Okay this chapter came out late. Why? Cause it's a whopping 7.4k words lmao. I hate my brain. I almost wanted to break it into two chapters but decided against it. I wanted to keep that 1 year per chapter thing. Anyway, someone very important makes a debut in this chapter. Guess who :v

Last chapter I mistakenly wrote Waxaklahun as "king" when he was actually a sage. I corrected that. Also, after rereading Och-Kan's lore, I realized Och-Kan didn't just betray dragonkind, but that he also betrayed Xbalanque as well by antagonizing the dragons against Xbal's wishes. Dragon daddy isn't as evil as I thought (still racist tho).

Enjoy

Kinich sat on the hard wooden floor, his glazed eyes staring emptily at the clothes strewn about the room.

"You did well today." A soft pair of hands slithered below his armpits and hoisted him up to his feet.

"I don't want to do this anymore," he muttered, hugging the woman as she patted his back and walked him to the bed.

She laid him down, pinning his wrists to the mattress. Her stomach, bulging from a baby growing inside, pressed against him, fabric against naked skin.

"The customers said they can't wait to hang out with you again." She smiled. Her breath smelled of Fontainian cigarettes.

He rolled his head to the side, closing his eyes. "Do I have to?"

"Well, we're gonna need a lot of mora soon." She grabbed his hand to her bulge, leaving it there until he felt its kick. "See? They're excited to meet you. You don't want them sad, do you? What if they come and have no food to eat? Or toys to play with? That's not good."

He bit his lip before turning around to peek at it. It was growing bigger and bigger.

"How much longer?"

"A few months." She leaned her head down, the smell of smoke so close to his nose. She caressed his cheek. "If not for me, can you do it for the baby?"

"...okay." Kinich sagged his shoulders at her smiling face, unclenching the fists he didn't realize he'd been holding. He side-eyed her, adding. "But I don't want any more customers after that."

"I know I can count on you," she whispered and claimed his lips. "You'll be a good dad, Kinich."

The cigarette's smell made Kinich want to vomit.

〘〙

Ajaw didn't celebrate birthdays. A thousand years sealed away, if that number was even accurate, had warped his sense of time enough that he dreaded every second he was awake. Sleep was where he found his peace. And of course, the occasional visit from the dragon sage. It mattered not that a year, a decade, or even a century had passed. What mattered was to keep holding hope he'd be freed someday.

That someday was three years ago.

Now, the humans gave him an opportunity to spend the time he'd lost after assigning said date as his birthday. What used to be a road in front of their house had now been covered by human feet and tables for the feast. The food spread out, drinks spilling from unruly children's cups, gifts piling up next to Ajaw with every guest that congratulated him while he sat on his high chair.

He felt like a king.

"Happy birthday, Ajaw!" Aclla hugged him without consent. The only reason he forgave her was because she sneaked a piece of soft candy into his palm. She whispered near his ear. "Eat when nobody's looking."

Instead of letting go of him immediately, the girl looked at him expectantly. She wasn't so subtle with turning her cheek towards him, smiling and all. Rolling his eyes, he leaned in and planted a hesitant kiss. She giggled, returning the favor before leaving to play with Katari, her pet yumkasaur whelp. Ajaw wiped her disgusting spit away. But the blush on his face, regrettably, would have to stay.

In truth, the people attending this party weren't here for him. They were here to look — Ogle in some people's case — at Kinich and gain his favors, be it from cozying up to the boy himself or doing it through the rest of the family, seeing as the person himself was absent—Some business with the archon or whatever. Being the birthday boy, he got front stage of the limelight.

"Oh, aren't you adorable."

"What a well-behaved child. Not gonna tell me some tips, Lirio?"

"Malipo Kinich has helped us a lot. Please have this as a thanks."

"I got you a toy. Granny sends her blessings and this dreamcatcher."

Ah, how it stroked his ego. Ajaw gleefully watched the weirdo Ororon return to the shadow so the next guest could take his place.

To think a year ago most of these people would rather ignore their existence. A family where almost nobody was blood-related. That alone birthed some wild rumors. Nowadays, nobody even questioned Ajaw's relationship with Kinich, as false as it was.

While some guests sucked up to Lirio because they didn't bother to bring any gifts, Ajaw took advantage of the distraction to unwrap his candy and pop it inside his mouth.

"Sugar, sugar..." he hummed in his seat, reaching his stubby arms for the nearest presents to tear them open. The crispy sound the torn wrappers made was glorious.

There were several interpretations as to how a boy like Kinich came to beget a son such as he, Ajaw the not-anymore mighty. After several iterations that either exaggerated, or even fabricated events of the original fake story, he just gave up on keeping up with the gossip. But the one the Lirio household took to was accepted as the "truth" for most of the canopy.

