The Tourney of Champions!!!

Our story begins in the kingdom of Galatia. Where the Tourney of Champions is ready to begin! Following the death of the Oracle's guardian, Julius, the kingdom required a new guardian. Warriors of Paleides have been summoned to participate in the tourney, to see who will prevail and become the new Guardian of the Oracle! Only an hour remains until the official start of the tourney. Many warriors await in a large holding cell within the arena. The sounds of cheers from the massive crowd outside resonates through the cell. Out of all of the warriors present, one stands out the most....

His name is Nir, and he leans against the wall, patiently waiting for the first match to begin. Only sixty warriors in all of Paleides had the courage to enter. Either that, or these sixty just had the ambition. Even if that was the case, it didn't mean they were good guys. Honorable warriors, like Nir. See, some of them knew who he was. And instead of preparing mentally, some of them crowded around the young man sending taunts and harsh comments his way. They intended to break the man's courage. To make him enter the first match with a clouded head. To make him regret his decision of even coming here. But that wasn't the case. Deep inside they knew their taunts and curses wouldn't affect Nir.

The young man was known as, The Sword of Galatia. One of the most gifted soldiers who enlisted in the Galatian army, despite his age. They knew that a soldier of his caliber wasn't going to just cower before them! Nir simply looked at the crowd and smiled. It was what he knew best. They couldn't do much after that. That was their first defeat. The second would come in the arena. Each one walked away, leaving Nir alone. Giving him a moment of peace before the matches would begin.

Among the rowdy warriors in the holding cell, two young men that didn't look very well qualified sat in the middle of them. Shinji, the taller of the two had been anxiously looking at all the strong warriors while Virgil was sitting down on a pillar with his arms crossed. "Man! This is it this is where it all begins for me! I'll beat everyone here no sweat! Oh! Uhh Virgil you're no exception by the way." Barking at Virgil, declaring war. "You sound awfully confident Shinji." Virgil says with a grin. He then turns away looking out at the crowd. "It's amazing how many strong guys appeared here. I'm excited to see what they're capable of." As he is tightening his fist. "Yeah you're right about that. These guys are from all over Paleides. There's bound to be someone around here that'll know about that person." Shinji's face becomes serious. Also with a serious expression, "It's been a long four years." He sighs. "But that's what we worked up for. We need to be just as strong as the best in the world otherwise we can't fulfill our promise." Virgil grows quite. There is a fairly long pause between Shinji and Virgil. "Well let's enjoy ourselves! We came here to fight right so let's give it our all, even though we already known the outcome." Shinji shrugs arrogantly. Virgil smiles, "I guess I'll have to show you up in the finals then." "The finals it is then" They both make a fist with their right hand and proceed to fist bump each other. The backs of their hands would touch.

The two friends seemed to be enjoying themselves. But, that didn't last long. A tall muscular man, scars all over his body, walked up to the two. His hair was short and spiked, and his cold stare would reveal two onyx colored eyes. He happened to be shirtless, and wore White baggy pants tucked into fur boots. "You two ain't making it to the damn finals. You two are nothing but little punks. And to be honest with you both, I hate little punks." The other warriors started to chuckle, they obviously knew who this guy was. He'd lean in and stare at the taller one before him, "I especially hate little punks that look like you. Do you understand what I'm saying?" Some of the men around him moved to his side, "Hey Grey-Hawk, show them what happens to guys like them!", one of the men yelled. Grey-Hawk smirked and stood straight, mashing his fist into his palm. "They fucking get CRUSHED!"


In the background, Nir couldn't help but smirk. Such a disrespectful bunch these men were. He'd remain silent and continue to watch.

Almost immediately his happy mood had changed to his hot headed mood. Shinji charged right back at the huge man and stared him straight in the face. "What did you say to me you bastard!!!" "Shin..." Virgil had tried to reach out to Shinji to hold him back but Shinji had shoved Virgil off. "IF YOU WERE LOOKING FOR A FIGHT WELL YOU GOT ONE!!"

So Grey-Hawk managed to get in the guys head. Perfect. That's exactly what he wanted to do. It's all a mental game when it comes to Grey-Hawk. "Haha! I got the little shit mad!! That's what I like to see!" The man closed in, almost butting his head against Shinji's. "I promise you, you'd get killed in no less than a minute!" The men around Grey-Hawk laughed, until one of stepped out of line. "Hey! Hey! I bet these lads have no families! Have no home! Look at their gear! Pathetic mate! Haha!! That flimsy stuff is what I see on those orphans down in Turko square!"

