

"Whew, that was pretty fun," said Tally turning to inspect the hole, "I think I found the ruins that Master Seigfried was talking about."

She moved to enter the hole when she heard Aoba. "mhmm," she said.

"What? Again! Are you serious?" said Tally as she surrendered to her friends cleaning tendencies.

October 17, X791, 12:00 P.M, Nova Eos Guild

Jade slouched over the banister of the second floor in Nova Eos. His guild was in last place, still. They were the weakest and no matter what they did they couldn't find a way to break into the power struggle between the Eternal Knights and Scarlet Phantom. He was glad that Jackie had improved so much. She had managed to gain some ground on Madeline and the top ten in general. Jade respected her determination and her loyalty to the guild. As the second strongest member of Nova Eos he had faith in her, but fighting against someone as high as number 5 might have been asking for too much. There was just too much ground to cover between her and Madeline in such a short time.

Jade had hoped she wouldn't let her grudge with Madeline fuel her decision in an opponent. She could have just as easily fought against the coliseum's 10th ranked member. She certainly had a better chance against him, than she did against Madeline. He looked around his guild. The mages were either in their bedrooms or lounging about downstairs. Jade thought back to his excitement when he was approved as an official guild master.

He had run from store to store picking out green fabrics and paint to design the walls and bedrooms. Having been a drifter for most of his life, Jade knew the importance of a guild that can double as a home. "That's it!" He yelled for the entire guild to hear. With new found determination he raced down the oak wood steps and shut the door behind him as he bolted into his office next to the bar.

October 17, X791, 12:30 P.M, Nova Eos Guild

Guild members in Nova Eos slowly began to descend either of the two spiral staircases. For the last half an hour there had been a continuous hammering noise that resounded throughout the guild.

Jackie finally made her way down the steps. She had to slowly limp down the stairs. Most of her body had been bandaged following her fight with Madeline and though there were no serious injuries, she was still sore. She nudged her way to the front of the small crowd of mages and gave a questioning look her fellow mages.

"Does anyone know what Master Jade is doing?" she asked.

When no one answered, she slowly began to make her way to his door. Just as she got past the bar, his door burst open and Master Jade ran up to the bar. He jumped on the counter and hammered an erasable board into the wall above it. As he hammered, the mages in the guild could see that it held the current top ten coliseum rankings on it.

He turned to his guild now and said, "This board behind me is a reminder of where we are in the rankings and what's at stake. Holding the most spots in the top ten determines the winner of The Brightholt Grand Prix and we-" he paused to jump down, "have one spot on the board."

Jackie hung her head in shame. She had a chance to cut the deficit between them and the other two guilds and she had failed. She was sure everyone was disappointed in her and now she had no way to make it up to them. The rules of the Grand Prix said that each ranked member only had to accept an unranked challenge once during each Grand Prix and she was sure Madeline would never accept her challenge again.

Jade looked through the crowd and saw the depletion. "Don't lose hope, Nova Eos," his voice resounded through the guild. "We haven't seen the best of times, but just like our namesake, we will rise."

His speech had mixed reactions. Some members were energized by their master's new found hope and others decided that now was as good a time as any to play devil's advocate. Someone yelled out "How are we supposed to make a comeback now. Jackie was our best chance at gaining another spot."

The life was taken out of the crowd again. The owner of the voice stepped forward now and stood alongside Master Jade. It was Kayden Wary. He was dressed in his usual white sleeveless shirt with blue trim and black shorts. He wore matching sandals and had his dark green hair in a pony tail that went down to the middle of his back.

While he usually had the best intentions at heart, he often came off as rude and unapproachable. "Jackie is ranked 12th in the coliseum. She's the lowest ranked S-class in the whole city. And she's way stronger than any of us."

He stopped talking when Jackie began walking forward. She stood at the front of the bar now. She wasn't sure what she could say to them. While fighting back tears she choked out "I'm sorry guys. I let you down."