The story went that thirteen-year-old Kinich, young and impressionable, encountered a woman in the mountains. She fancied him, he fancied her, yada yada... Nine months later, she blipped out of existence after dropping her baby onto Kinich's lap. Kinich never corrected them. Ajaw couldn't fault him either. He wouldn't bother too if people kept coming up with tall tales of his... creation every time it came into conversation.

Ajaw opened a small box, pulling out a wooden soldier that fit right into his army collection. This must be Ororon's. "Neat."

The funniest thing to come out of the falsehood, however, was a wild iktomisaur hunt for a person that didn't exist. And boy, was it a treat to see Kinich uncomfortably deal with people like hideous glasses. Chief Wayna — He'd been vying for that position since forever. Good for him — was hellbent on finding that imaginary woman. That in turn only created more rumors, with people misinterpreting Kinich's reason for not disclosing her supposed identity. Ah, so much drama.

"Sorry I'm late."

Ajaw was conquering the distant land of Wrapkanatlan with his new soldier when Kinich made his entrance. The crowd parted to make way for him. His eyes twinkled upon seeing Ajaw.

The boy, now almost a man, had grown so much since he first kidnapped Ajaw. Broad shoulders, a healthier complexion, and a crowd of girls — And boys — wooing after him. Call Lirio whatever, but she actually kept this boy alive past his adolescence.

"I got a surprise for you." The boy handed him a box. Ajaw had to pause his crusade for this interruption, so it better be good. Dropping his toy soldier, he swallowed the remaining bits of candy in his mouth to study it.

In contrast to the clean object offered to him, the not-boy was covered head to toe in grime after a day of work. There was blood — Not his, the scents were distinct — spattered about his clothes. Koholasaur bite marks, too, decorated whatever patch of skin that wasn't covered in clothes. Yet, his lips were quirked up in that subtle way of his, one that always had people second-guessing whether he was smiling or not.

Ajaw cast his head down, not wanting to look at him for too long.

Tearing the wrapping apart, Ajaw opened the box and found... a crown? It was made of wood, carved with an intricate design of dragon wings and claws. And most of all, it was the right size for his head. He didn't realize he was gawking until Kinich spoke.

"Every good king needs a crown." Kinich picked Ajaw's up, taking him away from the crowd into their house. The boy set him down by the giant mirror by their front door. Gently, he took the headpiece and set it atop Ajaw's messy black hair. Ajaw barely felt the hands on his shoulders, too entranced by his reflection.

"I take that you like it?" Kinich leaned down until his chin hovered near Ajaw's shoulder. Lirio was outside, giving Kinich a thumbs up while the guests all tried to peek at what the Malipo was doing.

"Very," Ajaw breathed out, unable to tear his gaze from the mirror. He hadn't been this pleased in awhile, so much so that he allowed a genuine smile to creep up his lips. "This is most pleasing," he said in lieu of a thank you because K'uhul Ajaw was above thanking mortals.

In the mirror, a frown flashed on his servant's face, no doubt expecting something more. A word, in fact.

Kinich was... loving. Lirio and Leik were too, but where the two sought to — Ugh — discipline him, Kinich was more interested in spoiling him rotten. His expectation for Ajaw to treat him like a progenitor was no secret, but "father" was no word he'd ever utter in a million years. If only in appreciation of his servant's effort, Ajaw bestowed him praise. With much hesitance.

"You're the best attendant a king could ask for," he forced the words out, feeling the heat in his cheeks.

That elicited a smile out of the boy's frown. Ajaw wanted to bury himself from embarrassment.

"Will you cheer for me at the pilgrimage?"

Right. The Pilgrimage of the Return of the Sacred Flame— What a mouthful. Regardless, as a Malipo, Kinich represented the whole of Huitztlan.

"Don't I already watch you beat people up every month?"

Kinich, unlike Lirio, was very appreciative of his quips. Chuckling, the boy made a gesture that was half-shrug and half-"I have something to say but I won't" look.

"Well... This time is special," Kinich admitted when Ajaw kept giving him a suspicious glare. The boy didn't elaborate further, but there was no denying his giddiness.

When Kinich went outside again — So suspicious — to help Lirio deal with his obsessed fans, Ajaw was left alone to admire himself.

He forgot about Kinich and grinned, tilting the crown to pose in front of the reflection.

"Divine Ruler." That was his name, his prerogative. He might have lost his regal form. His regal speech even. But he'd never lose his destiny. "King Ajaw. I like it."

〘〙

Ajaw sat on Leik's shoulders, the crowds around them cheering for the competitors in the arena. Aclla and Katari contributed to the noise by screaming Kinich's name at the top of their lungs. Katari's trills in particular were... a choice.

"Go, young master! Burn those sorry * to crisp! Don't let even their * ashes remain!!!"

...Ajaw was glad Lirio couldn't understand saurians. If she found out he'd been venting up all his frustration by swearing in another language... Yeah, he didn't want to imagine it. She already glared at any passer-by who spoke even one bad word in Ajaw's vicinity. Ajaw held his crown in place just in case, fearing she'd seize it.