Everyone bursted in laughter. The whole environment even made Nir uncomfortable. But he'd save his breathe and actions. They'd regret everything in the arena. He closed his eyes and prayed that the two young men wouldn't do something reckless.

The boys had just flashed back to an event that had scarred them for ever. Shinji looked pale. Not because of what the other man had said but what was about to happen. As the tension in the room arose, Virgil had directed his attention towards the man that had spoken out. Without warning the pressure in the room had started to get heavy. The force was so great that even those who weren't involved in this skirmish felt it. The man had felt the most pressure and his body kept getting heavier and heavier and eventually came down to both knees. Virgil had started walking over towards the man very slowly.

A sudden pressure fell upon everyone in the room. Many of the men felt a bit uneasy, and Grey-Hawk couldn't even stand straight. He dropped to his knees, his face in disbelief! "There-There's no way....you're doing this!!" Grey-Hawk looked up at one of the young men, the one with White hair. There was suddenly another force that was felt in the room. If one could see these two forces, it'd appear as if they were clashing. Something else was resonating from within the room!

Some of the warriors began talking amongst themselves, trying to figure out what was going on. For Grey-Hawk and the men close to Shinji and Virgil, they knew where the pressure was coming from on one end. Despite the clashing of pressures, Nir continued to stand unphased. His experience had led him to believe that this force was coming from one of the young men. "One of them is certainly a magic user...One with potential. But there's another in here who's challenging him..."

Fortunately for Shinji, he has experienced this type of pressure when training with Virgil so to counter that he had used his own buff magic to move a little more freely. Virgil has void magic thus the pressure they had felt was his specialty, gravity. Virgil had been looking at the man with a blank expression, like that of a soulless person. Just in that moment another pressure had been released as a means to clash with Virgil's. The whereabouts of this pressure had been unknown to all. Shinji was one of the first to notice the fluctuation in pressure. He tried to pin point the location by focusing his perception through his buff magic but was unsuccessful.

The center group had been drawing more and more attention. As Shinji had noticed that and since he couldn't locate the other pressure, he turned towards Virgil. He raises his right hand and smacks Virgil in the back of the head causing Virgil to stumble a little. "This isn't the place for that."He said while leaning over to Virgil. He had also whispered something to Virgil. As he was stumbling after being smacked in the head by Shinji, he lost all concentration of his gravity magic and all pressure he held was lost. With eyes wide and surprised he had heard what Shinji had said. He stands back up and looks at the man who had insulted them. "I'm sorry for overreacting. I was really about to kill you just now." He says earnestly while bowing his head.

There was a silence in the room. Whatever had just happened, had put most of these men on the alert. They were no longer joking and causing trouble. Grey-Hawk, enraged because of his defeat, had clenched his fist. He stood up and stared Virgil dead in his eyes before he bowed. "Your bow does nothing for you. You've shown me what you can do, yet I have shown you nothing. I'll make sure I show you what I can do in the arena. Hopefully, they don't penalize me for accidently killing one of you." Grey-Hawk's face was as serious as ever. A look of bloodlust in his eyes. The men around him had looks of fear, perhaps they knew what he was capable of.

"You talk a lot Grey-Hawk. I wish you could back that talk up. Haha." A voice from the crowd said. Grey-Hawk's serious face instantly turned into an expression of frustration. It's like he knew whose voice it was. Pretty soon it'd be made clear. Nir, The Galatian Sword, would walk out from the crowd. He wore the brightest smile, lightening up the dark mood in the holding cell. "Why don't you go join your folks in the back. Save the talking for the arena." Grey-Hawk stood in silence and turned around abruptly, walking to the center of the room with his goons.

Nir would then turn to the two young men, who looked to be around his age group. "You two must be new."

At this time Virgil had raised his head to look and see who had spoken out from the crowd. Both Shinji and Virgil and both looked upon the young man who was presumed to be the man named "Nir," according to one of the fighters that had announced who he was. The tension had finally dispersed. "Thank you for that. I'm not sure the outcome would favor us in this situation, so thank you for helping us out. We are fairly new and we came from a far off village hoping to get stronger and to gain more experience. We thought this would be the perfect opportunity for that." Virgil says to Nir with a smile. Shinji had just stayed quiet and looked on.

Nir retracted his arm and kept his smile. He understood the situation they were both in, maybe they wanted to stay conserved to themselves. They, however, did thank him. "It's nothing." One of the young men told him that they had come from a far land hoping to get stronger from this tourney. But did they understand the importance? Maybe Nir could clarify things for them. "I see. So you have something to prove? Or rather, you simply want to better yourselves for something. Interesting. I just want you to know that this tourney isn't a normal tourney to test one's power. We all fight for a chance to stand at The Oracle's side. To protect her. Whoever wins, shall be the next Guardian." Nir's smile vanished. "And I made a promise that I'd be the victor. I do hope you two gain some experience. Maybe get a chance to teach Grey-Hawk a lesson or two."