There was a pause and then someone from the crowd yelled out "Oh, shut up." Her head had been hung in shame, but at the sound of the voice she jumped up and began searching for its owner.

Another young man pushed his way to the front of the small group of mages and stood in front of her. The young man stood about a head taller than Jackie. He was slightly tanned and his dark spiky hair added a few more inches to his already considerable height. He had dark blue eyes that seemed to currently sympathize with Jackie's pain. He wore an open black jacket that had a light gray v neck shirt beneath it. There was a black belt holding up his loose black jeans with matching laced boots and a silver necklace around his neck.

"Don't be so hard on yourself kid," he said patting on her on the head.

Jackie was shocked. "Javier! When'd you get she back?!" she yelled as he pulled her into a hug off of the ground.

Her face was bright red now, forcing a few laughs from the rest of Nova Eos. Slightly embarrassed, she shook herself free and landed on the ground again.

"I got in last night, but you were knocked out from healing magic. Geez, I hope the other guy looks as bad as you" he chuckled, moving a wild strand of hair from her face and placing it behind her ear.

She hung her head in shame again. "Madeline's no worse than usual," She whimpered. "Hmm, well don't worry about it. Me and Shaw still have our chance at the top ten this cycle and it certainly wouldn't be the first time that a regular mage made it through."

Master Jade cut in now. "Where is Shaw? If he's here, too, then we can start planning out a strategy. "Oh, he's right over here," he said pointing to an empty spot in the crowd. He looked around for his partner in crime and after a few moments spotted him at a table across the guild devouring his own buffet of food.

"Shaw! Get your ass over here," Master Jade yelled across the guild hall.

The teenager jumped at the sound of his name and began running across the guild towards Javier. His hair was just as dark and messy as his Javier's, but his blue eyes were a few shades lighter. He was much shorter and had a leaner build. His green hoodie hid what looked like a black tank top and it sported the Nova Eos guild mark; a tree bursting with light. He wore tan knee length shorts and black and green sneakers to match his hoodie.

He made it across the guild quickly and Javier said, "What's so important that you can't wait a few minutes?"

We haven't eaten in days because of you," Shaw quickly retorted.

Before either of them could get another word in, their stomach roared in unison. Master Jade shook his head in defeat. "My office, as soon as you're done eating," he added before walking away.

Javier turned to Kayden now. "You really shouldn't interrupt him like that. We're all working hard because we want to be the best."

Kayden opened his mouth to speak and Shaw cut in now. "Aren't you tired of being in last?"

Kayden scoffed and shook his head. Knowing he couldn't argue against the two of them he stormed off towards his table. A few mages followed behind him shortly after.

"Me and a few of the guys are gonna go get something to eat, you coming?" Shaw asked turning his attention back to his friend.

Javier took a quick glance at Jackie's wounds and said "Nope, I think I'll stay here for a bit."

Shaw exited the guild and a few guys followed behind him.

"So how about we grab a seat before you keel over," Javier said pulling Jackie along. They took a seat on opposite sides of their usual table next to the bar and tried to catch up. Javier and Jackie hadn't been this close to begin with. Jackie had originally avoided him whenever she could. She found his never-ending desire to approach any and every woman insufferable. So she had made it a point to make any interaction that she had with him as dreadful as possible. When he failed to impress a woman, she'd be there to chime in at his defeat.

But eventually she warmed up to him. They found a common ground that neither of them had even thought possible. They were friends. They were maybe even something more than that. She was never really certain where they stood. One moment they'd be having a good time and the next he was off looking for Gyro. She decided to address his return immediately. "Any luck with Gyro?" she asked.

Javier let out a sigh and then shrugged back a negative response.

She decided to say what was on her mind when he usually left without a moment's notice. "You know you don't have to follow every rumor about a dragon."

He looked her over once more. Her head was facing the table, but he was sure she was watching him. "Let's talk about something else. I heard you got a point against Madeline," he said.