Thankfully, said saurian trainer was standing quietly next to them. She observed the arena and tensed up every time an opponent attempted to strike Kinich down.

For rows and rows straight, Kinich had been defeating opponents left and right. When someone was too strong, he countered them with his mastery over his claymore. When an opponent was scared shitless of him, he made them tremble more and forfeit by just lighting his finger on green fire. Currently, he had seemingly met his match in a scantily clad girl from the Meztli tribe. Ajaw said seemingly because Kinich was holding back.

For the past year, he'd been training non-stop, sharpening both his claymore and skills. Though driven by glory, Ajaw knew it wasn't the cheers of his fans that kept him calmly sidestepping his opponent's attacks. No. What motivated him to parry and kick away the girl's aggressive mechanical shark was these people— Leik, Lirio, Aclla... even Ajaw himself. Even the aging archon, Yaxkin, saw potential in him to take him under her tutelage.

Kinich drew pride from his fidelity, just as much as he drew his claymore — With one hand! — to throw it in the girl's direction. While the girl jumped from her shark to dodge it, Kinich whipped out his grappling hook and caught her in the air. The shark fell dead to the floor, unable to help its tied-up master. She dropped to her knees, looking like she was about to cry.

Kinich had enough heart to loosen the rope slightly. That was the nature of competition. At the very least it wasn't as cutthroat as the battle royal the dragons had back in the day. Literally. Nobody had died in this pilgrimage so far despite throwing weapons and whatnot. For all that they screamed they were going all out, they showed restraint out of human decency.

This was what allowed humans to thrive while dragons slowly died out. Served those power-mongering assholes right! The only dragon left with their intellect intact was the great and almighty K'uhul Ajaw, hah! ...And Waxaklahun, but eh, details.

Anyway, Pilgrimage of the Sacred Flame. A tournament to pick the best of the best. Kinich, people older than Lirio, and even children younger than Kinich came to pit against each other. Of the winners, only those with an ancient name were to be selected as representatives, to be sent out to the frontline to fight the Abyss. Even the nameless would only pave their way towards receiving an ancient name of their own.

"You've lost." Kinich's voice echoed through the stadium, pulling Ajaw out of his musing. The boy, now almost a grown man, brandished his claymore against his disarmed opponent. The girl from the Meztli tribe cast her head down, only lifting her sad gaze to look at her shark... and something akin to realization glinted in her eyes. Grinning, she stood as straight as she could under the restraint.

"Think again."

Like a magic spell, her previously inanimate weapon came to life. Dashing from the other side of the arena, it circled around them so quickly that wind gathered to form a local tornado. Squinting, Ajaw watched the shark zeroing and closing in on Kinich.

"You've lost." The opponent taunted. In the blink of an eye, the shark glomped on him—

"Hmph."

—and split into two, Kinich's claymore glowing red under the cloak of his Turnfire. Kinich had used the shark's momentum to cleanly slice it with barely any effort. The opponent's jaw fell comically watching her weapon sizzling from the slash.

"I-I forfeit..." the girl said as she fell to her knees, still unable to pick up her jaw at the ridiculousness. Doing that certainly took skill. No amount of raw power, not even one bestowed by the almighty dragonlord K'uhul Ajaw, could help to execute such a technique. Not without a year's worth of practice under the archon themself.

Ajaw, like the rest of the audience, looked at the Pyro Archon throne where Yaxkin had stood up. Raising her hand, she declared.

"The champion is, Malipo Kinich of Huitztlan."

The stadium cheered, Lirio being the loudest.

Ajaw leaned forward to hug Leik's balding head, quietly observing Kinich who was profusely apologizing to the Meztli girl. He even offered Mora to replace the flustered girl's weapon. When he was done shoving three pouches of mora into her hands — and freed her from the rope — he looked up to the stands and met Ajaw's gaze.

The boy smiled at him but Ajaw only felt annoyed.

"Show off." He huffed, his voice drowned out by the crowd's incessant chanting of "Malipo".

"I have another announcement!" Yaxkin shouted again like her lungs hadn't aged past Ajaw's physical age. The stadium quieted down.

With a wide grin, Yaxkin raised — Ajaw put a hand over his eyes and squinted — a weirdly shaped piece from that board game Leik was so fond of. As expected, the old man recognized it. But so did most of his fellow decrepit, all of them gasping at the display.

"What is that?" Aclla tugged at her parents' arms.

"I've only heard of it," Lirio began to say, but it was Leik who finished for her.

"The Pyro Gnosis. Last time I saw it was forty years ago when Lady Yaxkin ascended the throne," he said with awe.

Ajaw snapped his head up, eyes wide.