Virgil had looked like a bell had just rang in his head as he makes a fist and slaps in it down to his open hand. "Ahh that's right I completely forgot. Remi would kill us if we forgot. Actually we do have a reason as to being here. To meet with the Oracle. It just so happens Shinji here saw that they were holding a tournament and wanted us to enter." Virgil began to get excited again as he talked about the tourney. "Heh" he smirked. "Naturally we'd enter. We were the two best back in our village." Shinji was brimming in confidence. "But that Grey-Hawk guy, he's nothing. I hope I get to fight him real soon. I'll make him pay for insulting me. And ehh.. umm.. you're name was what again?" Shinji had forgotten the young man's name before him.

So they wished to speak with the Oracle. It must be business they have with her. If that was the case, then it would be a valid reason to enter in the tourney. Nir nodded his head, "Understood. It'll be tough." He then turned to Shinji, "If what you say is true, that you two were the strongest in your village, then you'll fit right in. But I warn you, most of the men here are very powerful." Nir smirked and closed his eyes, "It'll be difficult. If my memory serves me correct, there are four battle royales. Which means you'll have to fight multiple warriors at once. It'll be fun. Oh, and my name's Nir."

Shocked both Virgil and Shinji had screamed out, "A BATTLE ROYALE!!" As they were both unaware of the terms of the tournament. In fact they just overheard the people of Galatia talking about it. Now things were getting interesting because this tournament no longer was about a 1 on 1 bout. It now involves strategy and experience. How will the boys be able to face this new challenge?

The warriors in the cell all turned to the two young men when they simultaneously yelled out. Nir couldn't help but giggle. They were definitely new to this, he could tell. "Yes, a battle royale. Haha. There will be four sectors that warriors will be sent to at random." Nir walked past the both of them and took a seat on one of the columns. "Four victors will be decided. Then the tourney will become one-on-one matches. That'll be the semifinals. It's going to be fun! I hope you're ready to defend yourself on multiple angles. My advice is to allow some of the warriors to take themselves out. Try to evade and observe."

The boys had just looked at each in awe. Soon their surprised looks turned to great big smiles. The two were even more excited! "A battle royale you say! Haha! This is going to be real exciting. I've never been in a battle royale." Virgil is nodding his head in agreement. "You better not be in my group otherwise it'd be no fun if I'm in the finals without you." "Yeah right! I'll be in the finals!" Virgil says excitedly.

Although it brought Nir much happiness and joy , to see that these two friends were very passionate about battling, there were three of them. They talked about reaching the finals to face each other. But that would imply that Nir wouldn't be in. And there was no way he was going to lose this tourney. He wouldn't let his dear friend down. "It'd be amazing to watch you two battle in the Finals, but don't count out some of these warriors. I'm also going to be giving my all in this tourney, so don't count me out either! Haha! I look forward to meeting you in the arena. Even if you do happen to lose, if that does happen, you will gain much experience." Nir smiled awkwardly, hopefully they didn't take that offensive.

The boys would face Nir once again. They both had a grin on their face. It was a grin that showed they were both accepting of his resolve and were ready to face him in battle. "You're right! We can't count these strong guys out just yet either. But you Nir. You're especially strong. I can tell just from a glance." "Hey, get this Nir. If we can't even imagine ourselves at the top, we will only stay at the level we're at now. And we can't afford to stay at this level. I'm sure you have your reasons why you can't lose but we won't be losing either." Shinji had just declared his own battle against Nir. "You're strong but I'll take you down." He then walks off. Virgil starts to chuckle a little. "Hehehe, that's just like you Shinji. Ahh don't mind him but don't think he's you're only competition. See ya later Nir. Don't lose." Virgil then follows after Shinji waving back at Nir.

"Likewise. I know you're strong. I have a strong feeling that the pressure in this room was your doing." Nir closed his eyes. Shinji had explained that he knew that Nir had his reasons to win, as they had theirs. That he would defeat Nir. If that was he believed, so be it. Nir appreciated the spirit that Shinji carried! That, he believed, would make him a good fighter and worthy opponent. "I look forward to fighting you Shinji. Promise me you guys get to the Semi-Finals." He waved as they walked off.