She perked up now. She wanted to discuss his frequent departures, but she loved talking about the coliseum. "Yup, I told you I've gotten stronger. I had on her on the ropes and everything. But then…" She paused and her excitement died down a little. "She used a weapon I've never seen before. She was so powerful."

Javier enjoyed the coliseum, but he was often more focused on missions and finding his father, Gyro. Sometime after Shaw joined the guild, they both became pretty close and began traveling together. They really only participated in the Grand Prix out of loyalty to Master Jade.

Jackie decided to switch the conversation to the one thing that brought them closer. "Are you still hearing the voice," she whispered.

He thought about it for a moment. "Yea, it's been getting worse and worse. Most times it's unbearable. But sometimes, it's helpful."

"What!?" she yelled.

He looked up at her now. She had a look of disbelief on her face. "It's true!" He answered defensively. "The other day, me and Shaw were attacked by Vulcans and when one was going to hit Shaw from behind, the voice told me to protect him and I stopped the attack."

She couldn't believe it; here she was being tormented by the voice in her head and the one person whom she was sure would always understand her pain was defending his own.

Javier wasn't sure why she looked so hurt all of a sudden. He thought she might have been happy for him. The voice he was hearing seemed somewhat benevolent nowadays. "Are you still hea…" was all he managed to ask before she screamed out "Of course I am!" With tears in her eyes now, she turned and ran off to the S-class floor.

October 17, X791, 1:00 P.M, Magdalena's

"Alright boys, what'll it be?" Magdalena asked as she set Shaw's favorite window table. Shaw looked around at the rest of his group. "We'll all have pancakes!" said Shaw excitedly.

He sat on one side of the table and gleamed at the two friends across from him. Kai Saroyan and Junjo Rosario were both older than Shaw, who was barely 16, but whenever he wasn't training or traveling with Javier, he was hanging out with them.

Kai had straight teal colored hair that was about shoulder length. He had a tan complexion and was usually dressed ready for a fight. He wore a black tank top and a pair of black shoes. His loose fitted pants were also black.

Junjo was also prone to getting into a fight. So he usually wore some gaudy sweater that would be discarded later. He had on blue pants and sandals and today his sweater was simply an odd shade of neon green.

"Did you and Javier find anything on Gyro?" asked Kai.

Shaw shook his head. He and Javier had left to complete a mission and on the way they heard a rumor about a dragon being spotted. They sent word back to the guild about it and had been traveling for weeks since then.

"Forget about that. You meet any women along the way?" Junjo chimed in as serious as possible. "I want details. Descriptions." He lay back in his seat now and closed his eyes. "Paint me a picture, Shaw." He added playfully.

"Here's the food you ordered," said Magdalena.

"Oh, Maggy, seeing you is more than enough food for my soul," said Junjo jumping to his feet and assisting her with the trays.

She shook her head at his antics. She then handed him the trays and turned to leave. "I'm still not going out with you Jo," she said, while walking away.

Shaw and Kai expected him to take his usual crestfallen stance after having been shot down, but he jumped on top of the table. "Yes! This is progress, men," He said after jumping down and dancing around them.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kai.

"Didn't you hear her? She didn't call me Mister Rosario this time."

The whole restaurant burst into laughter at the man's denial.

October 17, X791, 1:00 P.M, Nova Eos

The mages at Kayden's table had watched as Jackie ran up the stairs and out of sight. Then an awkward silence had taken over.

The girl at the table was the first to break it. "Do you think I should go cheer her up?" she inquired.

Her name was Melody Stanz. She was wearing one of her many colorful dresses that musical notes on the side. Today's dress was sky blue. They all seemed to compliment her fair skin, so it never really mattered. Her hair was in loose blond curls that ended at her shoulders and she wore a pair of light green earrings to match her eyes.

Kayden looked up from his reading to formulate a response. His eyes glanced over the violin she usually carried with her. "I don't think she would want some sort of fake emotion," he said condescendingly. "Don't you agree, Kenneth?"

The boy next to him shot Kayden a glare and quickly went to console Melody.

