Midday in Oreore. The miners were working hard to bolster their armory in preparation for the war to resume where it left off in some months time.
We find the familiar face of Ezekiel Gaia outside his usual working grounds, helping the miners gather gems from the outside caverns.
They needed rubies, aquamarines and citrines to forge armors capable of weathering the elements wielded by their most dangerous foes.
Ezekiel did his job with hesitation, but found his will to resist the status quo had been in a steady slump ever since Sarajin left the planet...As was his desire to do any work.
"Haaa..." He sighed heavily as he dragged a wheelbarrow of gems out into the open, the final result of today's work.
Once at the entrance he received a pat on the shoulder from every worker that passed him by. "Thanks!" and "Good work!" rang hollow to him, and he forced his smile.
"Yeah, you too..." He said to the men and women who stood with their heads held high, celebrating a hard day's work with bellyaching laughter.
Ezekiel stared at them with pitiable envy and then looked down at the gems, seeing his reflection cast in many of them.
"What the hell'm I doing? This ain't gonna get us anywhere..."
Sometimes he felt like a crazy person, alone in his way of thinking in the ravine, "We'll mine, fight and die and for what? A buncha fancy rocks?"
He scooped some of them up and half-heartedly flung them back into the cavern with a sigh. He then glanced fondly at the pickaxe hammer on his back and whispered, "Pop, if ya were still here, ya'd have made 'em listen, yeah?"
He closed his eyes and gave a weak chuckle, "Yeah, that's a good laugh..."
He shook his head and faced forward, dragging the wheelbarrow through the dirt while gazing up towards Arc Hurricanos in the North.
"Never thought I'd be missin' ya so much, brother..." Ezekiel closed his eyes and clicked his teeth down, "Bah! Why can't I just get it together already?!"
The hairs on his arm and chest began to stand on end stiffly, and his skin felt a growing chill. Unlike the rest of his merry folk, he felt the daring approach of a lone and powerful figure.
"Yer kiddin' me...Now?!" His vigorous shout revitalized his fellow men's attention span and they pointed themselves westward to find the heavily armored Arctic Knight drawing upon their location.
They were unarmed, but their mere presence was as much a declaration of aggression as any before.
Ezekiel was the only one with a weapon, but it could not be drawn. For attacking now could be taken as an act of engaging in war, and this warrior might not be alone.
"W-Whaddya want?!" One of the miners declared, failing to stall the knight's march.
"Surrender your yield of aquamarines." The knight remarked with their echoing voice of intimidation.
"Why'd we do that?! We get nothin' out of it!" Another of the miners shouted.
The frost on the knight's armor began to thicken and the temperature in the surrounding air dropped to below zero degrees, "You will avoid the sting of frostbite."
The moment the knight squeezed their fist a miniature storm of ice flakes erupted from their armor and swept through the miners and cavern instantaneously.
The miners were taken off-guard but by the time they decided to move their legs were already frozen stiff. Ezekiel grabbed hold of the weapon off his back and braced himself against the cold.
The storm howled like a wolf while it's master stood as a motionless statue, silhouetted in black.
"If this keeps up the miners will...!" Ezekiel was trembling not from the cold but out of intense hesitation. His eyes then flared open as he decided in the heat of the moment, "Bah! I can't stand by and watch!"
He hurtled himself through the air in the blink of an eye and brought the blunt side of his weapon down upon the knight's body. The knight's arm rose in an almost unnatural manner to block it, then froze it and thus Ezekiel in mid-air.
And as they had before, the knight did not utter a word.
"Ya've got a lotta nerve stealin' from us outside of war time!" Ezekiel shouted while grunting to break through the frost, "Just who the heck are ya anyways?! One of those Ten Sages?!"
The ice suddenly got a heck of a lot thicker in the direct area of the knight and Ezekiel found himself being repelled off. The moment he landed, the knight lowered it's hand and turned aside.
On it's back...a hefty load of aquamarines packed into a compartment of ice. Ezekiel's eyes widened and he glanced behind him to see the wheelbarrow had been broken in two and all the remaining gems had been crushed to dust by an icy stalactite.
