A Journey of Reiki
Chapter Nine

-Sybis-

I woke up, feeling refreshed but terrified, a mixture I never thought I’d experience before today.

I rolled out of bed at the crack of dawn, knowing I only had a few minutes to get ready before I had to meet with the rest of the Champions downstairs with Herrek.

I grabbed my armor and put it on carefully, making sure every strap was perfect and it was placed in the exact spot to protect as much of my body as I could. I strapped my sword to my hip and double-checked every strap as I dared. If something went wrong it could be fatal. It would be fatal.

I did a rundown of my body for any aches and pains and found none. I stretched my legs and arms, flexing my hips and back to be as agile as I could be. A pulled muscle could be what ends me in this fight. I wished I had a helmet, but figured I was better off with my field of vision being open. If they hit me in the head, even if I did have a helmet I probably wouldn’t live to use it again anyways. Better with my vision open.

I took a peek at my Reiki and found it full. Good, I would need every drop I could muster. I took a few long, deep, full breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth, calming myself. My hands were shaking, but that was normal. I was scared and had every right to be so.

But I couldn’t let it get to me. If I survived this, I would have every moment, later on, to be scared. But for now, I had to be awake, had to be aware. I went to my washbasin and splashed cold water all over my face, waking myself up to the fullest degree, and sighed. Today was the day.

I walked out of my room, closing the door behind me. I jogged down the stairs, warming my body up, and realized I had forgotten about my ring still sitting on my nightstand. It was better with it off anyways, easier to cool down, less to think about. I jogged down the steps and joined the Champions all gathered by the front door, twelve of them in total.

By that measure, I would have about three fights, if I were to survive the first one. That wasn’t a very good number, but my opponent would be just as worn out, like me, equalizing the odds. It was at least something to hold on to. Herrek was at the front of the group, and as I stepped in between an orc and a Dragonborn, he cleared his throat and began talking, his chubby body wobbling as he paced in front of us.

“Champions... today is the Trials. Today you will fight for your town, your families, yourselves... and only one will live to tell the tale.” He let that settle, looking around at all of us in turn. Everyone seemed as tense as me, and that was somehow a comforting thought. “This is not an easy task, and we will not allow it to be easy. No mercy is allowed in the arena, no two men or women may walk off the sand when your feet touch it, only one may survive the round. If you fail to kill your opponent, we will kill them for you.

“You may not leave the pit after the match begins, you will be killed before you ever see the streets again. You may not do anything to sabotage your fellow Champions, any attempt will result in your slow and painful death, and finally, remember. You do this for your towns. Protect yourselves, and fight to your fullest. The first match will be Cinder of Hyren against Sybis of T’uuk. You may prepare yourselves, the rest will reside here, you will be called when the match is over. Cinder, Sybis, you may come with me.”

I stepped forward, and so did another dark elf. He was dressed in dark robes, his head covered in a hood. His face was scarred but looked gentle. I didn’t let it deceive me, he was a Champion. He intended to win.

His weapon seemed to be a staff and a sword, so I expected magic from him. He curtly nodded at me, and I did the same. We fell into step behind Herrek, who led us out the building and down the road, where citizens lined the streets, cheering wildly. The sound was deafening, terrifying, but exhilarating as well. It was an odd combination of emotions, but I accepted them. I felt powerful, important. This must be what it felt to have that power I sought so dearly for. Or at least seem like I have it.

Herrek led us down an alleyway pointing directly to the arena, and the dark alley led down a set of stairs under an archway that led to a door, through the door we followed him down a set of halls until we came to a room that showed the arena, the sands glowing hot in the sun, the stands filled to the brim with spectators. Herrek stopped and turned to us, Cinder and I stood side-by-side. My hand was shaking so bad.

“Do either of you have any questions?” Neither of us spoke, so he continued. “Both, fight fair, but hard. Go to separate sides, and when the bell tolls, the match will begin. There is no time limit, it ends when only one remains. Good luck.” He walked past us, and we took it as our cue to enter.