As he stood, one could tell that he was actually quite tall. He wore a green shirt. He had a brown jacket and black pants that were both riddled with tears and holes. His fingerless gloves matched his shirt. But his most astounding feature had to be either his long blond hair that went down to his waist or the chain of whistles that hung around his neck.

Melody was always sensitive about her magic and constantly felt useless in the guild. "He didn't mean it Melody," said Kenneth placing an arm around her shoulder. "He's just upset that he isn't ranked in the coliseum," he quickly added.

Kayden's face was bright red in anger now. "You're not ranked, either!" He shot back.

Kenneth broke out in a laugh. "That's because I've never participated in the coliseum. Some of us just enjoy doing missions. There's nothing wrong with that."

He could tell Kayden was about to blow, so he decided to playfully throw one more punch. "And plus, if I did. I'd already be ranked ahead of you."

That was all it took for Kayden to burst. "Alright then, fight me right now!" he yelled.

Just as he finished, Shaw, Kai and Junjo returned to the guild.

"You looking for a fight Kayden?" asked Kai making his way over to the table. They passed a still down trodden Javier on their way in, and Shaw and Junjo took a seat with him to watch the spectacle about to unfold.

"What? Are you gonna fight me, Kai?" Kayden asked backing up slightly.

"Damn straight," Kai quickly responded and pulled a white key from his pocket.

"Gate of the Pure Archer: Open!" yelled Kai and an archer with short blond hair appeared. There was no way to tell if the archer was male or female. They were dressed in white robes and their face was covered up to their eyes.

Kayden pulled out a sparkling red key and yelled "Gate of the Crimson Harpy: Open!".

A red winged creature materialized above Kayden. "You called for me, Master Kayden?" it asked.

"Yup, we're gonna put Kai in his place today, Helia."

"As you wish, Master," said Helia and she spread her wings and began firing flaming feathers at Kai. The feathers were intercepted by arrows of light causing them to explode in the air.

A near endless confrontation ensued. Flaming feathers were fired and intercepted by light arrows causing them to explode in the air. The rest of the guild watched on in awe, knowing what was coming next.

"You know why you're always losing, Kayden. You're not strong enough to help your spirits," said Kai. And with that he began condensing white lightning in his hands. "Lightning Make: Crow's murder."

He released the lightning to the ceiling and once it finished ascending it began to drop. On its descent, the lightning formed into several electric crows. They collided with Kayden and Helia.

They lay paralyzed now, shaking from the electricity coursing through their bodies.

Master Jade came out to see the commotion. Looking over the scene, he said, "Well at least we won't have to repair the guild this time. That's enough Kai,"

He turned to Shaw and Javier. "Let's get down to business," said Master Jade. With that Junjo, Shaw and Javier all followed Jade into his office.

"Okay, as you know, each of you has one chance during this cycle to challenge a member of the top ten. We should go about this as logically as possible. The three of you should fight the three lowest ranked members. I think that Junjo should challenge Number 10, Shaw should challenge number 9 and Javier should challenge number 8," said Jade.

All but Javier agreed to this plan. "Nope," said Javier "I'll challenge Number 7, Marco Seifer." They all looked at him confused so he added, "We've got a sort of friendly rivalry going and he passed me by a mile during the last S-Class Trials so it's time I repay the favor."

"Isn't he an Eternal Knight?" asked Junjo.

"Yup, he is. But all that matters is proving that Nova Eos is better than everyone else," responded Javier.

Master Jade was delighted to see the fire that remained in his mages. "That works fine. Then I'll have Rau fight number 8 when he gets back from his mission," said Jade. He wrote down the match ups and passed it around for all of them to sign.

Challenger, Number 19, Junjo Rosario vs. Number 10

Challenger, Number 17, Shaw Riley vs. Number 9

Challenger, Number 15, Rau Volikia vs. Number 8

Challenger, Number 14, Javier Montero vs. Number 7

"What mission is he on?" asked Shaw as he signed the paper.

