Like Birds in the Wind

Chapter 4: The Court of the Eagle

An Eriol/Tomoyo Alterfic

We made a tight fit in the classic black convertible, a fine German-made machine that had the subtle hum of restrained power. Like Eriol himself, I had remembered thinking. Eriol was ever benign and benevolent, but sometimes in strain there was a shade of him, holding himself in somehow. And now I knew what it was that he had held back.

It was a very nice day, fluffy clouds casting shades of shadows over the greenery in the dense forest. Sometimes the sun penetrated the dense, verdant canopy, and arrow-straight rays of gold gilded the leaves to a brilliant shimmer. We were headed to the Court of the Eagle. Eriol had explained it as the dueling place for those who possessed magic. Apparently, this Belisarius had very much taken advantage of it. I would later find out, at the duel, why exactly it was called the Court of the Eagle.

I was a silly young girl then, believing Eriol wholeheartedly that magic could always be reversed. It is never reversed to its original self without some sort of price. And there was a great price to be paid.

On our way there, Eriol explained some of what had happened, concerning Belisarius. He was the Keeper of the Jokers, and turned evil somewhere along the line. He was a traitor to the cards-for I now knew what these cards were, those magic possessing cards that granted one powers, whomsoever held them. And Sakura held them, held that vast power. Belisarius was angry at his meager powers over only two cards, and despised the fact that Yue took the position that he should of held. Eriol, as Clow back then, had banished him, but apparently that was not enough. Now Belisarius was back, and wanted revenge for the banishment.

There was a heavy silence in the car, except for Eriol's calm, rational voice droning on about this spell to use or some other. He told me of why I had to be there, because I was the object that they were contesting. I remembering blushing at that, that Eriol was dueling someone for me, even if it was only the power that I held. Syaoran looked distracted, frowning at nothing and thinking hard. Sakura had a concentrated look on her face, and was muttering to herself, and tapping her fingers on the armrest. Tomoyo was merely staring out of the window, her gloriously purple eyes blank and empty as an expensive china doll's. She looked as if she was not alive, not breathing, and had never breathed nor lived. She seemed like something so above me that it was not even comprehensible.

We pulled up to a small park, a vista of elegant trees, poplars, I think they were, and beyond that perfect circle of poplars was a great circle of marble, right in the direct center. It must have spanned at least a hundred feet across, fine pale marble inlaid with painstakingly intricate patterns of differently colored stone. There were perhaps ten steps leading up to this circle, the base of a great temple that did not lead to a temple. A circle of polished Corinthian columns encircled the circle, and there was not a sound save the lonely wind and the rustling of the trees and the cheery birds singing their eternally merry song. And there was no one there, except for a dark young man, of aristocratic mien but with a dark, ruminating expression. He truly did look out of place in this park of light and sun.

He stood at our approach, and as he watched Eriol carefully while he got out of the car and mounted the steps. There was a smaller platform at each cardinal direction of the platform, which I assumed was for viewing. Sakura, her husband, Tomoyo and I mounted this platform. There was a vibrating tenseness in the air.

A ripple in the air traveled around the perimeter of the Court when Eriol entered it, and I saw now that there was a great eagle, wings outstretched, emblazoned in the dead center of the court. The duel was to begin.

/Weapon of previous agreement, broadsword./ Belisarius stated flatly. He did not seem to care that he was to duel until one of them was on the ground and unable to rise. Eriol nodded in assent, and they gave each other polite bows.

/Bird of prey, deigned by the Court, the eagle./ Eriol said just as coolly. He stood at one end of the court, while his opponent stood at the direct opposite end.

Tomoyo stood, and walked to the North Platform, as Syaoran had informed me. She was to be the judge, because she was the only one here not possessing powers now, because I had received the gift of second sight.. And she was to be impartial. Tomoyo's violet eyes were serene, ever tranquil. She knew what to do.

Tomoyo held a silver bell, finely crafted even at this distance, and said in a clear voice that carried,

/First. The Heights of the Eagle./ And she rang the bell once. Its tone carried, as her voice did. Eriol and Belisarius suddenly rose into the air, levitating at the same height, perhaps ten feet up, directly across from each other.

/Second. The Mien of the Eagle./ Tomoyo rang the bell twice, and a flash of light vertical under both duelers shot up, and wings were suddenly outstretched. Both men had one white wing, one black wing, representing the struggle between good and evil, as Sakura told me. They were large, and poetic in form, but on their joints were steel scales, glinting with jewels in the noonday sun.

/Third. The Armaments of the Duelers./ She rang the bell three times, and the flash of light was there again, and suddenly they wore armor. I could see Eriol's eyes closed, concentrating on the magic at hand. Steel armor, gauntlets and breastplates and a crested helmet. Only one shoulder was covered in steel. He held a long broadsword, its long length flashing light.

