1 Prologue: Eleventh Beast Master Championships

[PRINCESS TITANIA. The City of Battle, Summer Isles, Sanctuary of Avalon. White Day, Years End, Year 5007 of the Avalon Calendar.]

Princess Titania of the Court of Spring sat in her kingdom's royal viewing room. Around her were close to a dozen members of her family, including her father; King Cernunnos. Even though some of her relatives were inhumanly massive, they all fitted comfortably within the stone room.</bold>

She absentmindedly played with her floor length, moss green hair. Furrowing her eyebrows to the point that fine creases showed on the pale green skin of her fore-head. Her large purple eyes were transfixed on a silver screen, which floated before her. The screen was a meter long on each side and projected the images and sounds of what was currently transpiring within the Summer Isles' Arena. This form of viewing was made necessary due to the immense size of the domed coliseum, which measured a kilometre in diameter.

In the centre of the Summer Isles' Arena, two combatants faced off against each other. A muscular, red-haired man who seemed to be covered in large scales, stood bare-chested and proud. Opposite him was a slim, black-haired man in a rich satin cloak embroidered with silver and gold thread. Around them hovered dozens of pinhead sized silver spheres, which constantly moved to ensure that they did not come into contact with the two men nor each other. There orbs were linked to the silver screens provided to the arena spectators. Sending sounds and visual data to those screens.

The two men facing off against each other were clearly youthful in age. Barely in their early twenties. Yet they stood with a clear and noble authority that could rival a veteran warrior two times their age. This was because the two men were not simply representing themselves in this battle. They were in fact representing their nations. The outcome of this battle would radically alter the political landscape of the human held lands.

"I will crush you!" the red-haired man vigorously announced. "The strength of my three-headed steel serpent is irrepressible."

"Nonsense!" the black-haired man loudly responded. "Your over-grown, mutant worm is nothing compared to the power of my lightning wing eagle."

"Champions," a third male arrived and stood between them.

The new arrival had unblemished fair skin, large green eyes and silk like brown hair which cascaded over a thin body. His fine features would make it easy to mistake him for an attractive woman. Though his beauty wasn't the most eye-catching thing about him. Rather it was his long, pointed ears, the tips of which extended a few centimetres past the top of his head.

"Elven Master Ellisar," the two young competitors both bowed their heads.

"Tell me, why do you battle today?" the elf questioned.

Almost as if in perfect synchronicity, the two combatants phrased their reply. "We battle for the prosperity of our kingdoms. We battle for the honour of our ancestors. We battle for the lives of our kinsmen."

"Excellent," Ellisar smiled before gazing directly at one of the tiny silver spheres. "Welcome lords and ladies of the four Courts of Fay, nobles of the four Kingdoms of Humans, royals of the Dwarven Empire of Voratar, and all other honoured guests.

Today is the final day of contest for the Eleventh Beast Master Championships. This is the final battle in the contest, which will decide first and second place. As per the rules agreed to between the four Courts of Fay and the four Kingdoms of Humans, this is an elimination match. The limitations on killing have been lifted. The battle will be life or death.

The winner will earn their family, their house and their kingdom great power and wealth. They will forever be celebrated as a Champion Beast Master."

Ellisar paused before turning towards the black-haired man.

"To my right is the representative of the Kingdom of Bautista," the elf introduced the slim youth. "Young lord Diego Castilla of the House of Castilla. Young lord Diego commands the lightning wing eagle; Lightning King Relampago."

Ellisar then turned his attention to the other contestant.

"To my left is the representative of the Kingdom of Connor," the elf repeated a similar introduction for the other competitor. "Young lord Glenn Douglass of the House of Kinley. Young lord Glenn commands the three-headed steel serpent; Ironhorn Breaker of Mountains."

Ellisar paused for a moment before loudly announcing, "Let the final battle commence!"

With that statement, the elf hurriedly walked off, towards the periphery of the arena. Meanwhile the two combatants moved away from each other until a distance of a hundred meters separated them.

Glenn unclasped his iron chain necklace and uttered, "Go forth Ironhorn Breaker of Mountains."

The necklace glowed with a blinding silver light as Glenn threw it before him. It quickly transformed into a thirty meter long silver serpent. Half of the beast's length was made up of a body that was two meters in diameter at it thickest before tapering off into a tail. The other half consisted of three long necks that ended in three massive python heads, from which shone alert golden eyes. Atop each python head was thick black, conical horn that reached twenty-five centimetres in length.