"He is supposed to be doing reconnaissance for the city about a disturbance to the ruins far north of the city," answered Jade.

A voice shook the guild's walls. "Jacqueline Arison!" it boomed.

Master Jade and the mages in his office exited to the main hall to find that a small lacrima message was playing. It kept repeating her name until Jackie limped her way towards it and said, "I'm Jacqueline Arison."

The small floating lacrima came to her eye level now and said, "You are to report to the coliseum for your Juggernaut match as penalty for losing your match against Madeline Sable."

Jackie looked around at the rest of the guild. It had only been 2 days. Everyone thought she'd have more time.

October 17, X791, 1:00 P.M, Eternal Knights

"Urgh, I don't know why this is so hard for you to understand," Alice said looking across the table at Adrienne.

"It's just. There are so many rules. Why can't we just fight?" she asked with a hint of confusion lingering in her voice.

"Fine, but this is the last time I'm explaining the coliseum," said a frustrated Alice.

"All three guilds compete in the coliseum to determine who is the strongest. The winner is determined by how many spots in the top ten are held. The mages in the top ten are ridiculously strong. So only the mages who have obtained a position between eleven and twenty can challenge them. Every Grand Prix all of the numbers, eleven and above, reset."

"Wait, so there are more numbers than 20?" asked Adrienne.

"Exactly!" said Alice. "Every mage in Brightholt who signs up in the coliseum receives a number. Your rank can increase as high as number eleven depending on how many wins and losses you have in the coliseum. But once you have passed number 20, you're allowed to challenge any ranked member as a representative of your guild."

"Ahh, it's starting to make some sense now. So ranked members must get to fight all of the time then?" Adrienne added.

"Well, that's the catch. Each member of the top ten only has to accept one challenge during each Grand Prix. So there can be as few as only ten ranked matches in one Grand Prix cycle. That's why it's important to win as many matches as possible in the beginning of the Grand Prix. This way you have a better chance of winning a spot in the top ten."

"I get it now, but what happens if a ranked mage doesn't accept the challenge?" asked Adrienne.

No sooner than she had asked the question did the doors to the Eternal Knights blow open. A beautiful woman walked in. She had straight black hair that went down to the middle of her back. She kept her wardrobe simple; a black sleeveless shirt with red accents along the hem and a red skirt. She had on red sneakers as well. Adrienne would have been sure that she was a member of the Scarlet Phantoms had it not been for the pink image of a knight on her right shoulder.

She walked into the guild with an air of vanity. Behind her was a large chest that seemed to be walking on its own. She walked towards Master Seigfried who had been childishly making a sundae at the bar and said, "Here's the reward for the mission."

The chest settled to the floor and the magic supporting it dispelled. As it the magic dissipated, the chest swung open for Master Seigfried. His jaw dropped to the floor and his eyes went white in shock. The chest was full to the brim with jewels and gold all sorts. "I'll have a spirit collect my share. Thank you for the mission, Master Seigfreid."

Alice had been watching for a while and decided to have some fun at the girl's expense now. "Lucia," Alice called across the guild, "come meet the new member of the guild."

Adrienne could see the look of frustration break out across the girl's face. "Alice what are you doing?" asked Adrienne. "She doesn't seem to be in the best of moods."

"Trust me. This is gonna be funny," said Alice. Lucia made her way over to the pair of girls and extended her hand to Adrienne, who quickly took it in an attempt to stay on this woman's good side.

"Hey Lucia, this is Adrienne. I've been explaining the rules of the coliseum to her."

Lucia's expression changed instantly from one of disgust to pride. "Oh, well have you told her who number one is?" she asked, the conceitedness laced in her tone.

"Yup, I sure did. We met Rosca the other day."

The woman before them exploded with anger. "Don't test me Alice, tell me again who is the strongest."

Alice remained unfazed. "As of a few days ago, Rosca is the strongest mage in the city." Alice said coolly.