"You can never beat me," The knight boasted, bringing Ezekiel's attention back towards them as they turned and walked away from their storm, "For my march shall imprint my footsteps upon history for eternity."
And as they vanished into the storm, the icy winds subsided, leaving behind the echo of the knight's words in Ezekiel's ears, "And you...are just a step that is easily overcome, Son of Johnathan."
Ezekiel warmed right back up with a few breaths but the rest of his miners weren't so lucky. They'd need some quick warmth or the frost bite would make them lose their legs...
As he ran up to help them out he was left bothered by the knight's quick and deadly precision, "They knew when to strike and worst of all, could snag our gems out from under our noses."
He glanced over his shoulder and wondered, "What is yer deal...Arctic Knight?"
Chapter -101: The Arctic Knight of Black Winter
Some are born into burden. Others have burden thrust upon them later in life.
The Arctic Knight seized the chance to be burdened the moment they could, and never looked back.
With their spoils of conquest on their back, they returned to their winter home triumphant, and marched into the palace with only a momentary pause to receive a nod from the guards.
They entered the room to find their commander Colrez tucked under the sheets of his bed, seeing two females, twins to be precise, leaving his comfort with a rosy blush in their cheeks.
"Happy 16th birthday, gals!" The man uttered, his tone engorging in the pleasure only given for the sake of himself.
The Knight was still with heavy, foggy breaths as they watched the girls pass them by, but did not have anything to speak.
For Colrez was their inspiration, and to speak out would be to dishonor the legacy he has brought for their people...A legacy which the Knight sought to one day inherit, and then surpass on their own merits.
"Lord Colrez." The Knight uttered with respect.
Colrez took a drink from his tall wine glass and smiled, ready to indulge some more. But, he deigned to give the Knight the time of them, hurrying them along in a carefree manner.
"Ah, you again. The Arctic Knight was it? I assume this is worth my time, yes yes?"
The Knight pulled the ice capsule from it's back and planted it on the ground, drawing their ice back into their armor to unveil the beauty within.
And when the gems flooded the floor like a miniature lake, the look on Colrez's eyes brought the Knight pride like ever before.
His lecherous gaze salivated as the gems sparkled and glistened in his sanctuary of debauchery and indulgence.
"I-Incredible...!" Colrez gasped, crawling out of his sheets to the edge of the bed with but a pair of undies to hide his engorged privates.
"I offer these gems to the glory of our victory, Lord Colrez," The Knight remarked, before edging into a somewhat more demure and curious tone beneath their notice, "Are they...to your liking?"
"You succeeded in claiming these without the pretense of war?" Colrez uttered back.
The Knight nodded, "I would never allow mere men of stone to bar my path."
Colrez swiftly let out a few coughs and then hopped off the bed, clasping his arms behind his back as he marched left and right like he should be.
"I knew there was something special about you from the very beginning!" He shouted. An obvious lie to be sure, but one the Knight stomached to indulge in the praise and respect they hungered for.
Colrez glanced across his shoulder with a hint of smugness to his expression and wiggled his mustache, "Keep this up and you might have a place as my second-in-command."
The Knight laid their hand upon their chest and took a bow, "You honor me, Lord Colrez."
But they hungered for more. They would never settle for being in anyone's shadow, no matter how thin it was cast upon them.
So as Colrez kept to his carefree ways, he remained woefully ignorant to the craven eyes buried in the shadows of the Knight's helm.
The Knight later returned to their home, a run-down shelter on the edge of the village where the roof was one stray snowfall away from collapsing.
Here the Knight's arms were laid against the wall, and two beds with barely a sheet to cover them were at the opposite end. There was just enough room to move around, cook, and sleep.
This was where the Knight's mother had lived and died, closing her eyes to embrace the eternal slumber, all while raving over how Colrez loved her the most...
She was buried in the ground beneath this house. She was weak, and deserved her fate...
The Knight stared at the burial ground at their feet and let out a sigh, shaking their heavy helm before looking at the weapons on the wall.
