Round 1 Veteran: Zerith Vs Play Back

[Silence Sei]

The fight starts tonight at Midnight. Good luck!

[Play Back]

“….Are you kidding me?”

I sighed and ripped the tiny slip of paper that held my opponent’s name up. I had entered the Magus Cup competition for the chance to prove my worth to the Ixian Knights after I had failed to do so both in the war against Phoenix Ascendant, and in the Lornius Corporate Championship. From what I had heard, my opponents in the latter tournament dropped out after defeating myself and Talen Shadowalker. It was quite the embarrassing blow to my ego to know that I had lost to such cowards. This was the chance to finally redeem myself, and to show the Knights I was more than just the team psychiatrist. I was useful, damnit!

And then I pulled Zerith’s name.

To put things a bit more in perspective, Zerith was the leader of the Public Face Division of the Ixian Knights. He was completely loyal to Sei’s cause, and even stuck by the Mystic after his wife and children had abandoned him to go live in their fancy Dragon Land or whatever it was called. He was definitely somebody I admired for all of his accomplishments of the Ixians. I had also incorrectly assumed at one point that his wife had been possibly sleeping with Aimer Rogers.

I swallowed hard as I stood in the arena, my eyes scanning the area through my mask to get a grip of my surroundings. The floor was a linoleum like checkered tile, the kind you see in fancy places like Ixian Castle. This floor covered the expansive hundred foot circle that I stood in, floating on what seemed to be a river of molten lava. I could feel the sweat caused from the heat below, and it made me regret wearing so much black all the time. Was there a time when dressing like a ninja without ever actually having learned ninjitsu was cool? If there was, I was currently having a really hard time remembering it.

From what I could gather, the ground seemed to shift slightly towards where I stood, almost as if it were begging me to roll straight down into a fiery death. I truly wondered if I should have just resigned myself to that and given Zerith the easy victory. After all, I was just a low-level member of the Ixian Knights facing one of their top guns. Zerith was much stronger, faster, and possibly smarter than I was. The only advantage I had on the man was information, something that would no doubt blow up in my face if used. I swallowed hard once more and grabbed the hilt of my steel kunai.

I would not just kill myself off. At the very least, I could give Zerith a warm-up before he advanced to bigger and badder fish to fry.

[Zerith]

"Wait, say that again. You did what?"

The question was directed at the Sei Orlouge, head of the Ixian Knights and proclaimed "Protector of Radasanth". However the only thing Zerith saw was the mute mystic that continued to confuse him with his executive decisions and the overall lack of notice to the people that would be affected with these choices. This new one was no different, and the halberdier had to ask for a second time just what was being dropping in his lap now.

"I've entered you in the Magus Cup. Actually, I did that days ago, Just go to the place I told you and you'll find your first opponent," Sei answered. The two men stood on one of the balconies that overlooked an elaborate garden in Ixian Castle. Perhaps the mystic thought the scenery would help the prince accept the news, as Zerith still seemed to carry a slight edge to him ever since he returned to Corone. Or perhaps it was still too early in the morning for the halberdier, as even though the sun was just about to reach it's zenith in the sky, Sei could see the smallest spark of agitation in the eyes of one of his Nine.

"I know I shouldn't have sprung this up on you, Zerith," he began to explain. "I just thought that since you've been cleared to go back to your duties, this would be a good way for you to adjust. I know you always had a hint of competitiveness, as proven by your trips to the Citadel with Jensen. So I assumed you would have joined anyways."

"Yeah, I probably would have, but you can't just go and throw my name into something without my permiss-"

"AND I get the impression you're questioning why you're here," the mute interrupted. "Which is why I also took the liberty of finding this for you."

The object Sei placed on the stone railing of the balcony was something Zerith should have expected, but was still slightly surprised. It was a ornate weapon, a war hammer to be exact. The handle was short, roughly the same as an ordinary mace. The head was engraved to resemble the head of a ram, with it's horns engraved into the sides. The prince new what it was immediately, "Sei. That's-"

"A Zodiac Weapon. Yours, if I remember correctly. However, as far as I can recall, I can't seem to think of a moment where you actually picked it up and wielded it. The point I'm trying to get across is that these weapons were destined to belong to the Nine. Now I don't know what's gotten into your head that makes you think you're insignificant here, but I'd like you to at least try to use this hammer in a match. Maybe it will help you remember that you're meant for greater things."