Her anger quickly subsided and she began running around the guild tearing through every draw looking for a calendar. "How can this be? I should still have more time to accept the challenge. It's only the thirte…" She stopped, having finally found a calendar which revealed she was four days off. She burst in anger once more and yelled as she marched up the stairs towards her room. "This is exactly why I didn't want to take that S-class mission."

Alice turned her attention back towards a highly confused Adrienne. "That was Lucia Corazon, currently ranked 2nd best in Brightholt. She and Rosca fight from time to time over number one, but the match is usually so intense that neither of those battle lovers can stomach repeating it too often. You see, when a ranked mage fails to accept a challenge, they are simply forced back one spot in the ranking. While she was gone she was challenged and didn't get to accept," Alice said with some finality in her voice.

"But none of that explains why your sister has a blood pact artifact," said Arienne.

"Ahh, right," sighed Alice. "To be honest, I didn't know it was a blood pact artifact. Every now and then a tournament is held with specific entering restrictions. The prize is either some money or an invitation for a special quest or some strange item. A few months ago, my sister won one of these tournaments and received a sphere of some sort."

"That's the artifact's contract form," said Adrienne as she felt for her own artifact." It's the form it takes before someone binds their magic and their blood to it. But isn't it strange that the town just offered up an artifact like that."

"Nope," said Alice "The mayor's son is a treasure hunter. He and a few companions spend most of their time searching the world for rare artifacts. Sometimes, he comes back here and sells it to the mayor. The mayor is happy to do it, because something as powerful as that shakes up the rankings and keeps citizen's interest in the coliseum," explained Alice.

She thought for a moment and then continued "Whenever he returns the bell in Alliance Hall rings to signal their return. You'll probably meet him eventually. He and a few other people have gained that level of recognition. The Harbinger's also one of them. It's kind of funny. They have nothing to do with one another, but the people have taken to calling them 'The Bell Kin'."

Just as she finished her speech a lacrima announcement sounded throughout the city. "Jacqueline Arison will be facing her juggernaut penalty today," the voice revealed. Alice's face held an extreme amount of shock in it. She got up and pulled Adrienne to her feet and out of the door. "Let's go. You're not gonna wanna miss this."

October 17, X791, 1:30 P.M, The Coliseum – Arena C

Adrienne and Alice stood in the top row of the Arena C's rafters. It seemed as if, the entire town had tried to make it into the coliseum. The arena seemed similar to the Main Arena, with two few exceptions. There were no elevators in the floor. Combatants would normally enter through one of the four gigantic gates in the cardinal points of the arena and this arena was suited for far more variations in combat. Currently Jackie, Master Jade, Madeline, and Master Narissa stood in the center of the arena.

"What's this about Narissa? We usually wait a week before issuing a juggernaut challenge," snapped Jade.

"True, but it's recently come to my attention that as long as three days of rest have passed a juggernaut challenge can be issued," retorted Narissa.

Jade was at a loss. There was no way that Jackie could withstand a juggernaut challenge in her condition. "Narissa have some compassion. There's no reason to do this," said Jade in an attempt to reason with Narissa.

"You're weak Jade and little by little I'm gonna weed out this city's weakness," she said coldly.

Back in the stands, all of Nova Eos sat in horror of the events to come. Behind them were some members of Scarlet Phantom and some of the Eternal Knights. "Why does Jackie have to fight again? She can barely stand," whispered Adrienne.

"When an unranked member loses a ranked match, they face a penalty. They can skip it and be dropped to the bottom of the ranking or they can face a juggernaut penalty. If they win, they can keep their rank. If they lose, then they get dropped to the bottom anyway," said Alice.

As she finished her statement, three roulette wheels materialized in the middle of the arena. Master Jade didn't know what to do. He knew there was no way that Jackie would give up her spot, but to let her fight now would be even more fool hardy. He'd have to forfeit it for her. "Wait. Don't do it!" a voice called out from the stands.

