Cearbhail:

So, in this chapter we get to see two sets of doubles. Enjoy.

[Travis Upall]

"Okay everyone. It's been a lovely five minutes since the completion of the first round where Erickha Snow-Pelt defeated Dulzul gro-Imperial City. And so we're moving onto the second round of the first tier of the combat tournament. In the left corner, we have Jessie Downall the Downfall Boxer. From… their character sheet, we can see that they're an Adept at Destruction and Alteration. Interesting combination, great for close combat, much like the previous rounds between Erickha and Dulzul. It's almost like this tournament attracted those who specialize in these fields. Hmm…" The Arch Mage rubbed her chin.

The Arch Mage shrugged, throwing her hands up. "Oh well. And now a little information about Unit 3's Redguard boxer. Their favorite color is tan, their favorite season is autumn. They love snowboarding, sandboarding, playing the lute, and teaching the lute to their closest friends. More than anything else, they love to get caught in the rain. A true romantic if you ask me. Watch out for their freezing hands though. A bit of a cold personality if you get too close."

Jessie smirked at me. They looked almost exactly like me. I heard Vatu gave them a scar too, just like he did to me. If you looked in the mirror, Jessie and I looked like the same person.

"You may look like me… but…" I held up my fists. "You can't compete with my style of combat."

Jessie smirked. "Weird… I was going to say the same thing." They held their fists up, mirroring my pose. "I think you'll find we're nothing alike."

"Say… you're kind of cute." I smirked over to Jessie. "Think when this is over we'll get a smoothie or something?"

Jessie smirked back at me. "Sorry, I have a Breton girlfriend healer." They winked at me. "But you know… I think you're just as cute as I am."

"Well then. Let's have a good match." I readied my fists.

"In the right corner, we have Jessie… I mean Travis Upall. Gods, they do look alike. Travis Upall is Unit 4's Shock-Flash Boxer… I think we're going to be seeing a trend this round folks. Anyway, here's some information on Travis. Adept in both… go figure… Destruction and Alteration. I swear people… this just happened to line up. We don't plan this stuff. Travis grew up with his older half-sister Branwen in the Imperial City Arena District. He learned to box from her. He became interested in studying magick when the Daedra rampaged across the Empire, and even watched his sister kill several Daedra Churl rampaging the Imperial City. Travis is a strong capable fighter with an even stronger need to protect his friends and family. His favorite color is blue, his favorite season is winter. He loves nighttime clouds, playing the xylophone, and baking."

I shook my head. "What a weird way to introduce us. Why would anyone want to know this stuff?"

Jessie snickered. "You like to bake?"

I nodded. "Yeah… what of it?"

Jessie winked at me. "Perhaps we can get a smoothie after all. Just bring me some homemade cookies."

"Hey!" A Breton girl screamed from outside the ring. "You promised me a date!"

Jessie waved to her. "Don't worry, Brittany. I'm just messing with my opponent." Jessie turned to look at me. "Sorry… but my girl is watching. I can't look weak in front of her. So… I won't be losing. Don't worry though. I'll make it look good for… whoever you're trying to impress."

I exhaled as I readied my mind. I started wrapping my fists in Fire and Shock. I mentally wrapped a Shield across my body. I had to get into a proper mind space if I was going to kick this person's ass.

"Competitors… ready… start!"

I screamed as I hopped over to Jessie, keeping my feet mostly planted as I shifted my stances to approach them. Jessie was matching my form step for step. It was like I was beginning a shadowboxing match with myself. And as I got close to Jessie, I threw the first… well, first matched punch. Our punches collided with each other. Their frost exploded into bright light against my Flashfire Fist. I didn't slow my attack, throwing my next fist at them. They matched my attack again. So, I tried a new approach. I lifted my shin up for a knee thrust. Our shins collided with each other.

I screamed as I forgot form. I just unleashed a barrage of close-range attacks. Jessie copied me again. Several of my attacks landed… and several of Jessie's landed on me. We both had Shields surrounding our bodies, absorbing most of the magical and physical attacks for us. With each blow, I felt my mana pool drain away. This wasn't going to be a long match. I would have to be creative to win this fight. And that's when it happened. Jessie broke their form, opting to jump back.