So that was the device that put the usurpers on the Divine Thrones. Seven fallen sovereigns, seven heavenly gnoses. While the humans admired its radiance, Ajaw shrunk in fear. That thing they were pointing at in wonder was not only the symbol of the dragons' downfall... but also of Celestia's immense strength. If there was one weakness Ajaw was not ashamed of, it was his healthy dose of fear towards the Heavenly Principles.

"Hark, people of Natlan!" The Pyro Archon bellowed. "I, Yaxkin of Tlalocan, am stepping down from my position as the archon. I cannot thank you enough, my people, for having me as your leader for all these years."

The woman turned her eyes around the stadium, her smile and hair glowing brighter with every cheer the people gave her.

"But when one sun sets, another rises," she continued. "One month from now, a tournament will be held. There you will be tested. Your courage will dwindle. Your hope will be shattered. But should you triumph, the throne shall be yours."

Ajaw didn't miss the proud look she gave in Kinich's direction. The boy shied away from her gaze.

〘〙

Of all the Seven, Natlan's throne was the furthest away from divinity. Pyro Archons came and went, dying of old age as younger candidates took the mantle. The current ruling archon, Yaxkin, had been one for forty years. Mwana Yaxkin of Tlalocan, in the flesh, greeted them when Ajaw and his servants entered the chamber.

"Ah, just who I wanted to see." She stood there, hair all glowy and like. Kinich stood by her, probably blinded by the light so close to his face. Couldn't tell from that stoic face though.

Leik responded stiffly.

"Good morning, Archon." The man reverted to his Elder persona, standing straight in her presence. Well, as straight as he could without throwing Ajaw off his back. "We hope we're not a bother."

"You wanted to see us?" Lirio, unconcerned about social status, broke whatever formality barrier Leik was trying to establish.

Instead of answering because she was a cryptic like that, she turned to the boy beside her.

"Kinich, show them your ancient name."

That made Ajaw hum from atop Leik's head.

Ancient names... Many of them were newly made. A lot of them were passed down from one generation to another. Then there were those like Kinich's, Malipo, having existed since the time of the first Pyro Archon. They served one and only one function: to cheat death. Ajaw couldn't begin to imagine what god the humans bargained with to gain such power.

In front of them, Kinich's ancient name took the shape of an obsidian feather, glowing bright from the memories stored within. "MLP" was carved into the stone in the Teyvatian Script.

"Payment, revenge, equal trades." Yaxkin the cryptic spoke. "These are the ideals held by those bearing Malipo's legacy."

Ajaw saw how uncomfortable look on Lirio and Leik's faces at the mention of "revenge". Heh. Weak.

"For more than a hundred years, Malipo has become synonymous with the legendary Turnfire, a flame that swallows all indiscriminately. Yet, it had never been seen since the time of Yupanqui... until one year ago." Yaxkin grinned, pointing at the embarrassed Kinich. "Can you imagine my surprise when I found out that Malipo's successor can make Turnfire? Everyone thought it was gone with Yupanqui."

She wasn't wrong. Och-kan's flame was likely extinguished by now. Kinich's fire was all Ajaw's, thank his almighty self.

"What I want to say is, Kinich is special." The cryptic turned around to look at every person in the room, studying their faces one by one. When her sun-shaped pupils landed on Ajaw's, she spoke again. "That's why I ask that you fully support Kinich to become the next Pyro Archon."

By this point, Kinich had shrunk onto himself from all the attention. Naturally, Ajaw used it to his advantage.

"If you become the Archon, I'll never sleep with you again." The horrified look on Kinich's face was comical.

"Ajaw, behave." Lirio gave him a pointed look.

"What? Look at her hair. How do we sleep if Kinich's hair is gonna be brighter than the sun?"

Leik stifled a chuckle and even Lirio couldn't keep the smile off her face.

Kinich looked like he was determined to not be the Archon anymore. "Um, Lady Yaxkin?"

"Relax." Yaxkin shook her head in amusement, the golden glow gradually diffusing until it became muted. When the glow was gone, only blue hair remained on her head. "You can turn it off. Adjust the brightness even. Makes a very good reading light if you want to."

Still. Even with the reassurance, Kinich looked unsure about the offer.

"I don't know if I can carry the responsibility. I'm too young." He fiddled with his bracelet, looking around the office as if the walls would shrink and swallow him whole. He turned back to his teacher, frowning. "And it's not like I'm guaranteed to win the tournament. There could be— There are stronger people than me."

It was Lirio who spoke next. "Do you want to be the Archon?" she walked up to him, taking his hand in hers to caress it.

"Well, I've dreamed of it. Like most kids do."

"Why do you want to be one?"

He hesitated. "...Please don't laugh."

"I won't."

"...mora." He answered so earnestly even Ajaw felt it appropriate to keep his words to himself. Kinich looked down at the floor, smiling slightly. "When I lived alone, I only needed to take care of myself. Mora wasn't an issue, even if I had to starve sometimes. But then I brought Ajaw, you took me in, and suddenly no amount was enough... Most people didn't even like us enough to give us jobs. You starved to keep me and Ajaw fed. Aclla couldn't even make friends."