There were two short swords made of black frost, and a large, sharpened lance that was just a few pieces away from being complete.
"Six years..." The Knight murmured, reaching out towards the lance's handle, "But soon, you'll finally be in my grasp, oh legendary lance of black frost..."
It wasn't a simple matter of proving oneself to the men in charge. To define one's place in history, a warrior needs the strength, grit and smarts to survive.
The Knight has never made a move without a plan. While the rest of the world sat for five years and waited for the queen of shadows to die, the Knight moved in the darkness, undetected.
They made use of every nook and cranny they could fit their bodies into and observed their enemies. They knew everything about their routines and mannerisms and when best to strike.
Thus, even with the absence of war, the Knight could plunder the other Tribes of their resources before they ever caught wind of their appearance. They snatched wood from Tanglefae, intercepted a drone from Pulsa Minoria, and grabbed fish from Aquamoria. All for the sake of feeding themselves, and to help forge their lance.
The only troublesome element...was the Son of Johnathan Gaia. His senses were a little more acute than the others in Oreore. Their prior engagement shouldn't have happened.
It was a misstep that could have been their end. But the Son of Johnathan was unmotivated. Lazy. And a fool. He had the capacity to be a thorn in their side but chose to be encumbered by the false bravado of the cloudwalker named Sarajin Stratos...
Yet for such a weak bite, the man of stone had left a mark on the Knight's heart...
"Who am I?" The Knight uttered to themselves, "I am the Arctic Knight of Black Winter..."
They hastily grabbed a sword and flung it at an ice-bitten beetle crawling up the wall to their left. The Knight then opened their hand and the sword was pulled back into their grasp, where they viewed their shadowed face in the blade's reflection, "And I do not stop marching for any reason."
Three words dominated the daily lives of those who fought on the battlefield: Hunt. Fight. Survive.
There was no room to live or to die. Obey these words and let your victory bless you with another day of splendor, or fail and become less than a shadow...
Weeks passed, and once again the sounds of war erupted from the mountain peaks.
The Knight armed themselves with their blades and marched onto the battlefield alongside Colrez and the other men of ice and snow.
Their opposition rode out on their mares of flame, but the Knight had eyes only for one.
With miles of battlefield dividing them, the one-eyed warrior glared at them with the intensity of a hundred.
The Knight's hunger was like a trout. The one-eyed demon...was that of a whale.
It's a law older than this world...Survival of the fittest. Some are just born to stand at the top of the food chain, and Aurians were this planet's chosen apex predator.
It all started on that day six years ago, when the Knight bore witness to the display of power from Sarajin's compatriot, Auris Aurora.
With just a mere short blade in one hand, they rended a cleaving strike through a tree and half a mile up the mountain.
How could any mere warrior compare to a child capable of such raw power, let alone an adult?
For the Knight, however, "mere" was no longer a word they perceived. This strength they honed through their twin blades of black frost would one day grow to surpass the might of any warrior, Aurian or otherwise.
So unlike all others who rattled with fear at the one-eyed demon's gaze, the Knight's heart pumped vigorously, as they embraced the thrill of challenging and improving their strength against these seemingly impossible odds.
These battles were an exercise in mastering a strict routine...Face down and either kill or incapacitate the soldiers in your path so the leaders can cross blades to determine a victor.
Canofloe had the advantage in power...So long as they stuck together and combined the heat of their flames to reach hotter temperatures.
Whereas Cryofloe had the advantage in speed...So long as they could keep the battlefield layered in ice.
But the one-eyed demon played by her own rules. This was her hunting grounds. They were her prey.
And that made the demon the Knight's top priority. Dancing to their usual rhythm through the battlefield, they intercepted and cut down a few of Canofloe's soldiers on their way to confront the one-eyed demon.
The demon had stayed behind until the Knight was in the very center of the battlefield. Then, she lunged all the way over with her body twisted around ready to strike, her pupil thinner than the tips of her needles and her tongue salivating profusely.
Her delighted, raspy laughter filled the battlefield as she fought the Knight.
