The Legends of Valoria Book Two Rise of the Divine Knight
Chapter 11

“Everybody hold your breath now as our archers take the field.” Keagen announced as Eliza, Colette and Giles stood at their designated starting positions. Eliza looked to her left at Zelus, Kareena and Mariah, each staring ahead at the targets. To her right were teams Calnus, Tatianna, Rathul, Caitha and Tireno.

Eliza stood, her personal bow in hand, feeling confident in her abilities as an archer. Giles and Colette both stood beside her and Rowan was nowhere to be seen.

“Where is Sir Rowan?” Giles asked. Eliza shrugged her shoulders as she looked at her cadets.

“He said that he had to meet with someone.”

“A girl?” Colette asked. Again, Eliza shrugged her shoulders.

“Who knows with that man.” Eliza looked up towards the stands where Keagen was again using the Eye of Aneira to communicate the proceedings of the games with the city.

“Up first we have from Team Zelus, Sir Zelus!” The crowd cheered as Zelus walked up to the boundary line and pulled an arrow from his quiver. He knocked an arrow and drew back the string until it was near to his ear. The crowd grew silent for a moment as he drew in a deep breath, took aim and loosed his bolt. The arrow whistled through the air and struck just off from the center of the target with a large thud.

The crowd roared as Zelus lifted his bow high in triumph. Eliza smiled as she clapped for his success and waited patiently for her turn as the other participants took their turns. One participant from each team, took turns firing a single shot at their prospective target until all seven teams had fired once.

Seven different colored fletches decorated the scoreboard and Eliza smiled at the three arrows closest to the center.

“Will the shooters step forth.” Zelus, Giles, Nilus and one shooter each from the other teams stepped forward. The scorekeeper ran out onto the field and began looking at the arrows on the board.

“Archers Zelus, Giles and Nilus advance. Second round of shooters, step forward.” Jeriah, Eliza and Mariah stepped forth along with Tatianna and one representative from each of the other three teams.

“First shooter, take up your mark!” Tiny Kareena, from Team Zelus, walked forward, hood over her head, her red hair flowing out as she stepped up to the line. Though no one could see Kareena’s face or tell what it was that she was thinking, Eliza imagined that she was preparing herself for her shot. After a brief pause, the tiny girl pulled an arrow from her quiver, nocked it and stretched the bowstring back.

Eliza could hear the wood groan with discontent, signaling to Eliza that the young girl was deceptively strong. As the bow threatened to snap in half, Eliza could hear as Kareena whistled during her exhale and released the arrow. She watched as the arrow soared through the air and struck, almost exactly at the center of the target. The crowd roared with approval and Eliza could not help but clap excitedly at such an excellent shot.

Each archer after proceeded in the same fashion, drawing an arrow and readied themselves one after another, as they took turns shooting. After each shot, the crowd roared with the exception of Carlo of Team Tatianna, who had missed the target.

“Will all archers step forth!” The archers from each team stepped forward.

“Archers Kareena, Colette and Caitha, advance.” Colette turned and looked to Eliza who smiled.

“Excellent work. Your practice has undeniably paid off.” They celebrated together as the next round began. This time Eliza, Nathan and Dormund stepped forward. Eliza, full of confidence, stepped forth and easily gained the upshot in the round.

“Archers Eliza, Nathan and Dormund advance!” The crowd roared with approval once more. As the roar died down slightly, the teams who had been eliminated stepped back only leaving the remaining nine shooters. Eliza and the others all looked back and forth to one another as they waited for the next round of the competition to begin.

“First group, to your starting position!” Zelus, Giles and Nilus all stepped forward. They stood together and watched as the scorekeeper and two assistants pulled the target backwards several paces. After the target was placed, Giles and Nilus both waited for Zelus to take his shot.

As Zelus eyed the target and readied his shot, the crowd held its breath in anticipation. Zelus released the bowstring and the arrow flew through the air and struck the target right along the outer edge of the inner circle. Again, the crowd cheered and as each of the next two archers shot, they continued to do so.

“Archers Zelus and Nilus advance!” Eliza pat Giles on the shoulder as he walked away, head slumped in shame.

“You performed wonderfully, Sir Giles. Do not be ashamed.” Eliza attempted to comfort him. Giles smiled as he walked away from the group and joined the other members who had been eliminated. The rest of the round went by quickly and at the end of it, Kareena, Nilus and Eliza remained.

“What have we here patrons, is certainly a surprise. All three finalists are from Valascaana. This match has quickly turned from a tri kingdom sport to a trial to determine the finest archer in all of Valascaana! I do not usually take sides in these matters, but the commander’s daughter, the young and spirited Eliza Kaldur, is the one that I would put my money on.” Eliza began to blush, having had her name called out in front of so many people, but she would not allow that to shake her.

“Archers! To your mark!” Kareena, Eliza and Nilus each stepped forward, bows at the ready. “Archers! Draw your arrows!” Each of them drew and arrow and taking care to place it into position, began to gently pull back on their bowstrings.

“FIRE!” All three released one arrow after the other and the scorekeeper moved in to check the placement of the arrows. As Eliza stared down the distance at the target, she could tell that all three shots had hit the center of the target.

