The Awakened

Erigos watched as Garrok began to sprout large red leathery wings from his back, his fangs grew longer and thicker and his head began to elongate. The red armor began to expand into large red scales and after a couple of seconds standing in front of Erigos was a giant red dragon with flaming blue eyes. The audience gasped, a few even began to run from their seats, ducking for cover.

The Garrok dragon reared up onto his haunches and let out a ferocious roar and gout of purple fire into the air. He slammed his front claws back onto the sandy pit and let out a deep chuckle flapped his wings, stirring up the sand before he launched into the air. His giant maw opened and released a breath of purple fire towards Erigos.

The elf dove out of the way as the flames licked the ground where he was standing. The fire spread out nearly catching him with its warm embrace. Erigos was weaponless as the dragon dove towards him, extending his claws. He managed to get his shield in front just as they scratched against the metal. Garrok flew past towards the crowd who all ducked in fear. The large dragon cast a shadow over the coliseum as he began to circle back. Erigos needed a weapon, frantically he scanned the arena. His eyes locked on the mutilated body of Maximus and lying nearby his bow, the tip peaking out of the sand. Erigos sprinted. The awakened dragon form of the artifacts roared as he saw Erigos running towards the wall. He tucked his wings in and dove.

Erigos jumped as another blast of dragon fire scorched the sand and up the wall, nearly hitting the spectators. Erigos knew he only had a few seconds before Garrok would fly back around, he couldn't outrun the fire forever. He snatched the top of the bow and removed it from the sand. His hand found the smooth craftsmanship of the Desa family bow. Scattered across the sand, from when Fangmar had launched the body into the air were a handful of arrows. He scooped two in his right hand and notched the bow. He searched the skies, no dragon. Instinctively he tucked into the wall as Garrok flew over from behind him, once again igniting the pit with his fire. The bodies of the fallen Champions sizzled and popped as the immense heat cooked their flesh.

Erigos watched Garrok fly to the far end of the arena and bank back around. As he did Erigos noticed an area in the scales where it appeared as if a scale was missing. The damage he had caused to the armor had transferred into the dragon form. Erigos raised the bow, slowed his breathing as he steadied himself. He fired as the dragon aimed towards him. The arrow sailed across the arena and clanged harmlessly off the scales.

"Fuck," he swore. He had no time to dive out of the way. He raised his shield and ducked behind it. The force of the fire pinned him to the wall, he could feel his armor cooking him as it instantly heated up. Garrok flew past, Erigos was still alive. His shield melted and falling apart as he tossed it aside, his family crest a disintegrated mess. He waited for Garrok to fly back over him and hopefully exposing the damaged area of his underbelly.

"Silmora, guide my arrow," Erigos said a quick prayer. The sound of flapping neared, he raised the bow and took aim, expecting the dragon to come over the side he had last passed over. A loud crunch above him and the screaming of the spectators overhead told Erigos that Garrok had landed on the wall above him. The head snaked down and snapped at Erigos who rolled away, an arrow raised right at the dragon's head. He backed away, towards the center of the arena. Garrok watched him, a cocky expression crept across the dragon's face as he leaped down from the wall and stalked towards Erigos, his tail whipping back and forth.

"You really are a fool," Garrok spoke, his voice also changed with the transformation. The deep tone pentreated ever fiber of Erigos. "You think that one arrow is enough to take me down?" He stood on his hind legs, wings unfurled as wide as possible, demonstrating his immensity. Erigos fired at the scaleless area exposed through Garrok's flaunt. It found the weak spot causing the dragon to return to all fours. Erigos could see a hint of pain in the blue eyes.

"It's time I finish this," Garrok reared back, bringing in the air for his fiery breath. Erigos had no where to hide, his shield gone, his armor weakened from the heat. He had lost. He closed his eyes, accepting his fate. He saw the hand of Silmora reach out beckoning him, he took it. The fire engulfed him, he didn't feel any pain as it turned his body to ash.

Garrok continued his fiery tornado making sure there would be nothing left. Finally, he stopped the body of Erigos a pile of ash and melted metal. He let out a roar of victory. The dragon eyes searched the crowd, all he saw back was fear, he grinned.

The magic slowly began to fade and Garrok reverted back to his normal form. He immediately felt the pain in his side. He tore the arrow out of his stomach and clutched at the blood wound. He resisted the urge to fall to his knees. The crowd hesitated, trying to digest what they had just witnessed. The citizens of Sa'vour slowly began to cheer until the entire stadium that had chosen Garrok as their Champion celebrated his victory. He lifted the lightning sword into the air in celebration with them, wincing slightly. His eyes found Ottothal who grinned, finished his wine, and disappeared from the balcony.

A group of healers rushed out onto the field as well as servants to clean up the bodies. Two healers came towards him and the other two went to check on Boldrum, to see if he had somehow survived the dragon fire. He hadn't, the heat had burned his body to a crisp. The warmth of the healing magic-filled Garrok's body, the wound tickled while it sealed up. They went to help him leave but he shoved them off, he would walk out on his own, as a the Champion. He could hear the voice of Grelka in his head. 'Your destiny.'

"We need to get out of here." Harim forced himself to not get emotional over watching Erigos die. He looked at Alissa, she was holding back tears.

"A dragon, a fucking dragon," Rothox said.

"We can figure this out later, right now we all need to leave."

It only took them a few minutes to navigate don't from the grandstands, many people celebrating with their friends, or those from other Kingdom's trying to blend in. Once on the ground they ran and it didn't take them long to get back to the skyship where Sixx and Erigos' father waited.

"Did we just see a dragon?" Sixx asked as they ran up.

"Yes, we will tell you what happened once we are in the air." Harim jumped onto the deck.

"Where is Erigos?" His father asked, looking past them expectantly.

Harim shook his head, "He didn't make it…I'm sorry. He fought valiantly and died a Champion."

"I…" He lowered his head and trudged sullenly into the cabin where he began to cry.

"Sixx, we need to live now." Harim and Julius helped Alissa onto the ship, she was their physically but her mind was elsewhere.

"Why the rush?" Sixx asked.

"Because Ottothal knows we are here, Erigos didn't have his disguise on when he fought. He will have every Brand looking for us." On his last word a shout from the small rise, they used as cover drew their attention. A Brand had spotted them.

"Now, Sixx!"

She rushed to the helm, pulled her levers and the ship whirled to life. A few arrows thumped into the hull as they took off.

In her blind grief, Alissa summoned a fireball and hurled it at the handful of Brand that had now appeared. They notched a few more arrows, but her fireball exploded between them igniting the ground and them. Their screams could be heard as the ship sailed away. Harim looked at Alissa, something had changed in her.

For the first few hours, they all sat quietly, a few sobs from the cabin and the occasional wipe of a tear were the only sound besides the wind blowing past. Harim eventually told Sixx that Erigos had failed because he chose not to use the Artifacts. Somehow Garrok had gotten them and during the Trial, he turned into a dragon, which inevitably allowed him to defeat their friend. Unsure of where to sail, Sixx flew them East towards a weird cloud formation, floating just off the coast of Yulandi.