"Pathetic," Diego muttered and reached for a fulgurite tube which had been formed when lightning had struck the peak of a mountain.

He sent a mocking gaze towards his opponent, threw the petrified lightning and shouted, "Go forth Lightning King Relampago."

The piece of fulgurite morphed into the form of an eagle that was two meters long and with a wingspan of four meters. The regal beast had a dark grey underbelly, but the rest of its feathers had a lustre akin to sapphire. Its most striking features were a pair of large pure white eyes, from which small electrical bolts constantly flashed out.

Relampago hovered five meters above the ground. An ability that would be impossible for a mundane eagle.

Meanwhile, Ironhorn cautiously slithered towards its smaller foe.

"Coiling Ambush!" shouted Glenn, causing Ironhorn to swiftly coil and then uncoil, using the momentum to leap into the air and bite out at its smaller enemy.

"Lightning Strike!" Diego commanded his lightning wing eagle to unleash a flurry of lightning bolts from its outspread wings.

Ironhorn cried out in shock and pain, falling back down to earth.

Glenn quickly gathered his internal energy. Then using the magical link between a Beast Master and their Mystical Beast, he channelled that energy to heal the three-headed steel serpent's wounds

"Go underground!" ordered Glenn.

Ironhorn smashed all three of its horns into the ground. The hard earth was unable to resist the beast's might and quickly crumbled under the assault.

Glenn glared at his opponent. Even at a distance of over a hundred meters, he could see Diego simply smirk in return.

A bead of sweet trickled down Glenn's face. His three-headed steel serpent was a Steel-type Mystical Beast. Putting it at a grave disadvantage against his opponent's Electric-type, lightning wing eagle.

The only real strategy was for him to hide Iron-Horn underground and then strike the enemy unaware. However, the fact that Relampago was constantly airborne, meant he would need perfect timing to make the move work.

Suddenly Diego unfastened the clasps of his cloak and spread open his garment to expose a lining of sapphire feathers. Beast Masters were allowed to create equipment from items gifted to them by their Mystical Beasts. The feathers on Diego's cloak were Relampago's cast off feathers. When properly treated by an alchemist, they could be used as ancillary weapons.

Diego used the Hands of Wind spell to cause the sapphire feathers to fly from his cloak. They spread throughout the field of broken earth before slowly settling down. However, once Diego activated their power, instead of simply resting where the lay, the feathers began to move towards one area. This was where Ironhorn was hiding. Its massive steel body, attracting the small sparks contained within the feathers.

"Death Storm!" ordered Diego.

Electrical energy once more began to spark from the lightning wing eagle. However, these bolts were a lot more focused. They struck the group of feathers with a thunderous bolt of lightning.

Glenn's face turned pale as he once more sent healing energy to heal his Mystical Beast.

"Damnit!" the red-haired Beast Master sword. "Steel Trident!"

In response, Ironhorn shot forth from the fractured ground. It's body rigid like a trident. What's more, the twenty-five centimetre horns had grown to ten times their original length.

At the same time, Glenn activated his own Hand of Wind spell. The scales on his body, which were fashioned form the shed skin of Ironhorn, flew towards Relampago. It was a last-ditch gamble. The lightning wing eagle had poor acceleration when hovering, making it impossible to flee. Instead, it would need to defend, and it would only be able to block one attack, either the scales Glenn sent flying out or Ironhorn's Steel Trident maneuver.

The dual attack happened too quickly for Diego to be able to shout out orders. So, the lightning winged eagle had to resort to its own instincts. It immediately defended against the Steel Trident attack. Which was clearly larger in scale.

Ironhorn was once again struck by lightning and crashed to the ground. This time, the damage was much clearer. Large areas of its flesh were exposed and charred. Worse still, its life-less central most head was limply dragging on the ground.

Relampago seemed in better condition. Only suffering minor cuts.

"Concede defeat!" Diego called out. "Your three-headed steel serpent is at death's door and you lack the energy to fully heal it."

"It's not over yet," stated Glenn and activated the power of Ironhorn's scales.

"What did you do!" Diego shouted.

The magical link between Beast Masters and their Mystical Beasts allowed them to be aware of each other's physical condition. So Diego knew that Relampago was now being poisoned.

