Showdown with a Faerie

A crack followed by a fallen knee and shouts from the crowd. An enormous blade swung its blunt side over the head of a contender to knock them down. The young teenager barely dodged out of its way, slowed by his dislodged ankle. He faced off against the wielder of that massive blade, a man with a thick beard and rough brown robes loosely wrapped about him. The man went by the name of Junaid or Jun of the Massacre. Leo had heard that he gained the name by winning an entire survival game through killing his thirty-three other contenders. The game barely lasted a few hours.

Leo pushed into the crowds to find a seat beside Tiam and a disguised Raphael. He decided to distract himself by handing out snacks as Jun the Massacre slowly wore his much younger opponent down with cruel blunt blows. He did have to give the brutal fighter some credit–the man had entered the colosseum around the same time as Leo, even having his first fight just as Leo began his and now already made it to bronze. This man had gotten himself into the rank without needing some extra rigged fight against a silver ranker. Leo was admittedly a little jealous of his power and dedication.

'And that's the end!' cried the announcer. A tall silvery skinned woman with hoofed feet trotted into the arena. 'The Massacre's first bronze match was just as impressive as his reputation promised. What a fighter!' She tried on several occasions to grab Jun's wrist and raise his hand in victory, but the man kept pulling away and eventually unceremoniously walked off the battlefield. Leo liked this guy less and less, but at least glory didn't seem to be his motive.

'What a stoic fellow.' The announcer raised a hand to the crowd. 'I'm your bronze rank one-on-one caster, Bijan and I'd like to thank all you sponsors and viewers for cheering on our contenders. Now for a match we've been waiting weeks to see!' The arena turned dark as the crystals that lit it seemed to have their glow drawn out of them by Bijan herself. She commanded the very arena with barely the flex of her fingers. The sound of war drums bellowed through the open air with a guttural hum. Lights shot across the space from Bijan as she threw a gesture out to one side of the arena. A tall woman in gossamer-like robes strolled onto the battlefield. She wore common fitness gear underneath, but the way she moved looked far from normal. She barely touched the ground, which Leo put to her control of Ruh, but there was something more to her that felt almost fairy-like. Her glossy eyes locked onto Bijan and she approached the announcer with no expression bar a single tiny smile.

'Please welcome Deanne, who is just one victory away from silver rank!' The crowd responded with a roaring cheer. 'She's won every single match in bronze with ten kicks or less, and I'm sure she plans to keep that streak running.' Bijan threw some light to the opposing side of the arena where a muscular individual strolled onto the field, hands in pockets. He flicked his hair back, looking surprisingly indifferent towards the roaring crowds and excitable caster. Bijan tried to introduce Harvey, but he waved her back. She puffed out her cheeks like a furious child and tried to continue doing her job.

'This… I look forward to seeing this battle heat up.' Bijan glared at Harvey a few times before shaking off her sour grimace. 'Fighters, ready yourselves!'

Deanne threw her robes off, which glittered and dissipated like it turned invisible. Harvey sunk his hands deeper into his pockets. He glanced into the crowds and somehow found Leo amongst the thousands of onlookers. He gave his friend a wink before crouching ever so slightly.

'Your friend is confident,' Raphael remarked. He adjusted his new elvish circlet, before adding, 'I'm not sure if I find that impressive or stupid. His opponent is one of the fastest climbing combatants in bronze history, so a little caution would be wise.'

Tiam folded their arms and furrowed a scrutinizing gaze. 'You'd think he would take his situation just a little less casually. I appreciate the stylish stance, but does he expect to cut an almost silver ranker's climb short so easily?'

Something didn't quite match up for Leo. 'Cut it shor–'

'Begin!'

Deanne fluttered into the air with a kick of her legs, and cocked one as she launched toward Harvey. The man simply rolled out of the way and responded with his own kick. Hands still in pockets, he threw two upward blows and dodged any retaliation. Deanne kept away from Harvey, skipping from the ground without even touching it. Her arced movements were graceful and effortless, like a glittering moth in the dim light of a lamp.

Speaking of light, the arena had dimmed to something equivalent to dusk. It was gradually becoming harder to watch the fight until bright projected lights fell down upon the two fighters. They dove in and out of the beams, beginning to look like some magical stage show. Strikes were thrown, and Ruh was projected from both combatants. Deanne clearly bent her Ruh, but it was difficult to tell what Harvey was doing with his. He struck the air with blows that seemed to create bursts of visible air. It was clearly Ruh use from his movements, but Leo didn't recognise the use. He was too proud to ask Tiam or Raphael about the use, and tried to solve it himself. Either Harvey was using shattering Ruh very creatively, or he was compressing the air with compacting Ruh.

Finally, Deanne was the first to land a real hit. She struck Harvey on the hip, sending him buckling to the floor. He rolled out of the blow and threw himself onto his knees. He gasped and held his side, something looked like it was out of place.

Despite taking far more than ten kicks, it seemed Deanne had the upper hand. She seemed confident she had won. She swivelled to the crowd and bowed a few times as if the fight was already over.

'What in the…' Raphael leaned in, shaking his head. 'Did he… what?'

Leo didn't have a clue what was going on, but he met eyes with Harvey.

Harvey winked at Leo with eyes like a starving animal's.