Chapter 317

317 Alconians Vs. Highlanders

After Murdoc finished his speech, their group wound up joining the RMC members for lunch. Skye, Tidas, Amara, and Murdoc had until three o’clock to eat, and for the two to recuperate from their previous fights. They hardly taken any damage, but they’d both used up enormous amounts of magic.

As they ate, Skye also attempted to finish healing Tidas. She had mostly fixed a broken rib right after his fight, but didn’t have enough magic to finish it earlier without coming up short in her own fight. As she began to funnel her magic into him, Skye dropped her fork..

“Did another Shaman finish healin’ yer rib?”

Tidas looked at his wife with confusion as he swallowed his bite, then asked; “I thought you healed me up right after my fight?”

“I did, mostly.. I couldna finish yer rib, or I wouldn’ta won. Did someone else heal ye?” Skye asked with a confused, but determined expression.

Tidas shook his head; “Not that I’m aware of.. You must’ve finished me before. I haven’t had any pain since then, and one tends to feel a cracked rib.”

Skye gave him a flat expression; “I know I didn’t.. We’ll finish this later. People are already gatherin’ again.”

Lifting his head slightly, Tidas looked behind his wife to see hundreds of Highlanders already standing as close to the ring as they could. He blinked in astonishment for a moment, then asked how she could’ve known without turning around.

Skye smirked as she picked her fork back up from the snow, and cleaned it off; “I can hear them.”

.....

Constantly using her Tank trait was almost a natural state for Skye now. Thanks to Tidas’ advice, she could activate certain sections of her muscles and senses, and conserve her magic more efficiently. As he eyed her, Tidas realized that he could feel minuscule amounts of magic coming from her.

Smiling wide, Tidas went back to eating while Skye shoveled and retreated into her thoughts.. ‘I bloody knew it! He has a Shaman trait, too! The only magic I sensed in his bones was his and mine.. What the bloody hell is goin’ on! The legend didn’t-shit..’

Skye outwardly huff as she remembered that an entire section was missing from the copy in Alcon.. ‘Maybe twas in there? He was called the Ages, right? No, it was a stranger word than that.. Oh! The Aegis! That’s right..’

“Out your head, love.. Your place his here, with me..”

The familiar phrase brought Skye back to see an amused expression on her husband’s face. She’d finished her food, then just sat there with a dazed look on her face. He found it rather adorable whenever she did it.

Skye turned her head to see that even more Highlanders than before had showed up to witness the fight. Murdoc was legendary himself, but Amara was just as well known.

As Skye cranked her hear back up with her Tank trait, she’d heard the name ‘Lapis Flame’ spoken by various people. It was an odd nickname, as lapis was a shade of blue. As Skye started to ponder, her thoughts were cut short by Petrie asking; “Are ye sure ye want to do this?”

Skye and Tidas shared a glance, then Tidas asked; “Why would you ask?”

Petrie sighed as they started walking over to the ring entrance; “Just thinkin’ about the thousand ways that this could go wrong..”

Skye quirked an eyebrow; “How do ye mean?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Petrie’s tone was heavy with sarcasm as he spoke; “Someone could lose a limb, or a life, or either side could riot if both from one side lost ta the other-”

Murdoc chuckled loudly; “Ye fret too much, me laddie. The rules are clear, and none of us will cheat, so I don’t see any riotin’ happenin’ any time soon. At least not over our fight..”

Murdoc turned and looked at the gathered RMC members and sighed. There were over six-hundred and seventy members that had survived their initial raid into the Highlands, and that was a lot of presents to make in just a couple weeks.. Not to mention the dragon’s gift.

Zazzy was quickly becoming a celebrity to the Highlanders, and another reason for the size of the gathering crowds. Dragon riders were favored the stories among Highlanders to begin with. To be able to see a real, living dragon was a dream come true for most.

But that wouldn’t stop his people from being angry over the loss of their materials. They had already given up a fair amount of lumber to build Zazzy’s home.. ‘Good thing that Skye’s gonna do some fixin’ around here.. I think as long as I explain that, they Should be okay wit makin’ gifts fer the Southerners.. At least I hope..’

As the group approached the ring, the spectators cheered for all four of the challengers. Murdoc withdrew his two long swords, and positioned them in the shape of an X above his head, inciting another round or ear-shattering cheers and applause.

Skye had her two short swords, Tidas had his long and short swords, and Amara had a staff that looked metallic. Skye could see an almost non-existent line across the middle of it, and wondered if it really was just a staff..