"Ironhorn is a mutant three-headed steel serpent," explained Glenn with pride. "It had the highly poisonous venom glands of the closely related three-headed venom serpent. Unfortunately, it lacked the fangs to distribute the poison. So, I had an alchemist remove the venom glands and infuse the poison into its shed scales."

Spittle flew from Diego's mouth as he fumed, "That's still not enough!"

He began channelling his healing energies towards Relampago but found that the poison was causing continuous damage. Lightning wing eagles had some of the highest levels of attack power among Mystical Beasts, but their vitality was nowhere near the same level. Diego knew that now it was simply a matter of which Mystical Beast would fall first.

"Lightning Strike!" Diego ordered the poisoned Relampago, which was now too weak to remain airborne.

"Mountain Crush!" Glenn commanded the dying Iron-bite.

Bound by their mystical contracts, the two magnificent beasts were forced to put aside their natural survival instincts and instead fight to the death. The three-headed steel serpent wrapped its body around Relampago and began to squeeze with the remnants of its might. Meanwhile, the lightning winged eagle expelled electrical energy into the serpent.

On the sidelines, the two Beast Masters has stopped channelling healing energies to their Mystical Beasts. Knowing that further expenditure could damage their own vitality.

In the end, Ironhorn Breaker of Mountain's vulnerability to Electric-type attacks, proved its downfall. Its golden eyes finally falling lifeless. Unfortunately, in death, a three-headed steel serpent's body does relax but instead hardens. Thus, Relampago was unable to extricate itself from the grip of its dead foe.

Diego ran over to his dying companion and gently stroked the Mystical Beast on the top of its head.

"You did well Relampago," he smiled. "You have won me glory. Now I will make sure your suffering ends."

With that, the Beast Master withdrew his short-sword from its scabbard and slit the throat of the gigantic bird.

"Young lord Diego Castilla of the House of Castilla has won the Eleventh Beast Master Championships!" Ellisar's magnified voice boomed out through the arena.

The spectacle announcement was cheered on by most of the watching crowds. However, there were some whose throats were not raised in praise of the new Champion Best Master. Instead they wept openly at seeing the horrific outcome suffered by the two magnificent Mystical Beasts. One of these mourners was Princess Titania.

"Are you alright my little butterfly?" enquired King Cernunnos' in his rich baritone voice.

"That was a horrible spectacle," stated Princess Titania. "These humans are barbarians. They use their Mystical Beasts as if they were common animals."

"The humans are still unpractised," King Cernunnos explained. "We only taught them the power of taming Mystical Beasts less than a century ago. Also remember that these humans have no natural affinity for magic, plus their lifespan are too short to truly master the arcane arts. So, taking all those factors into account, this is the best we can expect from them."

"With all due respect your majesty, I disagree," declared a gruff voice.

Princess Titania turned towards the towering Fey who had made the remark. Her own father stood two meters tall, with large elk-horns upon his head, adding a further half meter in height. Yet the new speaker still towered above him. At six meters in height, the slim, bark skinned giant was among the tallest of the Fey.

"Lord Ugoki," Princess Titania addressed the troll. "You share my views on this matter?"

"Yes," answered Ugoki. "Humans are a vile species. Greedy and self-absorbed, they do not respect the sanctity of life. They look down on others, taking without thought nor concern from other species."

There was silence in the royal viewing room as Princess Titania and King Cernunnos both scanned the faces of those present. Analysing which Fey agreed with the Princess and which with the King.

"I challenge for rulership of the Court of Spring," Titania broke the silence with a declaration.

Cernunnos stood to his full height, but then bent from the waste to kiss Princess Titania on her forehead.

"My little butterfly," King Cernunnos smiled. "I accept your challenge. We will discuss further once we return to the Southern Vales. For now, I must attend my meeting with the other sovereigns."

"Thank you, my King," said Princess Titania.

She watched as her father left the Court of Spring's royal viewing room and headed to meet with the other Fey rulers, as well as the leaders of the Human Kingdoms. Their discussions would be about distribution of resources within the human held territories.

"I support you Princess Titania," stated Ugoki as he laid his hand on her shoulder. His root-like fingers were each almost as long as her full hundred and fifty centimetre height, making Titania appear even smaller than she truly was.

"Thank you," said Princess Titania. "I will also be counting on your support when I demand the Fey High Council to send these humans back to their original home."