PATH OF ASCENSION
by Ulquiorra9000
Chapter 21
Early the next morning, Jaina was just finishing putting on her arena gear when there was a knock on her changing room door. Jaina slipped the sleeveless leather vest over her head and settled it into position. "Come in."
Alexis tentatively crept in, looking as nervous as Jaina felt. "Are you ready?"
"Sure I am." Jaina tried to give Alexis a confident smirk, but it came out more like a grimace. Her stomach churned. "How hard can this be?"
"Be careful," Alexis warned her. "The king and queen will be watching."
"So? They already rejected our offer of alliance." Jaina folded her arms, challenging the other woman.
Alexis sighed. "But in the long term, putting on a good show could foster better relations between Meletis and Akros. Anax and Cymede rarely see outsiders, so this is our chance to make a better impression. Eventually, we could use a good impression here in the Iroan Games along with further negotiations to -"
"Okay, I get the idea," Jaina said impatiently. She waved a hand. "Let's just get going. Rikko should be ready by now." Indeed, Chari's older brother had leaped at the chance to join the Games.
"Right." Alexis wandered into the changing room hall and Jaina followed suit. She felt the tension mounting as she walked. With every step, she could hear the roaring crowd grow louder as she approached the vast colosseum. Competitors weren't allowed to use their own armor or clothes; instead, everyone wore sleeveless leather vests, knee-length battle skirts, and sturdy hide sandals. Many popular athletes, by what Jaina had heard, painted their outfits with personal colors and patterns to boost their competitive edge.
Jaina was more concerned about survival than anything.
"Hey, you girls look great," grinned Rikko as he joined them. He easily filled out his Games armor with his massive physique. It was hard to believe that he was related to the tiny Chari. "Ready to play?"
"I wouldn't call this playing," Alexis pointed out. "People have been known to die in these events."
Rikko faltered for a second, then composed himself. "Hey, we've risked our necks before, haven't we?"
"That's the spirit," Jaina smiled, and gave Rikko a punch on the arm. It was like hitting a wall.
The crowd's shouting became a deafening wave of sound as Jaina and her fellows stepped into the colosseum with the other assembled athletes. The unforgiving Akroan sun blazed overhead and Jaina felt herself sweating already. What she wouldn't give to dip into a cool spring back home!
There was a top box, adorned with the banner of Akros. Jaina was sure that Anax and Cymede, along with other officials, were watching from inside. Jaina swallowed tightly and remembered Alexis' words. She wondered if Anax had allowed her in the Games specifically to give her a second chance of advocating her alliance proposal. Well, she wasn't about to waste that chance!
"Welcome to the 124th annual Iroan Games!" boomed a magically-enhanced voice. "This year's games will be a little different. Today, we have three guests ready to show us what they're made of! What do you all make of that?"
The reaction was immediate. Jeers, booing and laughing rang out from the packed grandstands and Jaina bristled at the sound. How dare these people mock her? She glanced at Rikko, who just shrugged back at her.
"Well, we're going to find out soon enough!" commented the announcer. "And now, the ritual prayer. Iroas, god of victory, hear our words..."
Everyone, athletes and fans alike, knelt and chanted a prayer. Jaina and her fellows stood still, unfamiliar with the prayer. Instead, Jaina glanced up at the sun and wondered, yet again, if Heliod was watching her. Well, so what if he was? Jaina had proven herself unworthy to him already. With a flash of grim humor, Jaina wondered if Heliod was betting with Iroas on Jaina's defeat here in the Games. She clenched her fists tightly.
Once the prayer concluded, the athletes grouped up by event type and stood in different areas of the huge colosseum. Boxers over there, pole vaulters there, monster tamers across the field...
Alexis joined the lightweight boxing group, much to Jaina's surprise. Since when did Alexis ever fight anyone with her fists? So far, Jaina had only seen her use countermagic to snare enemy spells or drain a person's strength. But only certain types of magic were allowed here, and Alexis' type wasn't approved. What would she do?