He looked up again, meeting her eyes. "Everything changed when I became Malipo. We eat fancy stuff more often, people don't look at us weird anymore, and Elder Leik doesn't have to ruin his reputation to protect us. I know it's... materialistic... But if I become the Archon, no one can hurt my family again—"

Lirio pulled him into an embrace, sobbing. Kinich, reeling from the surprise, hugged her back, chuckling.

"You're embarrassing me in front of the archon," he said, but not once did he pull back. Leik watched them with a smile. Off to the side, Yaxkin looked at the three of them longingly.

Ajaw was just glad no one was subjecting him to the same mushiness. Regardless of his opinion on the matter, someone else thought it was a good time to throw open the door and barge inside.

"Oh, um. Excuse me." The newcomer coughed awkwardly at the stares on her.

Ajaw imitated the rest of his servants, frowning at the woman with bright red hair. She, like most Natlanese, was a warrior judging from the pieces of armor adorning her dark red minidress. Yaxkin however looked like she'd seen a ghost, an expression the newcomer took as an escape from the awkwardness.

"Ah, you must be the current Archon. What year is it?" the newcomer said like she wasn't insane at all.

"...Everyone out. Archon business." Yaxkin's hair burned golden and that was that.

The walk back home was long and Leik's old bones weren't strong enough to keep allowing Ajaw to ride him. So Ajaw did the next best thing and became a parasite on Kinich's shoulders.

Though their destination was far, the journey was not without entertainment.

"I told you, we saw it! A woman came out of the Sacred Flame!" Aclla violently tugged at Kinich's arm on the way back home. "You believe me, right, Kinich? Please say you believe me!"

She whined when her mother pulled her away. Katari made much the same expression from inside Aclla's father's arms.

"We're not lying..." the yumkasaur whelp trilled in defeat.

"Ignore her, she's been like this since she saw a staff checking on the flame." Her mother hugged her close to her thigh, the girl pouting.

Ajaw addressed the whelp. "Oi, Katari. Did that woman have red hair and wear an armored dress?"

The ignorant humans thought he was making funny noises and laughed. He let their offense slide. Something was going on and he needed to get to the bottom of it, if only for the gossip materials. The saurians in the canopy gobbled up this kinda stuff.

"You saw her too, younger master? She was scary. Crawled out of the fire like in those ghost stories. Do you think she's one? Ohhhh, what if she wants to eat me..."

Ajaw rolled his eyes at the dramatic whelp. Looking over his shoulder, he squinted his eyes at the shrinking stadium behind them.

"Ah, you must be the current Archon. What year is it?"

Only dead people came out of the Sacred Flame. Question was, how long was she dead for?

〘〙

To support Kinich in his endeavor to be the next "sun" as the people called it, the family came up with a plan that involved waking dawn-crack early for breakfast together, managing his commissions so they wouldn't interfere with his training schedule, and the training itself where they'd all watch and cheer him on while he dunked on people twice his age.

Toddler privilege allowed Ajaw to sleep through the first one unperturbed. It also condemned him to attend every single training session the boy had, unlike the working adults. Aclla didn't know how good she had it being able to escape to this "school" place, but the way she described it as a children's prison, he wondered if it'd be any better than this burnt grassy field courtesy of Kinich.

And so the days went, Ajaw's head becoming droopier with each halfhearted cheer the humans coerced out of him when Kinich won. And won. And won. He fell asleep regularly when he found out he could get away with it. He was a genius figuring it out on the first day.

"I'm sorry you get dragged along for this," Kinich would sometimes apologize.

"Give me a saurian cracker and I'll consider giving you pardon."

"Sure—"

"Kinich, don't fall for it. He already got three crackers from Aclla and her parents."

Four actually. He got one from Leik. Not that the sadist needed to know that. Hmph, party pooper.

To avoid favoritism or whatever, Yaxkin couldn't help Kinich much with his training. She came by sometimes to watch though. And she brought treats.

"What's up with that broken weapons pile?" She looked at all the discarded swords and claymores that belonged to Kinich's opponents. Most of them were bent, but some were broken — Well, melted — into two pieces.

"The blacksmith said I need to pay more than a few mora to replace Mualani's shark. Me and Ororon thought it'd be fun to melt the weapons we have along the way," Kinich answered while parrying a slash coming his way. The weapon was sliced clean right away upon contact with his own. It dropped anti-climactically to the ground. "Oh, here's another one."

"Do you think we can make a metal throne out of this?" Ororon picked up another sword and readied himself again. Ajaw suspected he was here just to have fun and didn't even know how to use a sword properly.

"Kinich. I..." Yaxkin looked like she wanted to say something important to Kinich but backed out at the last second. "Never mind. Just do your best."

