7 Soul Tournament

The day of the soul tournament was finally here. The entire Coast Town was thrown into a state of deep frenzy and excitement. Many teenagers who had recently awakened their soul armos would be participating in the tournament for the first time. The thought of bringing glory to their names and families excited them to no end. To those newly awakened, this was an initiation into adulthood.

For Savyrran and Ovandarrak, it was a different feeling altogether. This was their first time going to witness the tournament. Ovandarrak wished his father was still partaking in the tournament so he could witness for himself exactly how powerful his father was.

The tournament was supposed to begin in an hour. It was only about 9:00am and yet, the Town Square was filled to the brim. The Town Square was actually a round arena without a ceiling. It was situated right at the center of the town and spanned for several of meters wide. It was large enough to hold the entire population of the town. The greater part of the Town Square was allocated to the center where competitions were supposed to take place.

Given the nature of the games, it was very necessary to have a large space. Hence, the center stage of the arena was so large that it would take about one and half hours for an average person to make one lap around it. Due to how large it was, it was even impossible for people seated at the farthest seats to see was going on on the field. Hence, there were numerous large screens suspended in mid-air at various points of the arena. This made it possible for everyone to see everything on the stage at different angles. Even though the games had not yet started, almost the whole town was already at the Town Square, waiting.

Fani, Wikka and the twins had secured seats in the middle column, not far from the judges. Savyrran carefully observed the two empty seats in the middle of the three seats. There were supposed to be five judges, however, only three were present at the moment. Savyrran immediately recognised one of the judges. Her lips curled up in mischief.

"Ovan," She called to her brother who was seated next her. The two of them were sitting between their parents. "Look over there. Is that not Loki's mother?"

Ovandarrak directed his attention towards the place Savyrran was pointing. He nodded in agreement. "I didn't know she was one of the judges. Father, does she always do it every year?"

Fani smiled. "Yes. All the judges are very important people. Commander Roggo is the captain of the Soul Guardians in Coast Town."

Savyrran nodded in realisation. She remembered that Loki had once mentioned that his mother was a Soul Guardian. She just did not know she was actually the captain. It was obvious that Loki did not understand how important his mother's status was. If he did, that was all he would have ever talked about.

"The other two are Mohan Jigwe and Rahma Bentum. They are guest judges from outside Coast Town." Fani continued. Usually, three judges presided over the tournament. However this year, two others have been invited. Mohan and Rahma were both the top fighters in their respective hometowns and were quite well known even here in Coast Town. Last year, the two of them made history by being the first from Cape District to make it to the Royal Soul Tournament. Even though they were eliminated earlier in the competition, they were still hailed as heroes in the district. It was for this reason the mayor had invited them here today as special guests.

"And the other empty seats?" Savyrran asked curiously.

"They belong to Mayor Danjo and Master Bufan."

Savyrran nodded in understanding. After all, these two were the most powerful people in the town, hence it was no surprise they had such important seats at the tournament.

…....…..

Meanwhile, back in the waiting room, beneath the Town Square, were Master Bufan and Mayor Danjo. Master Bufan was the oldest man in the town, He was over a hundred years old, however, he had the stature and youthfulness of a forty year old man. His deep soulful eyes however, were stern and focused as though it had seen many lifetimes. The only thing that showed his old age was his snow white hair that was held in a ponytail.

The younger mayor, only in his thirties, had a pleasant looking face. In spite of his status as the mayor of Coast Town, Mayor Danjo had this warmth radiating from him that made people want to automatically draw towards him. Though he had humble beginnings as the son of a poor fisherman, he was currently one of the most powerful men in Cape District both in terms of political power and soul essence.

With the help of Master Bufan, he had overseen the organisation of the Wokla Festival for about seven years now. And this year was no different. After several weeks of careful planning, everything was finally ready.

"It's time." Master Bufan said. His voice was firm and full of authority.

"Of course, Master." Even after becoming a prominent figure in the town, Mayor Danjo never forgot his roots. The smile on his cleanly shaved face was captivating enough to make women swoon. In his dashing blue robe made of fine silk, Mayor Danjo was a sight to behold.

Everyone in the town saw Master Bufan as a kind of father figure or grandfather. He was the town's teacher. As someone who dedicated many years of his life in soul art, he eventually opened the first school in the town in his youth. After several decades, many of the people in town had in one way or the other been under his tutelage. This included Danjo Harim. When he started out, his students used to call him master. Eventually, the title stuck. Now, everyone called him Master Bufan. But his direct disciples just called him master. Even as a mayor, Danjo still revered the man who taught him everything he knew about soul art.

Soon, the two were at the surface of the arena. As soon as the crowd saw them approaching, the noise elevated to an even higher level.

"It's Master Bufan and the mayor." One said.

"Finally. It's going to be glorious." Said another.

"I wonder what this year holds for the combatants."

"Oh, Higher Celestials. How is the mayor so perfect? Just look at that smile." One woman exclaimed, eyes burning with adoration. It would not be far fetched to say that Mayor Danjo was the most handsome man in their town, and perhaps even in the whole of Cape District.

"The celestials do indeed live among us mortals."

Everyone was excitedly discussing about how the tournament was going to turn out. They wondered who was going to claim the title of Red Master and Orange Master.

"Welcome, everyone, to this year's Wokla Festival Soul Tournament." Mayor Danjo announced. He was barely raising his voice, however, his voice was loud enough to reach the ears of close to about the two thousand people in the Town Square. This was because he was using his essence to amplify his voice. It was loud, however, it felt like he was right behind everyone, whispering into their ears at the same time.

"Today's tournament sure looks promising. We have many first timers who I believe have all worked hard to prepare for this day. In all, we have sixteen participants - twelve reds and four oranges. I will introduce each of them, starting with the reds."