Rikko joined the heavyweight boxers while Jaina grouped up with the monster tamers. And by "taming," the Games officials really meant for the athletes to subdue a wild beast in combat, from minotaurs to angry centaurs and even a juvenile giant. The giant snarled and huffed at the athletes from its massive pen, baring its yellow teeth.
"Annnnnd... BEGIN!" the announcer roared.
Applause broke out as the first athletes sprang into motion. A horn blew to signal the start and Jaina stared in awe at the commotion. Some men and women lifted massive weights while others expertly exchanged vicious blows in the boxing rings. Rikko was already deep into a match against a bald, tough-looking man.
"Look at that! The outsider can hold his own against Bello!" cried the announcer. "A fan favorite, Bello has been known to knock out his opponents inside a minute! But I think our guest here has other ideas!"
The big man, Bello, had yellow and blue stripes painted onto his arena armor and many fans waved banners with similar colors, cheering him on. He threw mighty punches and was surprisingly light on his feet, but somehow, Rikko kept pace, at least for now.
The crowd cheered when Bello landed a blow to Rikko's chest, but an instant later, Rikko circled around Bello's guard and retaliated with a punch to Bello's temple. Bello's head snapped around and the big man blinked in surprise. The crowd oohed at the unexpected blow.
Nearby, Alexis squared off against a short-haired woman in a similar ring. Again, Jaina was shocked to see Alexis fight on par with her opponent, fighting with a fluid, flexible style that frustrated the other woman. Alexis' opponent bared her teeth and pressed the attack, but the fast-moving Alexis managed to avoid the worst of it while landing a few blows of her own.
Maybe her uncle taught her self-defense in case her magic failed her, Jaina thought. Of course, most priests and oracles avoided combat, but the power to defend oneself was a necessity of this world, and clearly, Councilor Kero had seen it. And Alexis took it further than Jaina would have ever imagined.
Sudden screams of delight shook the air as Bello flattened Rikko with a terrific punch to the gut. Bruises and scrapes covered Bello's skin, but while Jaina had been looking away, he had regained the edge over Rikko. Down on the dusty ground, Rikko struggled to get back up, but another quick punch put him down.
"The winner: Bello!" the referee shouted, and Bello's fans waved their banners again.
Meanwhile, the current monster tamer successfully subdued the minotaur that he had been wrangling with. The horned beast had roared and stamped its hooves with all its might, but at length, the man had won out. The minotaur lay flat on its belly and the athlete straddled its neck, his powerful muscles bulging as he kept the monster in place.
Jaina felt the chills. How was she expected to do that? Last year, she and Rikko had fought off a pair of minotaur raiders along a forest road, but both of them had been armed, and other bandits had fought with them too. But one on one, unarmed?
"You're next," the monster tamer referee told Jaina. He gripped her upper arm and shoved her into the taming pen, shutting the gate behind her. The minotaur was dragged off, leaving Jaina alone.
"And now, another outsider is about to test her mettle!" the announcer said. "What will she face?"
The answer arrived on four legs. Burly, wild-looking, and angry, an unarmed centaur trotted into the pen and glared at Jaina. It was a male and wore its hair long.
Jaina adopted a ready stance. "Are you ready?"
"Die, human," the centaur snarled. And it charged.
Jaina was prepared for such an attack. Just before the centaur landed a vicious blow to her head, she tumbled to the side and allowed the beast's fist to swish through empty air. She made to seize its hind leg, but the centaur was too fast.
Undaunted, the centaur whirled around, pawed the ground, and charged again. This time, he attempted his own seizing maneuver, spreading his arms wide to trap Jaina in his grip.
This guy doesn't have any weak spots, Jaina realized. His powerful front legs, the ability to kick with his hind legs, and his brawny arms meant that he could harm Jaina from any angle, and defend himself from any attack.
Except one place.