***

It was hot.

That was the first thing Zerith realized the moment he entered what would be his first arena in the Magus Cup, and he immediately began to regret wearing armor. Outside the circular floor the heat was intense, that familiar haze seemed to make things slightly blurred above the lava. It was the sound the molten river made that really struck the prince, it was thick and churned slowly across the earth. It felt like the earth was angry, which only added to the excitement for Zerith as he remembered he was actually in the Magus Cup again.

With the ground slightly tilted toward his opponent, the halberdier leaned back slightly to compensate for it. As far as he knew, his first match was to be against another member of the Ixian Knights. He assumed it was all due to some design of Sei's, some way to have him ease into the competition and gradually test his capabilities. He barely recognized the man, a vague memory labelled him as a psychiatrist. Zerith felt bad for him if the latter were true, as a small island sitting on a river of molten lava was a definite step out of a comfort zone for any doctor.

Still, the man must have had some amount of courage or order to find himself in such a predicament. The prince admired that, and decided he let the man make the first move.

"Draconus is my shield," Zerith intoned, this little prayer of has quickly become a regular thing for him before every battle. He spun his familiar red halberd around lazily, arcs of electricity crackling across the blade as a subtle threat of what was possible.

"With him, nothing can harm me."

[Play Back]

Growing up in Lavinya had always taught me one thing about the Thaynes; they did not give two ever loving fucks about the common folk. They had abandoned me, my country, and the girl I had at one time thought I loved. To hear Zerith, one of my idols, utter a little prayer to Draconus as if the Dragon God would answer him, it felt like a part of my hero worship was being torn out from my body.

I tightened the grip on my kunai, slashing the air in various motions as if to show off my prowess. The sweat oozing out of my pores began to soak my clothes as I gave Zerith a small bow of respect. Though his earlier prayer had irked me, he was still a member of the Ixian Knights recognized by Sei Orlouge himself. Defeating the halberdier here meant that most of the tournament would probably become smooth sailing for me. All I had to do was jump this mountain of a hurdle and I would have an easy ticket to the quarter finals at least.

“May the best man win, Lord Zerith,” I said, bowing my respects to him once more, “please do not go easy on me!” I straightened my posture and charged towards my opponent, the blade of my weapon lined up along my left wrist. I could feel the hot wind whip around my face as I ran towards the older man, but the air did nothing to cool me off from the immense immolation below. If I had been paying attention, I would have realized that the further I charged towards my foe, the more our platform seemed to tilt downwards in his direction…

[Zerith]

When he was just a child, Zerith remembered that he used to dream of being a knight. Not just any knight, but one of those knights that were always found in the center of a story involving some sort of heroic deed and seemed to always involve a dragon in it's climax. When he was unable to play with any of his friends, the boy would find a random stick and begin to pretend he was in his own story, and that the discarded tree limb was the sword he would use to save the day. He would swing it from side to side as until his arms grew tired and the invisible army he took on single handily lay broken around him. It was a typical dream of any growing boy, and the more times he remembers those days spent in the woods or in the fields swing that stick, he realized that he must have looked absolutely ridiculous.

Now, years later, Zerith smiled as he watched his opponent do the same thing with his kunai. "Just a boy believing he's a hero," Zerith thought. He wasn't sure if he should be amused, or feel bad for the doctor. Did he realize that it was quite possible for the halberdier to kill him here?

"Now it not the time to be just or merciful," he told himself harshly. "You're a General and one of the Nine. Sei entered you in this tournament to make sure you're ready to fight again. Remind him why you should be the face of the Ixian Knights, and show this man why you deserve to be respected."

"Good luck to you as well," was all that Zerith could say before his adversary sprung to action. Ever so eager to prove his worth, the man was either brave or reckless enough to charge. Wiping the sweat off his brow, the prince shook his head slightly. "Seriously? Going to charge a man with a polearm?"

"This man clearly doesn't know much about fighting."

A single rune came to life on Amenzanil, burning a bright red colour. An instant later the halberd obeyed and awoke in a fiery blaze, engulfing the entire shaft of the weapon in seconds. Unaffected by the fire or heat from his polearm, Zerith remained focused on his opponent and knew exactly what to do. It was simple really, and blatantly obvious, but he assumed that if the doctor didn't know much about combat if he was thought a smart choice to just charge at the prince.

