Chapter 14

After everyone got their placement, they were escorted back to the waiting area, when they arrived Taryu was waiting there for the contestants.

"Okay, I see everyone got their placements. Were you guys able to figure out the puzzle?"

The crowd all looked at each other but Lycurgus stayed silent. He figured out the gist of what was going on, but he didn't know why his bone grew the fastest or most prominent, though he had won it was by a small margin, had the bone not shrunk he would have lost.

Taryu waited a minute before speaking once more "Those bones were the bones of a Hitonaru fish. Does that reveal some of the mystery?"

Suddenly a murmur of confusion erupted from the crowd as the young contestants spoke amongst each other. One young man spoke up saying "I've been a fisherman my whole life, I've caught plenty of Hitonaru fish I've never seen bones that small on any of them."

Taryu smiled "Azarios is it?" The young man stammered but nodded his head confirming his name.

"You see the Hitonaru fish are normally caught during the summer seasons because that's when they are the biggest. They absorb the sunlight but if you ever go diving and run across their nest during the off-season you will find them quite small. Their bodies expand to catch more sunlight increasing their energy."

Lycurgus thought on this, and everything started to make sense but still, he had a few questions "I chose the bone with the least amount of tarmata, but it was the fastest growing why?" He spoke to his father and the other members stared at him in a sense of amazement.

Taryu's face was stern, but his eyes had the glean of a smile behind them "Your bone was trying to grow the most because it had the least, when malnourished the fish will grow faster as it hopes to catch more sun. It's a deadly gamble so they only do so when the sun is a guarantee. Azarios which fish normally taste the best?"

Azarios, a little less star struck straightened up and spoke clearly "The medium-sized fish, the largest ones tend to be the least flavorful ones and the smallest ones tend to have a funny taste."

Taryu nodded pleased with the answer. "We knew someone would try to get a leg up and look for either the smallest or weakest lot and instead they would receive the most challenging bone, you did well to think quickly and isolate the sun, with that…" He paused for only a moment looking at the Ryuche "Unique article of clothing."

Lycurgus shifted uncomfortably at that mention.

"You all will participate in a tournament the chiefs and I have compiled a list of the order of who will be battling." Taryu unveiled a parchment with flame blue lettering appearing on the inside when he opened the scroll. He spoke the words "Reveal" and the flames danced off the page showing everyone their perspective match-up.

· Hana vs Chara

· Panias vs Nikanor

· Kaji vs Admetus

· Azarios vs Telokus

· Taezu vs Barak

· Skorri vs Makari

· Kyril vs Kilos

Lycurgus recognized the names of people he knew, but the names he didn't he wondered what faces belonged to them. Looking at the names, he had some guesses of who was sure to advance in his mind, such as Kaji and Skorri but everyone else intrigued him.

After everyone got a moment to read the list Taryu rolled up the scroll, and the blue flickering flames vanished. Everyone then turned to look at each other, wondering who their match-up was. Taryu examined the faces of each participant before making another announcement.

"The order you saw the names are the order of the matches, so for the first match please prepare yourself!" With that Taryu took his leave towards the stadium seating area.

"Wow, your old man is scary." Said Hana as she came up to Lycurgus. Lycurgus smirked and shrugged at the statement before saying, "I guess so to others but to me, he's just my aken." Hana giggled at Lycurgus' statement, teasing him with the question, "You sure about that? You seem kinda intimidated by him as well."

Lycurgus' smirk faded slightly as he let out a singular laugh heavy with breath "I guess even I'm not immune to his intimidation."

Lycurgus didn't let too much time pass before asking her "Are you ready to fight? You're first up." A smile stretched across Hana's face "I'm ready, you'll cheer for me, right?" Lycurgus let out another laugh, this time with a little more joy infused into it.

"I'm not really the cheering type, but I'll wish you swift victory."