Again Jaina dived to escape the centaur, but she felt the beast's fingers scrape against her upper arm and his fingernails cut three shallow lines. Blood trickled from the wound.
Shaking off the pain, Jaina leaped and managed to wrap her arms around the centaur's back, right where a saddle would be placed. Surprised, the centaur skidded to a halt and reared up, howling in indignation and rage.
"Get off me!"
"Not yet," Jaina grinned. From here, the centaur couldn't kick her, trample her, or easily reach her. So, she gripped the centaur's bulging neck with her left arm and squeezed. "Yield," she hissed in his ear.
With a primal growl, the centaur's hands scrabbled against Jaina's arm, but before he could pry her off, Jaina grabbed the centaur's ear and twisted. Hard.
"Mogis damn you!" the centaur shrieked. He twisted his humanoid torso around, determined to break Jaina's hold and throw her to the pen's hot, dusty floor.
"Well, look at that!" the announcer crowed. "This girl's got some guts, all right! I don't think we've seen a wrangling like this since Habla the Fierce stepped into that pen!" Approving cheers erupted from the grandstands.
Jaina didn't know who Habla the Fierce was, but that hardly mattered right now. She arms burned from gripping the minotaur's body, and she felt herself starting to slip from its furry back. If only she were allowed a weapon!
Then, the centaur caught the break he wanted. He threw Jaina off-balance with a sudden kick of his hind legs, then rammed his hard elbow right into her gut.
Flat, heavy pain blasted in Jaina's stomach as the centaur's blow landed. Gasping, she allowed herself to limply fall from the beast's back and sprawl across the floor, staring up at the pale blue sky. I have to get up!
Not a moment too soon. Jaina's lungs burned and she fought to draw breath after that last blow, but she managed to roll aside just before the centaur's hoof slammed down. If Jaina had been a split second lower, the hard hoof would have crushed her skull.
Finally drawing a proper breath, Jaina sprang to her feet and started to circle the centaur like a wolf. The centaur mimicked the movement, and both contestants warily traced a wide circle, daring each other to make the next move. Jaina's heart hammered in her chest. If I can catch him off-guard...
A sudden blast caught her attention.
"What...?" the centaur yelped, and he turned to face the noise's source. Likewise, members of the audience all gasped and turned as one toward the Kolophon's eastern wall.
"There seems to be a disturbance," the announcer said cautiously. "Please remain calm and..."
A huge, ugly, and one-eyed head reared itself above the city wall, and its roar seemed to shake the very air.
A cyclops.
"Warriors, to your stations!" the announcer demanded. "Everyone else, return to your homes!"
The Games wranglers herded the centaur away while the rest of the contestants abandoned their games. Rikko and Alexis joined Jaina, bruised but alert. "How did it get here?" Rikko said in shock. He couldn't tear his eyes from the cyclops' leering face.
"We can worry about that later," Jaina said firmly, clenching her fists. She didn't feel remotely tired anymore. "We'll meet with the Oromai and volunteer to -"
A second cyclops reared its one-eyes head, this time from the western wall. And it wasn't content with sightseeing; with a mighty kick, it blasted a ragged hole in the massive brick wall, scattering chunks of stone and dust everywhere. The giant lumbered in and roared in hunger and elation.
Meanwhile, the other cyclops decided to join the party. It, too, broke a hole into the wall and ambled in, but this time, Jaina noticed something: a black-robed figure sat on the giant's right shoulder, blue and black mana buzzing on his hands. The sunlight glinted off the figure's gold mask.
The Shadow League.
"The League has really done it this time," Alexis commented. The other cyclops also had a pack master mount, and now, hundreds of grays poured into the Kolophon through both gaps in the wall. Already, the Oromai and mercenaries charged to meet the intruders with their spears and shields at the ready, but against so many grays, and two cyclopes that big, it was chancy at best.
"Let's go," Jaina said, clapping her hands to each Rikko's and Alexis' shoulders. "You guys ready?"
Rikko nodded. "Yeah."