I tried to shift my stance, advance on their weakness in form. And… I realized… I couldn't move my legs. I glanced down, finding my legs were frozen. Jessie had formed Frost over my legs' Shield. Sneaky little…

I glanced up at Jessie. "So… this is just going to be a thing with Unit 3, isn't it?"

Jessie smirked. "Honestly… who do you think taught Erickha?" Jessie jumped at me, stretching out their feet for a flying kick. As their foot snapped out, there was a bright flash, one that blinded me. I had to bring my hands up to protect my face. I felt a heavy slam on my stomach. It went through my Shield.

The Frost covering my legs shattered and I hit the ground. I quickly rolled up, hoping to see Jessie coming at me. I didn't see anything. Jessie was gone. I felt a heavy slam across my back. A shin strike. I rolled forward, absorbing most of the blow. I had time to get my bearings before a bright light blasted me in the face. I threw my fist up to block the light, opening myself for a hard slam against my chest. This time, I was expecting it. I wrapped my arm around the invisible appendage. I summoned Shock, running it through Jessie's Shield.

Jessie's form appeared for a second. They didn't look worried or hurt. Just… amused.

"You know… we're pretty alike." Jessie replied. "We're both amazing fighters. And any other time, we'd be pretty well even in a fight. But… I'm also really good at Enchanting and Illusion. Where you… I gather are not. You're fast… but you haven't learned how to enchant your muscles to move faster. To block pain. Invisibility cells to blink you out in and out of the visible spectrum. And I have Sun as my secondary elemental specialty. Quite a blinding experience… right?" Jessie broke into a bright grin. "However… Sunspot is my favorite Combat Spell."

Sunspot?

A bright white light surrounded me. I had to close my eyes. I tried to move my arms to block the burning light in my eyes… but nothing helped. Every inch of me burned like I was being lit on fire. It lasted for only a second. And that's when I felt a heavy slam on my face.

…

"The eyes are looking better now. I'm guessing Travis can't see anything yet though. Hello… Travis? How many fingers am I holding up?"

I groaned as I opened my eyes. I couldn't see anything. Huh… I thought I opened my eyes. I blinked… or… I thought I blinked. It felt like I blinked.

"Um… am I wearing a bandage?" I reached up for my eyes, not feeling any cloth covering them.

"No… I guess your eyes aren't healed yet then." I heard the soft angelic voice of Primrose over top of me.

I felt my heart skip a beat. "Oh… Rose. Hey…" My voice cracked, and I was quick to cough away my embarrassment. "So… did you see that match I was in?"

"Ah-huh…" Rose's soft purr of a murmur sent my heart through its paces. I could feel her soft hands on my face, her fingers dancing around my eyebrows. Her soft touch caressing my cheek. "Oh… I see what happened. I forgot to repair the connection between the retina, macula, and the optic nerve. I didn't think their spell could do this much damage to the eye. Just give me a second, Travis… you should be seeing again really soon."

I reached up, feeling Rose's hand on my face. "Um… Rose. How long was I out?"

"Oh? Five minutes. The next match is about to begin."

My vision started to blur back to life. It was small, very blurry, no color… just… shapes. Disconnected blurry shapes.

"How's that?"

I smiled. Even with the world around me black and white… seeing Rose's face in front of mine… made it okay. I grabbed Rose's hand in mine. "I can only see you…"

Rose snickered. "Well… that's a start."

"It's all I need to see…" I muttered.

Even I could see her startled face. "Oh… Well…" I saw her figure grow bigger. And then my vision turned dark. I felt something cold press against my forehead. It felt like lips. I heard her smack my forehead with a light kiss. My heart came to a complete stop. "I guess we'll have to finish restoring your eyesight then." Primrose whispered into my left ear. I felt every hair on the back of my neck rise.

"If we hurry… we could make the next match. Who is up next?"

…

[Pra'ja]

I waited with anticipation. My match was up next. I was waiting in standby as the previous match was finishing up. This match was a no-contest. Ugha, an Imga, was up against a Redguard. I mean… seriously… there was no way this match could even be close.