Taking a step back right his right foot, he felt his weight being shifted backwards as the island the two men stood on shifted. He compensated by shifting so that he rested more on his back leg, and brought his halberd down to set himself against the incoming charge. Then, when his opponent was finally close enough and the fight could finally start, the prince struck. With both hands gripped tightly around his halberd, Zerith thrust the point of his blade at the doctors chest. Sharp titanium threatened to end the fight as quickly as it began, and fire and lightning followed with it.

[Play Back]

Zerith got into position, which brought a smile to my lips. I could hear the electricity pop off of my opponent’s weapon; see the heat fumes produced by its enchantment. With each step I took, the ground began to shift more towards Zerith, allowing my advance to hasten. Just before I impaled myself onto my hero’s weapon, however, I disappeared. My teleportation was an ace-in-the-hole technique that left me disoriented more and more depending on how frequently I used it.

The lack of me from the arena instantly caused the platform to slightly jettison back upright, rocking back and forth as it recovered to its former position. I appeared behind Zerith, Kunai at the ready. The arena did not like my re-emergence too well though, as the new weight shifted the island back downwards. I quickly tried to jab at the back of my foe with my blade, but afterwards lost my footing and fell to the ground.

“It’s a see-saw,” I explained out loud so that Zerith would get the concept as well, “If we’re both on one side, we both risk falling into the lava. If we distribute weight evenly though, the platform will remain balanced. That’s fucking clever Magus Council.” I jammed the tip of my weapon into the floor as the arena began to dip. The blade bit into the floor, though just barely. Thank goodness for all that physical training growing up on Lavinya caused.

“One of us needs to get back to the other side of the field Zerith, Sir,” I shouted, unsure of where the halberdier was, “I can teleport back up there, but it’s going to make me prone for a minute. Can I trust you to not take advantage of the situation?” It was another newbie mistake I was making; trusting my foe to not attack me at his best opportunity to. However, I was not dumb enough to be defeated by my own clumsiness this time, and added, “I think Jasmine and Siela would want you to beat me fair and square, right?”

[Zerith]

The words sounded like they were saturated with venom. With one hand still holding onto his halberd, the prince took a moment to reach behind him with his other hand and feel where his opponent had tried to stab him. He found it immediately, his fingers sinking into the rip in his tunic where the kunai had cut it. Yet the blade didn't cut much deeper than that, the layer of chainmail underneath was still intact albeit for a few broken links.

The halberdier should have felt relieved, to have lost the fight so quickly would have been humiliating, especially when he knew Sei and others were waiting for the results of the first round. However, the halberdier was more furious than anything. Not simply because of the cheap move the psychiatrist tried to pull, but because of what he said after.

"Really, trying to manipulate me by throwing out the names of my wife and daughter?"

"How dare you speak to me of "trust", after you try to win a fight by stabbing me in the back." Zerith spat back. At least know he knew something the man was capable of, and made a mental note to be extra cautious if the doctor suddenly vanished again. Yet for the time being it seemed like the halberdier had the upper hand and whatever happened was his decision.

Show mercy for the time being, or take advantage? The doctor was right about the platform, but the prince had already grasped the concept before it was explained. Zerith was confident he could compensated for the lack of balance. What he didn't know was if his opponent could.

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice...." the sentence trailed off as the prince hefted Amenzanil, still ablaze, over his head and linger for a second. Then with all the strength he could muster he brought his down as hard as he could with the help of gravity. With any luck he would see the blade cut all the down into the doctor's lung. and death would follow within seconds at most.

[Play Back]

I didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to realize when Zerith decided not to help both of us out. Apparently, he thought it better to just end the fight here and now rather than allowing for a fair duel. Suffice it to say, watching someone who is your hero use an underhanded move was very disheartening to the image I had created of him. As the blade came towards me, I vanished again, this time appearing at the opposite end of the arena.

Only this time, I was on all fours and coughing up my lunch into my mask. My teleport always took so such a toll on my body that by using it more than once left me at the mercy of my opponent. Move, damn you I thought to myself, holy for my body to respond by having me hack and wheeze even more. My entire body was burning up as if I had a severe fever, but the platform had once again become even on the lava flow.

However, all it would take was one final attack from Zerith to finish me off but good.

[Max Dirks]

Playback advances to Round Two.

Zerith is still alive in the Loser's Bracket.