The Knight overclocked their arms to the bone just to keep the demon from getting the edge over them. The demon attacked with pointed hand strikes and tried to throw their needles between the mesh holes in their helm.
For every attack reflected the demon just moved on to another one like they were avoiding boredom caused by any sort of repetition.
There was no pattern to learn, no tic to take advantage of. This demon was ferocity made manifest, a true God of War.
But the Knight had improved. It took five minutes instead of four this time before the demon was able to pressure their knees.
The Knight's muscles throbbed and they whispered a grunt, holding down their position with a solid foundation of ice at their feet.
The one-eyed demon leaped fifty feet into the air and then drove her crossed arms straight into the Knight's blades. Then, the demon swung her arms out to force the blades apart.
"Got YOU!" The demon whispered with sadistic glee right before stabbing the golden hair ornament directly into the helm mesh.
It only managed to hook the tip into the holes but the demon stood down and braced their aura around the ponytail to start pulling away at the mesh.
"Got nothing to say?!" The one-eyed demon snarled, and gnashed their teeth together, "Your silence's really pissin' me off. Reminds me of that bothersome bitch back home!"
Her eyes then flared to the point that her whole face warped into an inhuman form, "Let's see what you're hidin'...'Arctic Knight'!"
Callousness. Arrogance. A match made in heaven for this ferocious devil...And just what the Knight needed.
Their arms had stiffened out at their sides, slowly and carefully building up strength.
They would have to strike fast and strike hard before the demon would be aware of what was happening.
"Faster. Harder." The Knight felt their limits being broken through as their muscles swelled in pain, and faster than the eye can see they swung their blades down upon the one-eyed demon.
A lasting impression was formed in the air as the demon was pushed back, but not before taking a few fibers out of the mesh.
The demon staggered then hunched forward looking only a little harmed by the attack. She grinned from cheek-to-cheek with fangs sharper than steel and cackled deeply.
"Now this is more like it..." She said, oozing with ecstasy. Then let their right arm fall limp and slowly opened her hand, flames spurring out from the palm.
The Knight began to sweat as the one-eye demon remarked, "But you wanna see a REAL weapon?"
Seconds before their power manifested itself, the air began to rumble, signifying the retreat of the two Titans.
The demon immediately scowled and threw her face towards the direction of the volcano top, gritting her teeth so hard it was a wonder they didn't all break.
"You FUCKIN' monkey!" She screamed before launching herself towards the volcano and climbing the way to the top, the last thing heard from her being, "I was just getting to the good part!"
The Knight kept their eyes on the demon's visage until they penetrated the ashen clouds over the battlefield. Then they put their blades on their back and sighed.
"Still not enough..." And that stinging realization could make any victory feel like utter defeat.
The two armies marched back to their homes. Once again though, the Knight returned to the strange sight of some of their men encased in ice, saving them from death on the battlefield.
Between the leader's duel and the Knight's confrontation with the demon the battlefield was so hectic that the Knight had wound up being credited for this act...
"But I had nothing to do with this." The Knight pushed it out of their mind for now, and made their way towards the Wilds.
This body could still be put to work. There was no time for rest or engorging on splendors.
That didn't stop temptations aplenty from getting in their way. Women of various ages and curvaceous shapes got in their way, rubbing up against their armored form while laughing and giggling like they were drunk.
They could offer the Knight nothing and so they marched onward, dragging a couple of these waifs to the ground.
They then found themselves approached by Colrez, who gallivanted through the partying army atop his mount with two women snuggling up against his back.
"Come now my vaunted Knight! Enjoy yourself a little!" He shouted with a pint of beer raised to the sky.
The Knight bowed their head and remarked, "Take them for yourself, Lord Colrez. I have other priorities to attend to."
"Ha! Alright then!" Colrez said without hesitation before gesturing his pint to the women behind the Knight, "Come my harem of shapely beauties! My throne and 'scepter' awaits!"
The women were all too giddy to be chosen out of everyone else to take part in his post-battle frivolities. The Knight received a couple gazes from the departing souls, soon to be boned and then discarded until the next time without a care in their hearts.