The cryptic being weird again, what was new?

Though Kinich made it look easy, fighting multiple opponents almost every day — and working in between — would have to take a toll on him one way or another. In fact, he lost more than he won when they were halfway away from the tournament.

"I think you should take a rest for awhile," a Tlalocan opponent Yaxkin recommended told him when he collapsed mid-fight. "Come on, I'll get you and the kid home. I'll tell the rest they have a day or two off."

"Sorry to be a bother, Chasca."

There was one very particular Teteocan girl who called herself a trainer. She didn't fight, but if Ajaw were in Kinich's shoe, he wouldn't have the patience to not initiate one with her.

"I want to see you run ten laps around the field. If you fall, we'll start over again. Now go go go!" She yelled, running alongside him at the same speed with barely any sweat.

"Y-yes, C-Coach Iansan." Kinich panted, looking halfway dying.

Lirio was already the sadist, so Ajaw gave her the title slavedriver.

Most of Kinich's opponents were Huitztlan veterans and old coots who were just happy to fight the famed Malipo and maybe teach him a trick or two. Pretty much the whole tribe thought he was going to be the next archon. Closer to the tournament date, more and more people gathered around the training field to cheer him on. That meant more noise and more noise meant it was impossible to take a nap. Ugh.

A lot of children, including Aclla, took their chance to "spar" with Kinich as well. He took it easy, letting them win as he gave them some pointers. The slavedriver gave him a thumbs up. Lirio and Leik joined in as well as a team. It was a surprise Leik didn't collapse right away, but that was Natlan, Ajaw supposed. War ran in their blood.

The sharkgirl Mualani was probably traumatized from having her shark split in two, so she just set her newly forged shiny shark aside and fought him bare-handed. Her friend, the blacksmith Xilonen, kept eyeing Kinich's bracelet whenever it was in view. She was traumatized too if the way she kept the shark close to her side was any indication.

After so many mock wars and feasts every day, Ajaw was starting to get tired of it. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long. Because the next time he opened his eyes after a peaceful night, Kinich's excited face was hovering above his.

"Ready for the tournament?"

"...No." Ajaw turned around and went back to sleep.

〘〙

The entrance to the arena gaped wide, light seeping into the hallway and making the shadow cover Kinich's visage. Outside, the audience rumbled with each contestant that passed by them into the arena.

"This is it," Lirio said so quietly the cheers almost drowned out her voice.

Leik patted Kinich's shoulder. "Do your best out there."

"Good luck, Kinich!" Aclla hugged his knees. Her parents and Katari said their pieces as well.

"Thank you," Kinich said before turning down to the one person who hadn't said anything yet.

Ajaw restrained his eye-roll because today was important to the boy. Didn't mean he had to be mushy about it.

"Break a leg, as long as it's not yours." He huffed.

Lirio gave him a look but he casually turned away to escape her disapproving gaze. As for Kinich...

"You don't have to cheer for me if you don't want to." The boy bent down and fixed Ajaw's crown. But that wasn't the issue. It was that he dared to kiss Ajaw on the forehead! Ajaw tensed up, eyes wide from surprise, but the boy just smiled. "Thank you for watching me train all this time. I can't lose if you're watching me."

Ajaw felt tingles on his nose from how close their faces were. "Wh-whatever! Just go win or something!"

Kinich, curse his heart, didn't point out Ajaw's blush and stood up again. Thank the sovereign for that! The boy turned to everyone one last time and nodded, walking forward towards the arena with his chest held high.

Ajaw huffed at his back. Damn that bastard, making him feel all flustered... When Katari gave him a knowing smirk, he glared at the whelp.

"Younger master is so cute," she trilled.

He cursed at her in the saurian tongue.

Once they climbed up to the audience stands, Ajaw glared down at Kinich from inside Lirio's arms. Currently, the archon had all the first day's contestants line up. With seven days allocated to the tournament, six of those days were to choose a champion for an all-out battle on the seventh day. One day for one tribe. Today, it was Huitztlan.

Forty people, all having been chosen and filtered out by the tribe elders so they wouldn't end up with a criminal archon or anything. Kinich was the pride of the canopy, the so-called Scion of the Mountain who inherited the Scion's Turnfire legacy. He stood in the middle, representing his tribe.

And then there was that woman.

"What's she doing there?"

"So she's really from our tribe?"

"Apparently the archon recommended her. My poor daughter got shafted away for this stranger"

"I heard—"

That was all Ajaw heard when Lirio and Aclla's mom teamed up covering his and the girl's ears to protect them from the tribe aunties' gossip. Leik and Aclla's dad watched the overprotective women, shrugged at each other, and pressed down one hand each on Katari's long ears as if that'd do anything.

The adults deemed their innocence safe enough to let go when Yaxkin's speech silenced the audience.