It was Kayden. He jumped down from the stands and ran over to the mages. He pulled out a pocket sized rule book and explained another rule. "If the mage receiving the juggernaut penalty cannot participate due to injury, then a fellow guild member can act as a stand-in,"

New life returned to Master Jade and then was simultaneously crushed by Narissa. "Yes, but there are no S-class mages to stand-in for her, little boy. The one you call Hazel Rochelle is away on a mission," she said.

Kayden didn't back down from the fierce woman before him. "Nope, but the rules say that in the event that there is no S-class stand-in available, the guild master can authorize two regular mages to simultaneously act as stand-ins," he said.

She grabbed the book from his hand ferociously and after finding the rule she ignited the book in her hand. She stormed off from the arena in a fury with Madeline close behind her. After the rule was repeated aloud for the arena, Javier and Shaw jumped down from the stands.

"Nice job, Kayden" said Shaw patting him on the back. "We'll take it from here," said both Shaw and Javier as they arrived in front of the Roulette wheels.

A look of pride burst over Master Jade's face and before Jackie could protest anyone taking her place. He lifted her up and jumped to the stands. He took his seat and was followed by Kayden.

Each roulette wheel began spinning. The results on each wheel signified the juggernaut challenge that the mage would have to undergo. The first wheel came to a stop. It read the game type. "Survival." The second one came to a halt and signified the type of opponents. "Humanoid." As the third one slowed down. Shaw and Javier prepared for battle. Shaw removed his hoodie now as he did in most fights. You could see the physique that countless hours of training had brought him and his right arm was bandaged up to his shoulder. Javier's body began to release small amounts of magic as he prepared for the final wheel to stop spinning. The third wheel stopped. It signified the element or elements of the opponents. "Fire."

All three wheels disintegrated and all throughout the arena small embers appeared. They surrounded Javier and Shaw. Slowly each ember formed into that of fiery humanoid being. Shaw broke out in laughter. "They've got to be kidding. Fire, really," he said as Javier cracked a huge grin and took a huge breath. He finished building up his energy and unleashed.

"Ice Dragon's roar!" The roar tore through countless embers. They froze and shattered to dust.

A magic circle formed under Shaw and he activated his magic. "First Gear" he said calmly as his body started to give off a white vapor. His eyes turned a white blue color and burst off in a sprint beginning his assault on the embers.

From the stands it seemed as if embers were being defeated simply by him running past them. His magic gave him the ability to move at unimaginable speeds and possess inhuman strength for a short duration of time. The shorter the duration, the faster and stronger he was. As he ran by the embers he'd increase the potency of his spell and at a speed too fast for a normal eye to see, he'd unleash a flurry of punches and destroy an ember.

Javier was holding his own against several embers at once. He had been surrounded again so he jumped into the air and as he landed he hit the ground using his "Ice Dragon's Crushing Fang" technique.

The spell hit the ground and with him as the epicenter, several waves of ice cascaded out of the ground piercing the embers as the ice formed.

Shaw was making quick work of the embers around him. As he closed in on one, he'd rev up his speed with "First Gear" and unleash countless punches.

They held their own for several waves of embers until the waves stopped coming.

"You think it's over?" asked Shaw who was puffing and catching his breath.

"Not just yet," replied Javier.

Several embers appeared before them and slowly merged into one giant ember humanoid. It unleashed a breath of fire at Javier and Shaw. Javier quickly released his own breath and matched the creature's.

As he had it preoccupied, Shaw activated "First Gear" and unleashed a quick flurry of punches at the beings head.

Unfazed by his miniature attacks, the giant swiped at Shaw with his large flaming hand and sent him flying into the ground.

Both breath attacks canceled each other out and seemed to daze the giant so Javier took this chance to attack the giant.

He yelled out "Ice Dragon's Sacred Horns," as he coated his arms in ice and sliced an X shape through the behemoth's body.

As he stumbled back, slowly freezing from his torso out, Shaw charged the both of his knees. He faced the left one and poured a great deal of magic into his right arm. He yelled out "Shotgun" and connected a punch with the giant's knee creating a gaping hole in the knee. In a flash, he had duplicated this attack on the second knee.