"..." The Knight shook their head and pressed onward to the Wilds.
The snow-filled lands of bitter cold were the only blanket of warmth the Knight enjoyed. This was the place they were born and raised.
Many creatures dominated these lands, including a faceless monstrosity who dragged people away into a blizzard, and the undead wraiths of soldiers who fell to an unsatisfying end on the battlefield...
"Hunt. Fight. Survive..." The Knight uttered these words with a stone-cold tone and marched through the snow towards the icy floes, and then the frozen woods beyond...
There they would find their prey, a large and scarred up Blizzard Ursine. It was once considered king in these lands, but was now little more than an outcast scrounging up prey by itself.
When the Knight's presence was felt the bear turned and salivated sloppily with blinding rage, peering at them with one eye dead with white fog.
It's roar shook the snow off the trees but the Knight stood still and slowly reached for the blades on it's back.
They saw themselves as they once were...Small and fragile, seconds away from death as a similar beast once prepared to cave their chest in upon one of their many claws.
"But now..." The Knight watched the bear tear across the snow desperate to kill them.
They waited until the very last second to dodge their snapping jaws and then delivered a swift slice downward. The bear fell to the ground and went sliding, while it's front and back claws had been sliced clean off.
The Knight steadied itself and put their blades onto their back before approaching the claws and scooping them off the ground. Fixated on their seamless appearance, they clutched them gently and muttered, "I am the one who stands tall."
The bear groaned. It was tired, pitiable almost. But the Knight didn't look it's way as it walked away from it, despite the mighty beast pawing it's nubby claws at the back of their grieves.
The Knight glanced over their shoulder and muttered coldly, "Power is everything. If you cannot be strong, then die weak."
And it left the creature to its undetermined fate, then returned home after a long day.
With these claws of pure black frost in hand, it was time to finish what they had started when they were but a teenager...
They crushed the claws down into a finer grain and then applied them to the empty part of their lance using the cold as glue. Now, the lance had a tip. Now...it was no longer a dream, but a reality the Knight would proudly wield in it's hand against any enemy in its path.
They would have to get accustomed to wielding it first. They staged a war against soldiers of ice within the Wilds, mirroring the movements of the men of Canofloe.
The lance was a little heavier but their strength made that a miniscule difference. They could spear any normal soldier through the chest with ease.
To match the durability of stronger foes, they had to multiply the thickness of the ice. The lance didn't struggle against the above-average soldier or even the normal people of Oreore.
Where it struggled was against Oreore's stronger people. The thrust of the lance would cause incredible damage but not enough to put them out of commission.
Which means against the one-eyed demon...This was still insufficient. The black frost lance was a legendary weapon rarely seen in Cryofloe's history, but it'd be as dull as a baby's hand if they didn't have the strength to unleash its full potential.
After training for a couple months the Knight began to feel something it never wanted to experience: Stagnation.
This body was no longer getting anything out of fighting wild animals. The only way to push past their limits would be on the battlefield...But the only opportunity to engage while the non-aggression pact against the other Tribes was in effect was fighting Canofloe.
It'd be too slow and dangerous of a process to rely on the one-eyed demon. There had to be some other way...
While the Knight mused over overcoming this wall, they made their way to Colrez's palace. What very few people knew was that there was a backdoor leading to a massive cavern beneath the palace.
There they would find ice statues dedicated to the leaders and heroes who fought for Cryofloe.
Notably, there was no one who died on the field of battle, and also, only a couple of women, and their displays weren't nearly as grand as the rest.
A spot was already being reserved for Colrez and for good reason. He led his men spectacularly and could match the enemy commander Valflame as his equal. He was an inspiration to many, most of all the Knight themselves.
They glanced towards an empty space to the left and envisioned a statue being built after them. But it wouldn't be enough for them to be just like everyone else. They wanted to stand heads and shoulders above all the leaders before them, even Colrez if it comes down to it.
But what could they do to surpass all expectations? Why, the answer was obvious...
"Generations of leaders have never succeeded in doing the one thing we were born to do...Conquer Canofloe."