We entered with no issues, but it took me a moment to get my legs moving. I was a few steps behind him as we exited the dark under-hall, and as we breached the sunlight, the crowd went wild. The cacophony of cheering hurt my ears, but I did my best to block it out, to keep going.

We split ways, heading to opposing sides of the arena. It was huge, at least two-hundred feet across, and we stood fifty feet apart. The cheering slowly died as the sound of an announcement roared.

“The first match of the day, we have Cinder of Hyren!” Cinder raised his hand, keeping eye contact with me. The crowd cheered wildly, hollering his name before dying down again, the announcer continued. “And his opponent, the returning Champion, Sybis of T’uuk, riding for Belrae Anhan, former Champion!” The crowd exploded, absolutely crazed by the announcer’s words. It took the announcer multiple tries to calm and quiet them, the ordeal lasting several minutes before something close to silence ensued. The announcer spoke again, but I wasn’t listening to him, I was instead looking at my opponent, as he was looking at me. He smiled and spoke. He had to shout to beat the noise around us.

“Not a bad day for a fight, Sybis of T’uuk.” He smiled, and it confused me by how genuine it was. No scorn or hatred resided in his eyes.

“I supposed not. I apologize, Cinder of Hyren, if I don’t hold back.” He raised his hand and shook his head, his actions carrying his understanding.

“I get it, forgive me if I do the same.” He gripped his staff, removing it from the holster on his back and planted it in the ground. I listened to the last few words of the announcer, but only once truly got through. A sharp pang sounded through the air, the bell had been rung.

“Fight!”

I drew my sword, running forward. I had to close the distance. He raised his staff, two-handed. I closed to twenty feet before he shouted something, his hand flaring. A gout of fire exploded towards me, and I could feel the heat. I rolled, hoping it was airborne, and it was. I rolled clear under it, feeling the heat on my back. I came up running, ten feet away.

He released another, and I spun on my feet as it flew by me, singing a few hairs. I slashed at him, overhand. He blocked it with his staff, jutting his free hand at me, I was ready.

I pushed my own hand out, ready.

I loosened my Reiki with a small idea, a short gust of condensed wind. His hand split open, a deep gasp on it, and he drew back, parrying my sword. I advanced, feinting a stab at his neck and coming back to cut at his legs. He planted his staff, stopping my attack.

I continued, using my momentum and turning it into a kick. It connected with his hip, and he lodged back.

He grunted, lifting his palm again. A sword of fire exploded into his palm and he followed through with an aggressive overhand, a cleaving blow. I raised my sword but narrowly blocked it, the fire causing sweat to appear on my face, the heat suffocating. I blinked the sweat away.

I pushed off, disengaging, countering with a stab towards his stomach. I pushed a small amount of Reiki behind my attack, doubling its speed. He wasn’t prepared for the boost, and the first three inches of cold steel found purchase before he backed away, covering with an arc of fire that I barely escaped, earning myself a burn on my forearm.

I rubbed at it, circling him. He was pale, covering his stomach. His palm burned, and I watched him cauterize his own wound, impressed. His pain tolerance was no joke.

He took the advance this time, his sword of fire being held with two hands as he dropped his staff and charged. I stood ready, and as he slashed, feinting, I was prepared to block. His strength was formidable but not equal to mine. He was a magic-user.

He shoved his hand towards me, under our locked blades, and fire struck out, licking for flesh. I disengaged and rolled to the side, feeling the heat only a moment before I escaped. My roll put me behind him, and I dove, sword out. It found his back, and I felt the blade grow heavy as it breached his flesh, and he cried out. I twisted violently, ripping open the wound as wide as I could, awkwardly standing up. He screamed, falling to his knees. I removed my sword, raising it to behead him.