At that moment a loud horn was blown. Glowing runes began burning through the wall in the room, showing four large squares. Each square contained fifteen names. Sixty in total. The names of the warriors who'd be competing in the tourney. The first sector contained two prominent names: Shinji and Grey-Hawk. The second sector: Virgil. Third Sector: Nir. As for the fourth, names of warriors who had not made their presence known in the holding cell. Outside the cries of the crowd could be heard. A tourney speaker stood at the center of the arena, waving at everyone and then bowing before the spectating king, Palidos. "PEOPLE OF GALATIA! WE PRESENT THE TOURNEY OF CHAMPIONS! WHERE WARRIORS OF PALEIDES COME TO BATTLE AND BECOME THE GUARDIAN OF THE ORACLE!" The people grew much louder as he spoke! "WE BEGIN WITH SECTOR ONE'S BATTLE ROYALE! FIFTEEN CHOSEN AT RANDOM WILL FIGHT UNTIL THE LAST MAN IS STANDING!"

The speaker was loud enough for the warriors within the cell to hear. So they were also being filled in on the rules. "THE RULES ARE: NO KILLING. IF YOU EXIT THE ARENA, OR ARE KNOCKED OUT, YOU ARE ELIMINATED!" The arena itself was a massive circular stage, floating about ten feet from the ground. So those knocked off would find themselves falling a decent height. "WE HAVE KEPT YOU WAITING LONG ENOUGH MY PEOPLE! LET US BEGIN!!! WILL THE FIRST SECTOR CONTESTANTS PLEASE MAKE THEIR WAY TO THE ARENA!" It was time to set it off! Warriors who found their names on the sector one list began making their way through the opened gates, heading to the arena. Grey-Hawk smirked evily, knowing he'd have a chance to harm Shinji. He slowly walked through the hall, eyeing down Shinji as he did.

As the fighters had finally started coming out from the gates, the crowd roared ever so loudly. Among the crowd there was a group consisting of a burly man, a young woman, a little girl and a wolf pup, that was pointing out a warrior they recognized.

"Hey guys look it's Shinji!" A young woman had just pointed out Shinji who she seems familiar with. "Haha you seem awfully excited about Shinji appearing don't ya!" A huge burly man had be chuckling at the sight of the young woman pointing out Shinji. "Hey Anna don't you think she likes Shinji." He says smiling as he looks down to the little girl beside him. "Umm.. well.. you see I uhh.." the little girl named Anna was at a loss for words for she was too young to understand the true concept of relationships. "Ahh Anna don't you dare think about the two of us ever being together. I mean who could ever love an arrogant jerk like him." The young lass had crossed her arms and huffed as she grew red in the face. "Ahh Remi I'm only teasing you." The man said. "Well it was a really bad joke Biggs!" Remi says crossing her arms. The wolf pup had been sitting on Anna's lap the whole time.

"It's a good thing I wasn't stuck with Virgil or that guy Nir. It wouldn't have been fun if we fought so early." Shinji had begun to walk out through the gate. As he walked through he noticed that Grey-Hawk was eyeing him the whole way. He would stare back as to show he wasn't intimidated at all. He looked Grey-Hawk in the eye gave him a thumbs up, then quickly changed to a thumbs down as he smirked and radiated an unnatural amount of confidence. For the other. Warriors who aren't in the first block, they sat in a waiting room that looked into the stadium. They wanted to see their potential opponent. Virgil had stay behind in the holding cell. He sat near a corner as he readied himself for the next fight. A man had noticed Virgil was there and asked if he'd go watch his friend fight. Virgil's response was, "the others will watch him for me." Noting the four companions they brought along.

The stage was set! Each warrior was on the arena stage, holding their blunt wooden weapons. In compliance with the rules, fighters could not use lethal arms. Instead thay had been given the wooden weapon of choice. They wouldn't kill, but they still packed a punch. Fifteen warriors spread apart! It'd be foolish to begin the battle close up. The speaker, who was at the center of the arena, walked off, greeting some warriors that were on the stage. The man dropped down and exited through a small wooden door. In his place was a female speaker who was stationed with the crowd. "OOOOOKAY! READY FIGHTERS!? BEGIN!!!!" The crowd went wild at the start! They were ready to see what the warriors of Paleides had to offer!

Immediately at the start of the battle, Grey-Hawk slammed his right arm onto the stage floor. He instantly channeled his elemental magic of Earth, to slide the floor around him. The floor would violently shift, sending those who had no footing or balance flying off the edge! Six unfortunate men were eliminated at the beginning, which made things easier for Grey-Hawk. He scanned the stage to see if Shinji was still footed, tightly gripping his wooden hammer.