"But if I were to accomplish this..." The Knight's heart began racing, and their dream felt much closer to a reality.
They then swiftly glanced aside and wondered, "I know just how to do it."
The forces of fire and ice have at the very least been close to evenly matched. Even with the one-eyed demon's presence, the goal remained the same: Defeat the leader of the enemy forces to win.
Neither side's soldiers ever moved upon the leaders because they had equal numbers, and as long as the Knight can hold off the one-eyed demon that fact will remain true.
But if the numbers shifted in Cryofloe's favor, the whole state of the battlefield would be changed.
The problem has always been time. It takes 16 years minimum to produce an able-bodied soldier. The Knight was an exception, they were ready to fight since they were 13.
So there comes a point where both sides have no choice but to wait to birth more children and then raise them to fight.
But there's more Tribes out there than them. The reason they've failed to add their numbers to their own is because they've tried to subjugate them through power. It was never the wrong move, they just went about flaunting their power in the wrong way.
There was one Tribe who operated differently, where power was the only thing that decided leadership. And now the Knight marched towards their location to make theirs known.
They were heading...to Oreore.
The Knight's long march led them directly to the mouth of their ravine, with the Rot Walkers being a mild nuisance along the way.
There were some armored men stationed at the sides, no doubt because of their last incursion. They held massive hammers in their hands and propped them up to bar the Knight's path.
The Knight stood still passively and stared the two warriors down. They shivered down to the core, but their continued defense in spite of that was commendable.
All it would take is a few sincere words to disarm them, "I have come to speak to your leader."
A dozen soldiers were brought in to surround the Knight as they guided them to their leader. The ravine was abuzz with the Knight's presence, which caused the leader, Lianne Gaia, and her troublesome son to be ready to meet up with the Knight outside their home.
"What in the world...?" The son of Johnathan remarked.
Lianne's glare was ferocious. She was more than worthy of her place, despite it being earned through marriage.
She crossed her arms in defense and aggression and fiddled her fingers atop her elbows, brushing them aside to tell the guards to open up and let the Knight through.
The Knight took two steps closer before Lianne growled at them, "Ya have some nerve walkin' into our home after all ya've taken from us."
"So what're ya after now?" Johnathan's son remarked.
"Leadership over Oreore." The Knight stated, plain and clear as can be.
The soldiers drew their weapons upon the Knight but they merely glanced around at them before focusing on Lianne's increasingly enraged expression.
"What makes ya think I'd ever give that up to the likes of you?" She remarked.
The Knight gestured their hand out and explained, "There is a tradition in Oreore where leadership can be challenged for and won if the person proves stronger than the current leader."
"Correct," Lianne said with a begrudging tone, "But outsiders ain't allowed to take advantage of it."
The Knight slowly craned their head back and looked down upon Lianne with a calm and piercing gaze, "You're lying. There is nothing in the Sacred Tablets that says that."
"How would you...?!" Lianne was about to lash out when the son of Johnathan stepped up in her place.
"Ya've been doin' yer research on us?"
"And every other Tribe. The way to victory is through understanding your enemy enough to dominate them completely."
"Huh," Johnathan's son bobbed their head with a mild sense of interest, "So why us exactly?"
"I need the strength of Oreore on my side to conquer Canofloe and secure my rightful place in history," The Knight squeezed their fist tight, "Tanglefae is ruled by their Titan. Arc Hurricanos remains out of my reach. The rest are too guarded."
"Even Aquamoria?"
"...I am not that good at fishing." The Knight said with a mildly humored tone.
"So ya wanna take over our Tribe so we'll fight your battle for you?"
"You have much to gain from my leadership," The Knight pronounced, "If we combine our forces there would be no other Tribe left who can stop us once the war resumes. You will not only have my strength on your side but my protection and my intelligence. I daresay I understand your Tribe enough to lead it better than anyone."
Lianne's forehead popped a vessel and she was charging past her son on the warpath, "How DARE you...!"
"Mum, stop!" The son of Johnathan intervened.
Lianne swatted him aside and faced him with ire, "No! We have the chance to crush this armored menace where they stand, boy!"