He rolled to his side, palm outstretched, his spell ready. A sudden blast of hot air lifted me clean off my feet. I rose ten feet in the air before falling heavily on my back, the wind knocked clean out of my lungs. I fought to my feet, picking up my fallen sword as he too slowly rose, cauterizing his second puncture. He clearly lost a lot of blood. Whatever spell he had done to me, the concussion really shook me up.

“You fight like a true knight, Sybis of T’uuk.” Cinder complemented.

“And you have incredible magic, Cinder of Hyren.” He bowed his head.

“Sword or staff, we will see who wins.” He fell into a battle crouch, hands open, palms up. Fireballs appeared in his hand. He spun, throwing them acrobatically, and the speed behind them was ridiculous. I cut one in half, calling upon a slash of wind to slice the next, barely doing so in time. I sprinted forward, I needed to close the distance.

I zigzagged, avoiding two more fireballs. He cursed, lifting his hands up. His face contorted in sudden pain, and he fell to one knee as he slammed his hands down onto the sands. A wave of flame appeared, eight feet wide, six feet high. I ran it head-on, and at the last second I dived to the side, feeling my scabbard bite into my hip. The wave flew by harmlessly, turning the sand to glass in its path. I had fifteen feet to go. I continued running, and an idea formed.

I drew my sword arm back and hurled my sword at him, backing it with my wind. The sword sailed forward, and Cinder couldn’t defend in time.

His attempt at stopping my projectile failed, and it heaved through his meager defense of flame and into his chest. I didn’t stop my sprint, instead, I finished closing the distance and jumped, feet first, and kicked the sword straight in. It drove the sword completely through him, his flesh parting and blood exploding over my legs and body. He had no scream, instead, he collapsed to the sand in a heap, wordless. I landed on him, but rolled off quickly, magic at my palm just in case.

It only took one look to see that Cinder was no more. His eyes were lifeless, his body limp. The crowd screamed wildly, but I didn’t feel like a winner. I understood what Belrae meant now, but there was nothing to earn from this. It was senseless killing. Five minutes before, he was complimenting me, even smiling. Now he was dead. I looked at my bloody hands in shame. Whatever I had done, I did it out of reflex. And now Cinder was gone, slain by my hand.

But it was better than me. I took my sword, gave him a prayer, and walked off the sands, the crowd cheering behind me.

Herrek led me back to the building in silence, and as I walked back in, the Champions were no different than I. They gave me a silent, respectful nod, and waited for Herrek to announce the next pair. I looked down, realizing I was covered in blood again. I shivered, walking to the back, away from everyone.

I barely remembered grabbing a bandage, which I found lying on the table. I didn’t meet the eyes of my fellow Champions. I didn’t want to.

I collapsed in a chair, wishing I was anywhere but here. I won the first match. Twelve Champions started and now only Elven Champions remained. I barely heard the next fight announcement, but I heard them leave, the door closing behind them, and zoned out. I zoned for what felt like only a minute, but before I knew it, I was being shaken by Leonella. I refocused, looking at her.

“What.”

“You’re up, Sybis.” I nodded, and stood up, walking back to the front.

“Sybis of T’uuk, Apollo of Corphia.” I stepped forward. A Dragonborn stepped forward as well, two large hammers on his sides, a heavy shield on his back. I swallowed. This would be a tough fight.

We nodded to each other, and I followed the path with Herrek again and found myself on the sands once more. Cinder’s body was gone, but his blood remained, as well as the blood of others. When I had looked, only four or five Champions remained. They were thinning quickly. I looked at the sun and realized I hadn’t zoned out for a few minutes, but at least an hour, maybe even an hour and a half. The announcer did his routine, but I was numb to it. I looked at my opponent, trying to replace a lapse in his defense. He didn’t have heavy armor, but Dragonborn’s scales were naturally tough to pierce. His shield was too thick, if he left it on his back I wouldn’t be able to attack it, he would force me to engage in the front. I could only hope he used it for more.