/Fourth. Let the duel commence./ Tomoyo rang the bell four slow times, and suddenly a current of readiness, an air of death was assumed. The two men held aloft for a moment. They drifted with their wings propelling, and went around in a slow circle, measuring each other somehow.

And then, in the blink of an eye, they charged, quicker than lightning, and their weapons made a sonorous sound that did not fit the utter aura of danger. They were both thrown back at the force. Eriol propelled himself up, raised his sword with great might, and charged again, and brought his sword down. When it seemed he had nearly struck Belisarius, he swerved and avoided the strike.

To and fro they flew, fleet in their steel-tipped wings of eagles, long swords clashing in a heat, a frenzy of struggle. It had been nearly fifteen minutes, and both swordsmen were cut, but neither was on the ground. They seemed motionless for a long moment. And then, faster than anything, they met thirty feet above the marble floor, and crashed into each other. There was a struggle in midair for some time, grappling deadly with the steel-tipped pinions of their wings slashing at each other, before they spun headfirst towards the marble ground. At the last moment, Eriol dragged himself back up with a great fluttering of wings, and then both were aloft again.

I will never in my life forget the look in Eriol's eyes, so very concentrated and deadly. They were steely hard and cold as ice, never wavering from their target, a stare that was death's stare. For him, it was a duel to the proverbial death, and the constant determination was showing in the graceful way he moved through the air. It was almost poetic. Danger crackled like static electricity in the air, and was heavy as a fog that might covere the court.

They darted over the beautiful marble expanse, made for the dance of beauty and death, their wings straining with effort to move so quickly for such a long time. Both were covered with sweat and blood, and the steel of their armor glinted with the jewels set in them, shimmering mercilessly in the hot sun. The only four spectators watched in silence. On the court fluttered a few black and white feathers.

I was terrified then, my hands cold and damp, my heartbreat erratic, and sitting there pensively, watching with a horrible fascination at the two men who moved with such dangerous grace, almost too fast for my eyes to follow. Eriol's wings climbed again, and he dove at Belisarius with such speed that he didn't have enough time to react. This was his opening. He charged with such force that he drove the sword into Belisarius' shoulder, and he was down.

Eriol could not avoid the ground, so he also hit the immaculate marble, save for the few feathers, and crashed into a column. The situation did not look good. Both duelers were down, but Eriol was regaining his altitude quicker. He pulled out a long, slender dagger, set in gold and jewels, for hand-to-hand combat. The final rungs of the duel were to end here.

Suddenly, Belisarius leapt up so fast that Eriol did not have time to block or par, but only try to avert the attack to the best of his ablility. He almost succeeded, but then both were on the ground, unable to rise at the last.

Sakura stood worriedly, and she and Tomoyo shared a long look. They could not do anything until one regained his heights, or until one surrendered. There was a magical barrier that prevented all outside intervention. A ripple went through the air inside the court again, and Syaoran stood, also looking worried. I remember that he had said something about it being the last rungs of the battle. The very last.

I almost did not notice, had it not been for Syaoran staring hard at Belisarius, and giving the vilest curse I had ever heard, was when he pointed out to me that Belisarius had taken something out. It was a small glass ball, edged in golden lace, holding something like fog inside it.

It was a mist of cease-fire. Belisarius did proclaim a cease-fire, one that would only work by chance alone. If it was decided-by whom, and where, it is not known-that there would be a cease-fire, then both combatants would be released, and it was decided to release Eriol and Belisarius. This cease-fire was not like others, for it was magical, enstating that both contestants could never again fight, for there would be some… restraint holding them from it. That is the best I could explain it, only some restraint. So much of magic is unexplainable, nebulous, confusing. All that I could tell you is that they were bound to never fight again.

At that moment Syaoran told Sakura that Belisarius had to have something up his sleeve to call the cease-fire. He wanted my newly acquired talents too much for just a point blank cease-fire. With my second sight, he could see the auras of those who possess powers other than that of the majority of the population, and take their power. I still do not understand how he could do it, but I am no magician.

The cease-fire was called by that unknown entity. The cool mist, colored steel gray and sparkling white covered the court. Both duelers were attempting to fight it, for it was little known what would happen with the cease-fire, but suddenly they went limp and unconcious. Sakura was watching with an air of readiness, an air of being poised on the brink. We all watched, transfixed, as Eriol was lifted by the fog, embraced in it, until it made a large, grey cocoon around him. his wings were slowly folded for him, and they covered him completely. The mist then turned thicker and darker, until it was as black as night, and it tightened.

/There's something wrong./ Sakura had muttered. Syaoran shook his head.

/We don't know./ He told her.

All of the sudden, the fog turned lighter and lighter until it disolved completely and Eriol was dropped gently to the ground. He was unconcious, and a bleeding cut marred his cheek. Eriol was covered with

blood. In fact, there was so much blood that I could not see how he could still be alive while having lost so much blood. The wings and weapons were gone, and all he was left with was torn clothing and rivers

of blood. The duel was still not done.