They Who Seek Power

Their hair was like a silk river, silver that ran from their ponytail to their ankles. Their padded white and black gear was decorated with a teal cape thrown across one shoulder, and most of their torso was exposed. A large cutlass lay across their folded legs, and a scimitar was strapped to their waist. Jewellery adorned nearly every finger and limb, giving them an air of royalty or nobility. Their eyes glistened with deep blue, bejewelled with sky blue streaks. And those eyes… they were gently observing Leo, waiting for his answer.

'U–' Leo held his tongue. This person was deadly serious, despite having such a calm air about them. They felt too strong to be here. Wasn't the survival game organised based on power and experience like the entrance arena? That aside, he needed to come up with a single word that wouldn't cause this being to lash out. What could he possibly say that would cause them to not do exactly what was meant to be done in this game?

'You are wise,' they said. They gestured to the bodies on the floor. 'They did not gauge their standing in the same situation, nor did they even listen to me when I asked them the same question. You are already years ahead of them in your understanding.' They somehow kept floating, like powered by their thoughts or something else that should have been impossible. Then again, Leo could throw lightning around without hurting himself. That teal glow seemed to be emanating from behind them, but whatever it was must have been close to their back.

'Renewal,' said Leo all of a sudden. It came out before he could understand it for himself. It would have to do.

The person smiled, and their hands folded instead of making for their blades. They pressed their pointer fingers and thumbs together, tapping their nose with both hands. Then, they threw their head back without warning, crying, 'SPECTACULAR!' It was like the room suddenly glistened with beams of light bouncing from every corner. That teal shine forced Leo to cover his eyes in hopes that they wouldn't melt out of his head.

'Can I say what I like, now?' Leo asked.

'Of course, friend!' They clapped their hands together like summoning a servant, and a piece of rock lifted from the floor. 'Sit, sit!'

Leo thought it best to obey, and said, 'first of all, nice to meet you. I'm Leo, Leo Cadmus.' He held out a hand to shake, but the person was already inches from his face, grabbing the hand with both of theirs.

'Cadmus, like a dragon!? Spectacular!' That word was getting very old, very fast. Did this person really kill those other people on the floor, or did they just take credit for it?

Leo waited for them to introduce themself.

They stared at him with a smile.

Leo awkwardly smiled back.

'Oh!' They slapped their own forehead. 'My apologies, dear. I am simply called Tiam.' They bowed until their head almost struck their feet, then righted their posture into that meditative position once more. 'Thank you for answering me with such beauty, I appreciate your honesty.'

'I feel like I need to explain it a bit better, though.' Leo wasn't sure what he should do, now. Should he try and stay with this strange person, or move on and take advantage of possibly having a powerful ally guarding the borders of the wasteland?

'No need!' Tiam waved a hand. 'Your word was enough to tell me you have a lot going on. Despite being friendly for now, at some point in this game, the circumstances will force us to fight. We shouldn't be get too close, even though I would love to be a deep and intimate friend to you.' There it was again, that possibility of friendship blocked by the cruelty of Heaven's Colosseum.

'Can I at least ask what your word would be?' Leo asked.

'Mine isn't quite as beautiful as yours, sadly.' Tiam gripped the blade on their lap. It glowed faintly, again with that teal-coloured light. 'Power.' They shrugged with a smile splitting their face.

'I'm sure you have good reason, though.' Leo laid back on his stone seat, feeling like he could trust this person more by the second.

'I do.'

'Will you tell me?'

'Nope.'

'Okay.' Leo thought for a time, wondering if he should just say what he felt and be done with it. Tiam was about as close as he would get to meeting Prim in this arena again, so he should take what he could.

'Would you like to ally with me, for now?' Tiam asked mere moments before Leo could utter a sound.

'Wou–uh… of course.' Leo righted himself again. 'This is a survival game, so teaming up would be good for staying alive.' He pondered just moving on with things, but needed to have something cleared up. 'Actually, we should discuss what we can do.'

'Curious, are we?' Tiam smiled and tilted their head to the side, sweeping their hair about like an oversized broom.

'No, it's practical. Well actually yes, but also because it would be good to know what our powers are.' Leo found his hands pressing together in a curious little hug. Was he a child or something?

'I'll start.' Tiam lifted their blade and caused it to glow again. 'My gifts from my main sponsor are the most basic abilities a sponsor can give you, a Holy Blade. It's just a magical light weapon that cuts normal weapons like cake.' They placed the blade on their lap again, then rotated in midair. Finally, the source of the light revealed itself. Tiam's clothing revealed their back to be made of brilliant teal-coloured crystal. 'I can create light and channel it through my weapon, which isn't anything very special except in caves or to surprise an opponent.' They turned back before Leo could fully admire the pretty surface. 'My other ability is this levitation, which was something I developed without a sponsor. It has very little combat use at the moment aside from altering the terrain in a five-mile area.'

'Huh.' Leo nodded nonchalantly, then rewound the words spoken. 'Wait, did you just say you can alter the terrain in a five-mile area!?'