I held up my crystal ball. My girlfriend's face looked up at me. She wasn't available to talk to. I wonder what she was doing right now. I mean… I'm freaking out. I'm up against another Shadow user. I swear… the proctors of this tournament set this up on purpose. My opponent was Talia Snake-Fang. Unit 3's Shadowporter. She's just like me. And if Jessie wiped the floor with Travis… and Erickha wiped the floor with Dulzul… both of which ended up in the medical ward… I… I really felt sick to my stomach. Normally, that would be uncharacteristic of me… but… ever since I was in the forbidden woods with Vatu… and I was faced with what I go through when I run out of Shadow… I haven't wanted to overextend my abilities. And here's the hard thing. Talia… she's a Mage… where I'm an Atronach. She's not just limited to Shadow like I am… she can generate her own mana field. She has real magick… even if it takes the form of Shadow. In a way… her Shadow has more mobility than mine… and she gets it back faster. She just needs a small breath to get herself in order. Me? I have to meditate for hours, or rest in a magick bath to get my Shadow to regenerate. But, I do have one thing on her. I can take more of a beating than her. I can absorb her Shadow and use it as my own. I just have to keep that in mind.

I caught the dark-scaled Argonian glaring at me. Talia Snake-Fang. She knew I was nervous. She was giving me the sickest glare. And since I talked a couple of time, I know the kinds of things she is capable of. We didn't give out our fill histories to each other, but we haven't shared a few of favorite pranks. We both know we're pranksters. And that smirk she's giving me right now. I know she wants nothing more than to have a prank war. Damn. I didn't bring my farting cushion. Or my tar gum.

I looked away from Talia back to the ongoing match. The fighters were from Unit 1 and Unit 2. Ugha was from Unit 1. She was an Imga that specialized in a Conjuration style of magick called Equip. She could summon armor and weapons from her personal astral space. She was cycling through various different armors throughout the fight, but her opponent, Starian from Unit 2, was one of those old Redguard sword masters who could summon their Shehai, which was some kind of spectral sword that was creating with Starian's soul. Starian practiced the old art form of sword-singers. And she was proving just how impossible it was to defeat her soul sword. She was cutting through Ugha's summoned armor like it was nothing. And just like you'd expect… the Imga was lying on the ground, exhausted from overusing her summon ability. Her magicka was completely drained and she was struggling to hold on. Starian continued to stand her ground, letting Ugha exhaust herself.

"I think this is it people. It's been an interesting 4 minutes but… I think Ugha's on her last breath."

"I'm not… I won't…" Ugha struggled to get to her feet.

"You have fought with honor. Among my people, you would have been praised for making it this far against my soul sword. But… this dance of ours must come to an end. If you do not surrender… this next cut will sever your aura. I do not recommend you take this approach." Starian was a well-built athlete, wearing a light flowing gown adorned with ribbon sleeves that also wrapped around her back and chest. It was an outfit I was sure I get myself into if it meant getting Vara on top of me.

Ugha rose to her feet. "Do your worst! I still have my perfect armor to put on. Equip!" She screamed. Just like all the other times, she spread her arms out, floating in the air. Dazzling rainbows sprouted from all around her body encasing her. It formed into a bubble of light that exploded, fading away before revealing Ugha in a thick glowing white armor. "My Perfect Defense Armor."

Starian sighed, lowering her stance. "Okay… your funeral."

Starian took off in a quick flash. Ugha summoned a massive floating shield in front of her. And I watched in real time as the shield, her armor, and her auric signature were ripped in half. First her shield broke in two, then her armor exploded off her body. And then I watched her auric signature just… fade away.

Ugha fell to her knees, completely dead inside. Then she fell to her face incapable of stopping herself from crashing into the marble flooring.

"And just like that… Starian is the victor. Get a medical unit for Ugha. We'd like to remind all competitors… while we do encourage you to do your best… please stop hospitalizing your opponents."

I found myself swallowing. Even if I beat Talia… I have to beat Starian… I'm not sure anyone can. And I'm an Atronach. Aura is all I have. I don't have magick to rely on.

I watched in horror as three healers dragged an unconscious Ugha out of the combat ring. Starian walked off the stage, coming down the very stairs I was about to walk up. She gave me a strong glare, looking me up and down. She was sizing me up.

"Your name?" Starian asked. She stood a full foot taller than me, muscles on her arms and shoulders thicker than my entire body. And her thighs. Damn.