My hand still hurt, the burn lingering over it, and I tightened the bandage on it. It was something, something that I could hope for. The announcements continued his droll, and before I realized it, he was rushing me.

I reacted, drawing my blade. He had both his hammers, flat-ended with a spike on the other end, and I knew I couldn’t let them get me. His sheer size and weight difference meant nothing would be left of me. I let him come, and when he was ten feet away, I ran too.

Spinning off the size of him he swung, but I ducked his blow, coming up behind him slashing. I was right to notice his shield, my sword bounced off, no harm done to him. He turned, not anger but pure determination on his features. I understood.

He sped forward again, his hammers ready in the air. His speed forced me to react before I knew what was going on, his weapons of choice plummeting towards my face. I shouted, surprised at the big man’s sheer speed, jumping backward.

I fell on my back, and then nothing but fear crawled into me. I was a sitting target. He took his chance, swinging down again at my exposed body. I rolled, feeling his hammers strike directly next to me, rocking the ground.

I don’t know what went through my mind next. I grabbed his arm, holding on for dear life, and as he retracted his arm he lifted me clean with him. I was utterly shocked at his brute strength, and as I heard a hammer drop, I refocused.

His hand gripped the back of my armor, and with a yelp he threw me clean off of him, sailing twenty feet before grinding to a halt on the sand.

I coughed, pushing the sand out of my lungs and trying to get air back in. He walked towards me, confident in his posture. I couldn’t contend with his raw power, nor could I expose a weak spot but his face, which then gave me the problem of his hammers. He was too wild for me to get in.

I fought to my feet, my legs feeling like jelly under me. The one thing I hadn’t seen him do was magic, which meant I could keep him at a distance with a little bit of creativity. He was still fifteen feet away, so I stepped back keeping the distance. The crowd laughed, and my opponent snarled.

“Running away, little Elf?” He chuckled, his laugh falling in with the crowds, which then slowly died back down to intense silence. I let them laugh. I formed the idea clear in my head and hoped that it would play out the way I wanted it to.

I pulled the Reiki forward, grazing the edge of my mark, ready to enter existence with the simple action. I let him get closer, concentrating. Twelve feet. Ten feet. Eight feet. As soon as he was five feet away, his hammer’s raised, I dropped to one knee, raised my hand, and let my Reiki fly.

A sharp arc of wind soared through the air in an instance, nearly invisible to all but me. On his arms, two horizontal cuts appeared, and his arms dropped, all his nerves cut at his arms, in the sensitive spot underneath them. I silently congratulated myself, my aim was perfect. My opponent screamed in anger and frustration, trying his hardest to get his hands back in motion, his arms to do anything but hang limp. The crowd went uncomfortably silent, and my opponent did the one thing I hoped he wouldn’t.

He fell to his knees, looking at me with eyes full of understanding. He knew he had been beaten, and now, as Herrek had said, no mercy allowed. I had no choice but to kill him. I stood up.

I approached him.

I looked him in the eye, my sword raised to deliver the killing blow.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to kill someone who didn’t even fight back. He looked at me and bowed his head.

“Do it, kid. You’ve won fairly, I would never have expected it.” I shook my head. His dark scales gleamed in the sunlight, glinting onto the sands around us. The crowd began a chant.

“How can you give up your life so easily?” He looked at me, anger in his eyes.

“Because I am a warrior. This is the warrior’s way.”

“Kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him, kill him...” It drowned out everything. Everything but my opponent.

“What’s your name, Champion?” He asked me suddenly, still looking down.

“Sybis. Sybis Glacia.”

“You fight well, Sybis Glacia. Be proud.” I smiled but felt it was wrong to do so. Felt it was wrong to smile at the man I was chosen to kill. Even if I did win fairly, even if I did follow the rules. Even if he had accepted it. It still felt wrong.

But not as wrong as the cutting of his throat--swift, and painless.