In an undignified manner Shinji had lost his footing in Grey-Hawk's assault. Barely able to catch himself he nearly lost in the first 15 seconds of the match. Remi had slapped her hand to her face from embarrassment after watching Shinji. The burly man had been laughing at how pathetic Shinji looked while Anna and the wolf pup looked on. Just as Shinji recovered he was attacked by a very tall man that would easily tower over Shinji. On sight, Shinji got hyped as his battle would finally begin. He clashed with the tall man. Going strike for strike as neither of them would connect but before long Shinji had gained the upper hand. He threw a feint for the man up high then quickly swept at his feet knocking him off balance. "Sorry but you were just so wide open." Shinji said. He proceeds to then prop the man with his wooden spear and launched him outside the ring. Shinji then looks around to notice some fighters fighting while Grey-Hawk was staring him down. There were now 8 warriors left.

"Alright Shinji!!" The burly man jumps with excitement as he cheers on his friend. "And here I thought you didn't like fighting Biggs." Remi had said. "I really don't but this fight has gotten me really excited!" Biggs replies

Grey-Hawk managed to lock onto Shinji, who almost fell victim to his ability. The young man managed to eliminate a warrior after his recovery, which was impressive. But Grey-Hawk wouldn't be that same warrior! He was much stronger and hungry! Hungry to eliminate Shinji! Grey-Hawk charged at the young men, until another warrior intercepted his track. They lunged in with a wooden spear, hoping to strike him in his chest. "I'll be the one to eliminate you Grey-Hawk!!!"

With a single hand, Grey-Hawk caught onto the end of the wooden weapon, snatching it from the warrior. Using his other hand, he swung the wooden hammer against the warrior's helmet. The blow was strong enough to send him rolling off the edge. "Out of my way fool!!!!" The crowd grew much louder at the violence! Two warriors decided to take on Grey-Hawk. One with a wooden sword and the other with club. "So you're teaming up against me!? Pathetic!" They both charged Grey-Hawk! One would veer to the right and attempt to swipe at him horizontally. The other went to the left and jumped above to slam the club down on him.

Grey-Hawk jumped backwards, slightly avoiding the sword swipe. Instead, the wooden sword would hit the other warrior on his ankles while in mid-air. In a quick move, Grey-Hawk jolted forward, swinging his hammer and smacking dead into the warrior in air. He was sent into the other warrior and both flew right off the stage. Such sheer power amazed the crowds!

Shinji had prepared himself, as Grey-Hawk had charged him. But was intercepted by another warrior. While Grey-Hawk was busy, a man had come to sneak attack the unsuspecting Shinji. He was struck in the back of the head rolling forward. He quickly turns to face the man but he had vanished. Then again from his back he was attacked. Again he looks back but the man was no where. Shinji had begun to focus his sense and felt the presence of magic right behind him. He quickly turns and faces the man. This man had a wooden sword in his hand and charged at Shinji claiming that he would end him. Just as he is about to be attacked Shinji is hit from the side. Shinji caught a glimpse and saw it was the same exact man. There were two of them. It was clear this man could use magic. "I didn't want to have to do this so early but I guess you leave me no choice." Shinji says. He breathes in and then out. He charges at the man with the presence of magic radiantjng from his body and strikes down with his lance with a force powerful enough that it broke pieces of the stage and caused a small smoke screen. The man who had the double had them both jump in different directions. Quickly, Shinji runs down one of them and takes him out only to reveal it was a clone. He then sprints back towards the other at a very fast pace and strikes him down with one swing. Knocking him out of the ring. 4 fighters remained.

The battle was growing in intensity! One of the warriors managed to make a clone of himself, messing with Shinji! This had thrown off Grey-Hawk, causing him to stop in his tracks. "What-" The young warrior was being toyed with until he tapped into his own magic, which boosted his speed and strength greatly. One attack from Shinji happened to crater the arena on one edge! Smokescreening the area. The crowd gasped, trying to see what they could spot in the thick smoke. As it cleared they could see Shinji eliminating the warrior. Instantly they cheered! It appeared as if they had their favorite! It all angered Grey-Hawk! "No! No! No!!!! I will not let this little shit outshine me!!!"

Grey-Hawk charged in with his hammer. Reaching Shinji! He didn't even care about the ofher two warriors, he wanted Shinji now! The man raised his hammer and brought it down, hoping to smash Shinji's head in! "I will destroy you!!!" The Oracle, who was beside the king, turned to her Lord with a worried look. The battle may get ugly, and she didn't want anything bad happening.