"Pra'ja." I stood there, shaking in my cute boots.

Starian smiled. "Good luck. I hope we face each other in the next tier."

"Right…" I could barely find my voice. What was wrong with me? I'm not this… I don't freak out about stuff like this. I usually treat fighting like it's a joke. Maybe I'm overthinking this. Talia… she seems pretty cool. I don't really think she'll take this match too far.

"Hey!" Talia's voice exploded near my earhole.

I screamed, jumping away from her. She startled me with her sudden Shadowport.

She got me, and she knew it. The sick smile forming on her lips told me so. The glittering gleam in her eye judged me in ways I usually judge others. Hist… we're so alike it scares me to no ends.

"Hey, Pra'ja… I just wanted to wish you good luck in our match. I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun." She stuck out her hand for a handshake.

I tried my best to smile. "Ah-huh. Yup. All the fun." I grabbed her hand, pulling her in close to me. "Just so we're clear… what kind of fun are we planning to have?"

Talia's wide grin told me all I needed to know.

"You're planning to embarrass me, aren't you?" I sighed.

Talia nodded. "I'm sure you will be doing the same. Everything goes in times of war, Pra'ja. Everything." She cackled as she vanished in a puff of Shadow. "Just remember…" Her voice whispered from behind me. "I'm in it for the lol's. I hope you are too…"

I exhaled as I cleared my mind. I tried to get my mind focused on the upcoming match by picturing Vara in a bikini. Her cute pink striped bikini matching her orange stripes… oh man…

"Okay, we're ready for the next contestants. Talia Snake-Fang and Pra'ja Vanderma please enter the ring and wait by your corners." Arch Mage Mother-in-Law soon called over her crystal ball.

I took a deep breath, letting some of my growing anxiety leave my shoulders as I forced them to sag a little. I stepped onto the enchanted stonework that made up the combat arena, feeling the small tingle of purr energy fused to the floor. The floor had some powerful enchantments. Huh… a lot of energy. I wonder if I can do anything with that. I'm an Atronach… I can absorb the magick… but I need to break the enchantments first. Which… I've already learned that Shadow corrupts soul gems and can break enchantments if pushed into the enchanted network. I may suck at making enchantments… but I'm a goddess at breaking them.

I glanced over the crowd, hoping to see my friends. Vatu was out there, just within eyesight. He was standing next to Davilia and Crassi. When I saw Vatu, he gave me a strong nod and a thick smile. For a brother… he's pretty cool. Wow… I went from crushing on him to having him as my brother. Damn… life is fucking weird some days.

I gave Vatu the bull's horn's sign, showing him I'm going to rock this match. Vatu replied by returning the same gesture to me. Good, we're on the same page. I'm going to kick his ass when our match begins.

"In this left corner, Talia Snake-Fang from Windhelm City. Talia… do we have permission to share your story?"

I glanced back to Talia. She stood just a foot away from me. She had her arms crossed, giving me a crocked smile. "Sure, why not? I wrote it down for you to share."

"All right then." Arch Mage Mother-in-Law cleared her throat. "Talia Snake-Fang from Unit 3 comes from a small settlement in Windhelm of Argonian dockworkers and fishers. Her sister fled to Windhelm with her baby sister in tow when their village was attacked by… by Khajiit assassins. Their parents were slaughtered by the assassins, both being Shadowblades. Her sister managed to take her baby sister and flee to Windhelm where she got work as a fisher. When both of their abilities as Shadowblades began to manifest, they both wanted to seek out a better life, and after gaining enough for transport to Cyrodiil… they moved to the big city to join the Arcane University in a joint program studying Argonians and their Shadow abilities. Talia excels at her studies, becoming one of the best Shadow Combative Masters in the Imperial Shadow Legion."

Talia stuck out her forked tongue.

Her Khajiit proctor took the crystal from the Arch Mage. "Talia is known for her devastating pranks, pranks so vicious that her intended target spends the upcoming weeks recovering from the carnage unleashed upon them. If anyone catches her interest, she makes it a personal goal to see their personal safety net ruined, set aflame, and then stomped on until it's nothing but smoldering ashes."

Talia nodded. "I'm pretty much the reason we failed every mission." Talia was almost bragging to me. "Worth every second." She was hissing with joy at me.