Murdoc explained that Tidas would be fighting him, and that they would be doing it without their weapons sheathed. Skye had immediately shot the two a look of disapproval, but they brushed it aside. Both of them were experienced enough not to actually kill the other, and Skye didn’t have a choice in the matter anyway.

Besides: the Last Warrick had her own opponent to worry about...

Amara would be fighting Skye, which excited the people the most. A few had questioned why the two battles couldn’t be held in two separate matches, so Murdoc told them of the time crunch. Most knew that bad weather was on the way, so it was a quick explanation.

With nothing left to say, Amara and Murdoc stayed at their end of the ring as Tidas and Skye went to the far end. They gave each other a quick peck before turning to face their opponents..

“At the roar of the dragon, the battles begin!” Murdoc called out over the noise from the crowds.

Zazzy took her familiar position behind her parents as they took their stances. Amara and Murdoc grinned broadly at the sight before them as Amara said; “They really do look like the Royals of Old, don’t they..”

Murdoc nodded; “Aye. Now let’s see if they hold up ta their clan’s names..”

As Zazzy belted out a roar loud enough to shake the ground, Tidas and Murdoc both took off and clashed in the blink of an eye. While grinning like devils, they swung at each other with a ferocity that didn’t match their faces. As Murdoc brought his sword down, Tidas brought his up at an angle, and deflected the strike as he blocked another from the side with his short sword.

Jumping apart and breaking their scuffle, they zipped right back at each other and clashed with force. Sending the zinging sound of metal ringing out into the air. The crowds cried out in excitement as the two strongest warriors went head-to-head before their eyes.

Their swords were a shimmery blur to anyone that wasn’t a trained Tank, but those that could see were just as stunned as those that couldn’t. Their speed was intense, but their accuracy was down-right scary to those in the know. Each side now understood why their Commanders would call ‘dibs’ on the other; no one else was capable of fighting them except each other..

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As the men’s battle heated up, Skye and Amara were far more cautious of each other. They took their time building up their respective magics, and sizing up the their opponent. When Skye started to funnel her magic into the ground, Amara sent a few fire balls aimed at her feet to stop her from doing it.

“I canna let ye drop me into a pit, now, can I?” Amara stated as a ring of fireballs appeared around her.

“I hope yer good at dodgin’!” Amara paused to reach her arm back like she was pitching; “Cause it’s been a while since I fought!”

As she released her arm, two dozen fireballs followed Skye around the ring. She dodged them easily, but nearly got her hair burned off as Amara sent another volley her way. She had to literally dive out of the way to avoid being hit in the face.

Glaring at Amara, Skye hopped back up to her feet, then charged at her..

Amara smiled broadly as she braced for Skye’s impact, who nearly knock her over. As she blocked one sword, Skye hit her in the stomach with the hilt of her other, making Amara cough while bending over.

Skye hopped back and said; “This can end right now, but Ima curious as ta why yer people call ye the ‘Lapis Flame’..”

As Amara regained her control, a wicked smile stretched across her face as she replied; “Don’tcha know that twas curiosity that killed the cat in the end..”

************

Tidas and Murdoc were moving so fast that even the Tanks were having a hard time keeping up. Only when they had stopped to lock swords did the regular spectators get to see them. They saw the blurs and sparks from their sword strikes, but other than that, the regular Highlanders couldn’t follow the fight.

The RMC was going insane as they watched the two commanders going at it with relentless spirit. Wallace and a small group of Mystics had walked over to discuss the fight with the Southerners, to the general populace’s surprise. As the two commanders fought, they smiled at each other; happy to see at least their soldiers getting along.

With one less worry, the two refocused on their fight. Tidas broke apart from Murdoc to attempt to sweep his legs, but failed, and got hit in the back. The moment he hit the ground, he rolled to the side to avoid being struck in the head from a bent Murdoc.

Turning to his side, Tidas kicked the Highlander King in the side of his head; sending him tumbling over. Right as he was about to pin Murdoc with his sword, a wave of intense heat from the other side of the ring made everyone freeze in place to look..

Skye had a wall of water between her and Amara that was rapidly turning to steam. Amara had surrounded herself with seven small, but intense blue fireballs. The amount of heat they were producing was literally scorching the floor to the ring.

Skye hadn’t of wanted to use the water she was stockpiling yet, but she had no choice if she didn’t want her exposed skin to burn. For Amara’s flames to be blue, they had to be at least twenty-six hundred degrees(1427 Celsius). As Skye jumped back a few feet, she watched Amara play with the ball in her hand..

With a cocky smirk playing at her lips, Amara said; “Now ye know why they call me the ‘Lapis Flame’. Yer curiosity’s gonna get ye burned, kitten..”