And now, the stories of Kilik and Winston merge.

It was the day of the fight. The sun was simply beating down on me as I rode towards the arena where the four champions would fight to the death. This camel was certainly a smelly animal. I was near-completely drained of my will to carry through with this tournament until I caught sight of the arena. Thousands of fans, waiting for the final battle. This had surely raised thousands of gold for whoever set this tournament.

We each took our respective corners in this 30 square foot slab of clay that was ashamed to call itself an arena. The announcer introduced all four of us. As if we weren't already known worldwide.

"First up, we have Taki, the winner of the Tokyo tournament! Taki is well versed in Ninja arts and will be tough to defend when she opens up with fierce and fast blows. She fights with two shortswords and an odd fighting stance. Of course, the last person to question her fighting stance is now laying two feet in the ground." Taki. Japanese looking, very powerful indeed. She'd be a tough challenge.

"Next there's Kilik!" The crowd went nuts! "He won the Beijing tournament by a landslide, completely dominating all of his opponents. He doesn't even have a scratch on him! He uses a staff with metal on each end. Although this doesn't look deadly, Kilik has killed every single one of his opponents." Kilik, hm. Even more tough than Taki. He had his eyes on me. I knew he'd try to kill me first.

"Third up, we have the lovely Sophitia! She won the tournament in Sparta, letting every single opponent of hers to live. Her shortsword/shield combo is something to watch out for, especially the quick parries that she can deliver. That's right, she fights with a really shortsword, but with her shield she can do some amazing things, including knock you out cold!" Sophitia, hm. The weakest in will and in muscle. She'd die first.

"And last but not least, the fierce Winston! He barely won the tournament in London, which had some of the weakest opponents. Although he could kill you or me, it doesn't look like he'll survive today. Despite this, his fighting style is wondrous! With his two cheap shortswords and amazing flexibility, he's messed his opponents up. Interesting fact:He has never killed a lady so far in the tournament, simply let them surrender with his blade to their throat."

This was it. The final countdown. Some poor soul had lugged a gong all the way out here in the middle of the Sahara. Another poor soul had to stand there and hit it, doing nothing else for the remainder of the fight. The gong sounded for the last time, and it was time to focus on things that were slightly less musical.

Kilik ran straight for me. He was truly a master at whatever art he practiced. If I had only one sword to block his attacks then I would have been done for. I held out, knowing that he would lose energy and then I could begin an offense against him.

Taki was doing the same thing against Sophitia. Her shield wasn't doing much good for her. The announcer was... you guessed it, announcing our fight and commentating on it as if he were a master at all fighting styles. I tuned him out, focusing on Kilik. He would grunt, yell, or unleach a battle cry before each flail he'd make at my head, so I readied my defenses whenever he did one of those. I thought I'd cut his staff in two, but the wood was too strong.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Sophitia tiring out. Her defensive motions were getting more sloppy, and it wouldn't be long before Taki had an opening. I was much more conservative with my blocks, which I'm sure the announcer made a note of. By two minutes in Taki was simply playing with Sophitia, who was leaving large openings and wasn't getting any less tired. Taki finally realized the stupidity in toying with Sophitia's life, and ended it with a swift blow to the head. Taki was gloating over her victory. Shoot, a three person battle. It could go any way now.

Taki was trying to dislodge her sword and was quite distracted. Seeing an opportunity, I waited for Kilik to slow down a fraction, then I ducked under his next swipe and sprinted to Taki. I stabbed her in the side and then turned to face Kilik. He had surely caught up to me by now and he would be preparing for another flurry.

This is when all hell broke loose.