The creature fell onto his back, slowly freezing. After a moment, it froze over completely and shattered.

The entire Nova Eos section burst into an uproar. The citizens followed along and began cheering for them and Adrienne and Alice couldn't help but cheer.

The cheering was brought to an abrupt end as the bell in Alliance Hall rang signaling a "Bell Kin's" Return.

Author Note:

Special Thanks:

Special thanks to Raiyane for all of her help.

Special thanks to all of the Nova Eos members.

Special thanks to series of dark guild submissions I've received. I haven't even started working on it, but your interest, gives me a lot of hope for the story.

How's it going?

I want you all to be completely honest with me about anything that comes to mind. If you have an idea or a critique or I'm messing up your character, please let me know and we'll work on it.

I'm curious. How do you all feel about Blood Pact Artifacts?

To everyone who is using your phone to read, review or PM. I feel your pain. I had to use my phone the other day and the mobile version of this website is ridiculously frustrating.

I'm terribly sorry for anyone who PMed me and didn't get a response back. I'm looking through my e-mail for those messages now. I wasn't aware that I had overlooked any.

So, are you all enjoying this story? A lot of you have been great to me and the story and I can't thank you enough.

S-class openings update:

Scarlet Phantoms – 2 Spots

Nova Eos – Closed

Eternal Knights – 3 spots (2 who actively participate in the coliseum and 1 who doesn't) I also wouldn't mind if they were guys. 95% of Eternal Knights are currently female. Just saying.

I'd prefer to get submissions from people who never submitted before. But don't be afraid to send me an OC if you come up with one.

Sorry if I kept you all waiting for long. I wanted to give Nova Eos its spotlight and there were a lot of you. Tried my best with it, hope I didn't disappoint. If you ever find yourself curious about when a chapter is going to be released, the tentative date will be on my profile.

Someone pointed out to me that I may have set a big order with 3 guilds. Since they all have to be adequately populated. They wondered if I would scrap the story, if I failed to get enough members. The answer is No. I will keep on writing, because it's a lot of fun.

Yes, I actually have a wheel that I spin for Juggernaut Matches.

Special Submission

So I thought I might inform you all of a race of slayers that has been created by one of your fellow readers. As mentioned in the chapter, they are Djinn slayers. Now I know the idea of a slayer is very alluring, but if people are seriously interested in creating a character who is a djinn slayer, PM me. The submission guide for this will follow the same form, but you will have to discuss it with me. A few rules:

If you've already submitted a character, then I'd prefer that, at least at first, you not submit a Djinn slayer.

You'll PM me your interest. I'll explain how the race works. Then I'll let you pick from the djinn slayers that I have been given and you'll message me back your form.

Now I refuse to sully the race by having 100 djinn slayers appear out of nowhere. So at least for right now, I will only accept one djinn slayer.

From time to time throughout the story I will introduce a new brand of magic that will be open to variations, such as elements with the slayers or colors with the djinns. It'll appear in the Author Note as a "Special Submission". When that happens I will open these submissions as I see fit for these magic types, accept a few and then close it again. However, general submissions will probably be open for a very long time.

I'm sorry if that comes off as rude. I won't pretend to be the most talented reviewer or enlightened writer, but to give everyone a fair chance at submitting an OC while maintaining the integrity of what appears to be "unique" magic I think it should work this way. I'm sorry if that upsets you all. If you all don't think it should work this way, let me know and I'll think of another means of achieving this goal.

Chapter Release Event

I want to try something out. From time to time, I'll hold one of these events and the winner(s) may get an in-story prize for their character. I'm only trying it out. So if it doesn't go well. It's gone. If people like it, I'll keep it around. I'll always try and be fair about it.

What is the name of the Nova Eos member who is a part of the top ten?

Release Events Rules

The 24 hours immediately after a release will be broken into three 8 hour parts.

The first person to be correct within any of these windows receives a prize.

Then I'll PM the winners