"Do you?" The Knight boasted with no shakiness in their voice. They raised their hand and frost began to grow in the palm, "Remember our last encounter, son of Johnathan? I have only grown stronger since then. Enough to fill this entire ravine with a blizzard."
Lianne and her son glared at the Knight and with the son distinctly remarking, "Yer bluffin'."
Nevertheless the Knight kept their head held high and said, "Can you risk that? All it takes is a little ice in the cracks to make the walls crumble to the ground."
"Ok hol' on..." The son of Johnathan waved their hands up and looked the Knight straight in the eyes, "This doesn't have to escalate."
"So you accept my challenge then?"
"No!" Lianne shouted.
"Yes." The son of a Johnathan said at the same time.
"NO! Means. NO!" She then replied while slapping her son on the shoulder.
As Johnathan's son rubbed the sore spot he looked at his dear mother and said, "Mum, we've got the Knight right here in front of us, and they're willing to do things our way. This is our best chance to settle affairs before the war resumes."
"We're not goin' to risk our family's long legacy to some arrogant outsider!" Lianne mumbled, "If yer father were here-"
"Well he's NOT!" The son of Johnathan shouted defiantly and then slapped his hand against his chest, "But I am! And I'm gonna fight to preserve the heart and soul of our people!"
The Knight and the son's eyes met and he asked with a firm and clear voice, "Ya've told us what'll happen if ya win. But what if I do?"
"Then my fate is in your hands. The weak are ruled by the strong," The Knight placed their hand on top of the other and positioned them before their waist, "But you will not make me yield, son of Johnathan."
The son of Johnathan playfully bobbed their head and waved their hand up, "We'll see."
He then gestured his hand out and remarked, "If I win, I want you to finally tell me who ya are and what yer deal is. That fair?"
"I accept your terms," The Knight said without hesitation, "Now, I do believe you have a designated arena for this kind of battle."
"Heh, right this way then."
The Knight and the son of Johnathan, along with every able-bodied man, woman and child of Oreore, made their way out of the ravine and towards the center of the wastelands.
There a monstrous, cylindrical chasm had been carved into the planet with rows of seating for the audience and a circular arena in the middle for the fighters to engage in. Wrong one move, and they'd go plummeting into the abyss below.
There were stone pillars where the names of former challengers to the leader were etched in stone, and then crossed out if they died. Needless to say, the Gaia's lasting legacy racked up a lot of crosses but this time, the Knight would subvert history's expectations...
Their twin blades and lance were stuck to their back. The son of Johnathan had only his trusty pickaxe hammer at his side.
The audience cheered for their prodigal son while attempting to castrate the Knight with their boos.
But the Knight stood resolute and faced their only opponent down. The son of Johnathan was smiling, which drew the Knight's curiosity forth.
"You stand to lose everything and yet you're smilin'?"
"Ya got me," The son of Johnathan stood tall and smashed the blunt head of their hammer down on the ground, rattling the arena, "I should be grittin' my teeth in anger right about now and yet..."
"I dunno, there's just somethin' about ya that makes me really excited to fight ya," The son of Johnathan then kicked their hammer and performed a flip to position it atop their shoulder, "I bet yer feelin' much the same way."
The Knight's heart was indeed racing, but if only their enemy could feel the hunger behind their intent...
They grabbed hold of their blades and a powerful cracking noise erupted as they pulled them off. They then lashed them down by their hips and remarked, "This battle shall be a momentous occasion for me. Here...is where I truly lay claim to my rightful place in history! So yes...You could say I'm excited."
"History eh...?" The son of Johnathan closed his eyes and bounced his hammer along a little, "Alright..."
He then spread his feet out and pressed against the ground, causing the pillar they're standing on to quake. He then grit his teeth and gestured his hand at himself, "No holdin' back! We're settlin' this here, Arctic Knight!"
"I expect no mercy and shall deliver none, son of Johnathan!" The Knight pronounced, signaling the true beginning of this final, heated battle between the two forces for the fate of Oreore...
Next Time: The Duel