"Welcome all to the first day of our week-long tournament to pick out our next Pyro Archon!" Everyone cheered. She let them grow silent before speaking again. "As explained before, the champion of today's matches will represent the Huitztlan tribe on the seventh day. The forty candidates in front of you will prove themselves against each other in a one-to-one battle. To make it fair, each of them shall pick out a numbered feather to decide their next opponent."

Ajaw looked at the arena to see Kinich and the rest pull out a feather from bags passed by staff. When everyone got their feather, the staff made a hand signal towards the archon.

She nodded in acknowledgment and addressed the contestants.

"You have all picked out your opponents. All is fair in love and war, and so is your luck in today's battle. Win or lose, that is the rule of war. What matters is that you do your best." She smiled bright. "Now! Without further ado, the candidates holding feathers with number 1, please step forward!"

Kinich and the red-haired woman stepped forward. It was almost comical seeing the cryptic archon's smile flip upside-down. Whatever gripe she had with the result, however, she accepted it in barely a second as she put on that bright smile again.

"Our first match will be between Malipo Kinich—" The canopy cheered. "—and Kiongozi Mavuika!"

In between the cheers rumbling the stadium, several people started whispering again. At this point, Ajaw just assumed that the gossipers in Natlan didn't like strangers. Yet he couldn't help but ponder on their accusations.

"Kiongozi? What is she, a fraud?"

"I mean, it's not like you can't make another similar ancient name when one is gone."

"The last Kiongozi died a few hundred years ago, no? Is this the first time someone reforged it?"

Ajaw looked up at Lirio. "Is Kiongozi a big deal?"

She shrugged. "Maybe it used to. Most Pyro Archons are said to be Kiongozi. It was the ancient name of the first Pyro Archon too."

Ajaw turned to the arena where Kinich and the red-haired woman were getting ready to fight.

"Óox." Yaxkin raised three fingers.

Kinich dragged his claymore on the ground, his opponent resting hers on her shoulder.

"Ka'a." Two fingers.

Green fire burned at Kinich's fingertips. Mavuika, like him, lacked any vision. But red fire surged from her hand to cover her entire claymore.

"Jun." One finger.

The two gripped their weapons tight.

"Begi—"

Their claymores clanged.

The crowds began to chant, cheering for the two fighters who would be too focused to listen to their encouragement. Aclla trilled along with Katari, shouting gibberish.

"Cow blue tax Irminsul!"

"Go, young mast— Huh?"

Ajaw ignored the kids and focused on the fight. Kinich was on the offensive, pushing Mavuika back on every strike. Yet she held strong, blocking each of them with precision. Their claymores were nothing more than weightless blades in their hands.

Up on her throne, Yaxkin was frowning.

The fight went on with neither of them relenting. It was impressive that they hadn't gotten tired yet. It seemed like this would go on forever.

...and then Ajaw saw it.

It wasn't obvious, but little by little Mavuika was gaining the upper hand. Every strike she blocked, she started pushing back ever so slightly. Kinich noticed it too and was steadily striking faster, which is probably what she wanted.

Ajaw wished he could tell when the hell broke loose, because he was blinking one second and suddenly Kinich had been thrown to the other side of the arena.

"Kinich!" Aclla gasped. The adults were in shock, Lirio especially double-taking the scene before her.

The flame burning Mavuika's claymore had begun to grow so bright it was blinding. Kinich reeled from the pain and struggled to get up.

Mavuika approached him slowly, her happy-go-lucky smile gone. The crowd by now had gone impossibly quiet.

"You are a strong opponent." The woman's voice rang. "You need not hold back against me, Malipo Kinich. If you don't fight me at full strength, you will lose."

Kinich groaned but pushed himself up and reclaimed his claymore. He took a deep breath and exhaled softly. "Very well."

And all out he did fight, incorporating dragon fire into his attacks. He struck down from the sky, he struck from behind, he did everything to catch her off guard but she brushed him off easily every time.

Ajaw didn't know how to feel that Mavuika was toying with Kinich. Whenever he did gain an upper hand, it was because she allowed him to.

For the first time, Kinich met someone who wasn't afraid to face his Turnfire head-on. And he wasn't afraid to throw himself to her fire either. In a way, he had met his match. But the sheer experience Mavuika had tipped the battle in her favor.

When she disarmed Kinich and held her blade at his throat, Ajaw couldn't say he was surprised.

Disappointing for sure, but anyone could've expected this outcome. Kinich was too inexperienced to fight in a large-scale tournament like this. It wasn't like the pilgrimage. Older warriors lost little by not going all out there, and they could show whenever they wanted anyway. But here, in this tournament, everyone had their eyes on the Pyro Archon's seat.

...wait, why was he getting invested in this all of a sudden? That bastard winning or losing was none of his concern! The great and almighty K'uhul Ajaw had better things to do than worry about—

"I..." Kinich's voice shook. Ajaw leaned forward, cursing the boy. Don't say forfeit. Don't say forfeit. Don't— "I can't give up now, Mavuika. My family is watching me. And also..."