"And now a little information about Unit 3's Master Shadow Combatant. Her favorite color is… rainbow? Her favorite season is spring. She likes to participate in Live Action Role Playing campaigns, loves playing Ruins and Dwarves. And loves playing with her flute." The Arch Mage arched her eyebrow. "Wait… playing with her flute? Not… not playing her flute?" She looked over to the Khajiit proctor. "What does that even mean?"

"It's true. This one time in bard camp…" Talia started chuckling. "Well, let's just say all the girls had a good time thanks to me…"

I found myself recoiling. She's… she's beyond my skills of deviousness. Getting all the girls? Just like that? I… I could never compare. No… you're good, Pra'ja. You're the best. Just think of all the times you annoyed Vatu… If I'm able to make Vatu hard… I can make anyone hard.

I pointed my finger at Talia. "You might be a goddess of… our craft. But I'm something you've never expected." I snapped my fingers. "Announcer… spit my shit!"

Arch Mage Mother-in-law rolled her eyes. "Okay, Pra'ja. And standing in the opposing right corner is Pra'ja Vanderma. Don't let her appearance fool you; she's a devil in disguise. I know from experience. She's been Unit 4's personal prankster, a devil in disguise."

"That is right, Sosia." Hans the Hardy grabbed the crystal ball.

I raised my hand to my earhole. "What was that? Spill the beans, old man." I wanted him to hype me up to my opponent.

Hans glared at me. "You're going to pay for that later, Vanderma."

I shrugged. "Just how I roll. Teach this fool who the real devil in Pra'ja is."

Hans rolled his eyes. "Pra'ja Vanderma, case file 1. Introduction to the little demon in our unit." Hans pulled out a binder filled with every prank I pulled. It was a big binder. Huge even. "Vanderma cost the War Mage Training Unit 4 a six mile march today. My enchanted shampoo meant to grow back my hair was tampered with. The enchantment was jinxed by a Shadow user… and we only have the one. Instead of repairing my hairline, the rest of my hair fell out. The jinxed bottle has set in a permanent block to hair growth solutions. In the same night, all the War Mages sprouted rainbow hair all over their bodies. Those with allergies to dog and cat fur had a bad reaction. Primrose had to heal several trainees. Case file 2. Vanderma Shadowported mud all over the other trainees during morning drill. The floor took forever to buffer. Case File 3. My favorite boots were replaced with Hello Puppy slippers. I'm not a fan of light pink. The bow tie was cute though. I still can't find my boots. The slippers remain on my feet every morning. Case file 4. Why am I wearing a tutu? I'm not even sure anymore. Case file 5. Vanderma has pantsed me several times throughout our jog today. Had to enchant my pants to resist falling. Vanderma jinxed my pants. They won't stay up now. Only the tutu stays up, which Vanderma enjoys flipping up for everyone to see my bear themed underwear underneath. Damn Shadow and its ability to destroy enchantments."

Hans closed my binder. "There are exactly…" He sighed. "69 files in this binder."

Talia chuckled. "Ha! Nice."

"Well… I try." I replied with a shrug.

"Well, anyway…" The Arch Mage glared over at Hans. "Really? When were you in a tutu?"

Hans sighed. "I made sure to erase their memories. All of them."

I laughed. "I remembered."

Sosia glanced back at the binder. "Are there pictures?"

Hans snatched the binder away from her. "No. I burned them just like the memories."

Sosia smiled. "Hmm… Hans, I want to go inside your mind tonight. Okay?"

Hans sighed. "Fine, Mage-General."

Sosia laughed. "I can't wait. Anyway, back to Pra'ja Vanderma. Her favorite color is black; her favorite season is summer. She likes partying, swimming, and playing games like tag. I also hear she's into role-playing games."

I smirked as I glared at Talia. "Oh yeah… get me a whip and a choker… and I'll role-play with you. Just like I do with my girlfriend."

Talia was smirking back at me. "I can tell… we're going to have a fun match."

"So much fun… it won't be televised or written down." I replied back, readying my Shadowport.

"Prankers… ready, set… begin!"

Cearbhail:

So... here we are. Pra'ja versus Talia. Sure to be an... interesting match for me to attempt to write.