Kinich gripped the blunt side of the blade, using it to prop himself up again. He stood on shaky feet, his tattoos as if magic shining bright with colors. On his face, there was the smile of a winner. "Burkina says hello."

"Show her what you're made of Kinich!" Ajaw cupped his mouth and shouted.

It was like Kinich gained a power boost when he swatted her claymore and dashed away to pick his for the second time. But unlike before, he was more agile, like the wind itself was carrying him as he jumped to the sky and swung his weapon down.

"Am I seeing things?" Leik said while Kinich went on the offensive again, executing moves not only more cleanly than he ever did, but also new ones that should require a lifetime of training. "Those are the previous Malipo's moves. Haven't seen them since he passed away. Could Lady Yaxkin have been teaching him those?"

"Not just that. He's changing styles every second." Lirio commented with much the same confusion, but there was relief in her eyes. "He can still win this."

Ajaw looked at how calm Kinich was sidestepping Mavuika's strikes like he already saw them coming. Mavuika even got annoyed that she started being aggressive with her slashes and punches. But even under her grievances, she kept grinning.

"I always hated how he could read my moves," she blocked a kick targetting her head.

"Well, I'm sure you're going to love the rest of us." Kinich jumped back before she could grab his leg.

Ajaw filtered out the nonsense chatter these two were going about. He was more interested in how Kinich was able to keep up with the more experienced woman. Lirio was right. He was changing styles almost every second, like he was actually different people controlling the same body.

Ajaw noticed he didn't even use his Turnfire when he spun around and pushed her back with no effort whatsoever. She defended just as well as he gave out attacks, putting them in a continuous dance of claymores and fists.

"Out of moves, boy?" Mavuika panted and kept herself standing with her weapon. They'd both jumped away from each other to take a breather, Kinich taking that time to even sit on the floor.

"No. I still have one more. But give me a minute." He took a deep breath, eyes looking over the audience until he reached Ajaw. The boy smiled, turning back to his opponents. "You know what, scratch that. I'm ready."

"Hahah! Music to my ears." Mavuika raised her claymore, for the first time ever using both hands to hold the hilt. "Now show me what you've got.'

Kinich nodded, pushing himself up to stand on wobbly knees.

"Did you know, that Yupanqui's Turnfire was golden white?"

"Nope. Does that matter?"

"No." Kinich assented. "But I think green looks way cooler on his moves."

Bathing his claymore in green, he jumped forward. Mavuika ignited her blade as well, countering his every strike as he hopped from one side to another. He circled around her, making use of her blindspots to his advantage and not letting her fight back. Mavuika never faltered, facing his Turnfire-infused hits head-on.

They both were tired now.

The fight had gone on for so long. Kinich knew he couldn't defeat her like a normal opponent, so he did the next best thing and went all out. Either he found an opening and felled Mavuika first, or he fell after tiring himself out.

Ajaw knew it was the latter when Mavuika blocked his last strike, the clang loud and clear. The boy was sweating hard and no longer jumping back and forth like before. He panted, smiling.

"I guess this is my loss..."

He passed out, Mavuika catching him just in time before she too collapsed on her knees, exhausted from the prolonged match. She held him, breaths jagged. Looking up at the audience, she raised a victory fist.

At first, silence permeated the stadium.

And then there were cheers.

"Mavuika! Mavuika! Mavuika!" the crowd chanted.

"You did well, Kinich! We're proud of you!" someone from the tribe shouted.

The cheers all blended into each other, becoming nonsense words that Ajaw couldn't be bothered to decipher. What he knew was that they were all words of encouragement and pride.

Ajaw sighed, leaning into Lirio. "He lost.

"Yeah, he lost." She agreed with him, sniffing sadly despite her smile. Leik hugged her, and in turn, Ajaw as well. He accepted the mushiness just this time, upset by the turn of events.

"He did his best," Leik reassured.

Losing the first match on the first day. How disappointing.

Kinich would join them on the stands for the next few days — in casts. He overdid it and Lirio even scolded him —commenting on different matches and pointing out how well he'd do against some of the opponents. Ajaw didn't know if he should feel happy or upset that no match since Kinich and Mavuika's were as exciting.

How boring.

Soon, the seventh day arrived. When they crowned Mavuika as the new Pyro Archon, Ajaw lost any interest and slept through the whole speech.

And there we go. Kinich awakened his ancient name while being dunked on by Mavuika. Nothing resonates with a past ancient name bearer better than good ol rivalry :v

In another news, Ajaw is sinking further and further into the intimacy of family. Will he let himself drown, will he climb back up to avoid betrayal ik the future? Can he be coaxed with saurian crackers to learn to love?? Time will tell.

Hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading. Next chapter I plan to have Kinich and Ajaw visit Fontaine