“Move the target backward another ten paces! All archers prepare to fire.” The scorekeeper’s assistants lifted the target and moved it backwards as the arrows were removed and set aside. Eliza, Kareena and Nilus all removed another arrow and readied to fire.

“FIRE!” All three arrows launched one after another again and just as before, Eliza could see that the competition was far from over. As before, the scorekeeper ran out to check the shots.

“Archers Kareena and Eliza, advance!” Eliza looked over with amazement at the tiny, frail looking Kareena and nodded her head in in respect. Kareena returned the nod and each shook Nilus’ hand as he walked off from the field.

“Move the target backwards!” The keeper yelled and he continued to yell after every shot for the next several rounds until the center of the target was barely visible in Eliza’s eyes. Eliza and Kareena both stepped forward and prepared.

As she had each time before, Kareena readied her shot and squinted her eyes slightly as pulled the bow back as far as she could without cracking it in twain, drew in a full breath and whistled as she released the bolt. Eliza could see the arrow release but lost sight of it in the distance until she saw the dust particles bounce off from the target upon impact. The crowd cheered as loudly as ever as Eliza moved into position.

After knocking her arrow, Eliza closed her eyes and began to visualize her target, seeing herself strike it in its center; she felt the tension in her muscles release. Eliza exhaled as she let loose her bow string and watched the arrow soar until her vision failed her as she awaited the sound of the impact.

Once her arrow struck, the scorekeeper began the jog out to the target as Kareena and Eliza both walked forward. The crowd grew absolutely silent. The only sound was the crunching of the grass beneath Eliza and Kareena’s feet and the light whistling of the wind. The scorekeeper, having reached the target, crouched down in front of it and began examining the arrows.

As they both neared, Eliza could see the scorekeeper pull a small sanded piece of wood from out of his pocket. Holding one end the stick to the arrow shaft and the other to the center of the target, the scorekeeper measured the closeness of the shots. Eliza and Kareena were nearly upon the keeper as he stood up and turned to face them.

“I declare, Kareena of Team Zelus, the winner!” Eliza stood in shock as did Kareena while the crowd roared. After several absent moments, Keagen’s voice could be heard over everyone.

“My, what an upset. It appears as though Miss Eliza Kaldur has been dethroned. Great work to everyone who reached the final rounds and especially great work to our two finalists. Can we have another round of applause for them? Miss Eliza Kaldur is second and the young and mysterious hooded member of Team Zelus, who is our archery champion, Miss Kareena of Roak.” The applause reached a deafening level and Eliza gave Kareena a surprise hug as Team Zelus ran out onto the field.

“Congratulations Kareena,” As Eliza spoke, she noticed the young girl’s large, triangular ears, which were tucked away under her hair and hood. Eliza stepped backward as Team Zelus’ bodies swarmed the scene, making it impossible for Kareena to be seen. As Team Kaldur approached, Giles asked Eliza.

“So what do we do now? I thought we were counting on a first place in archery in order to secure our place in the final trial.”

“We will just have to place second or third in jousting, that’s all. We can still do this. No need to worry.” Eliza spoke, not entirely convinced herself.

“What now?” Colette asked.

“Now...now, we return to the tent, rest, have something to eat and wait for the jousting matches to begin.

Not quite an hour later, Eliza turned to her comrades and looked them over carefully. Rowan was sitting leisurely, with his feet propped up on a stool and his nose buried in a book. Colette stood, eyes wide, both fists raised and clenched as she bounced with excitement. Colette was by far the most eager of the group as Giles sat taking notes on a roll of parchment.

“Alright, everyone,” Eliza started as she began pacing a three-step stretch, back and forth within their tent. “This is the third event of the games-the jousting matches. If we land a first place victory here, it will secure our passage into the final trial.”

“What about the others we will be facing in the trials? Have we done enough research on them to determine what to expect?” Giles asked. Eliza waved him off.

“We do not need to worry about the other cadets. Half of them on the Valascaan teams excel at close combat and the Tartarians and Dormeerans have not shown much interest in anything else either. We should easily be able to overcome them from a distance if needs be.”

Should we still prepare for it?” Colette asked.

“NO TIME! IF WE DO NOT WIN HERE, IT WILL NOT MATTER!” Eliza’s anxiety was beginning to kick in again and everyone knew not to push her during these delicate moments. Just as everyone fell silent, Zelus entered the tent.

“Are you not ready yet?” Eliza turned on him, eyes full of scorn.

“WE ARE HAVING A MEETING! GET OUT!” Eliza shoved Zelus backwards, his eyes having filled with fear. Rowan and the others snickered until Eliza turned back around and they became as stone.

“As I was saying, I have been watching the competition; I believe it will be during the jousting matches that we will have the most difficult task. Each of you will need to ensure that you reach the final rounds, so that we can dwindle down the competition without tiring one member.” She opened up the flap of the tent and looked outside. The crowd cheered wildly as they could see the other teams who were already assembling outside.

Nilus stood with his team as Nathan and Mariah brought up their horses next to Jeriah’s. As they began to place their saddles and house colors upon their steed, Eliza turned to her team.

“Colette, Giles, are you two ready?” Giles and Colette both walked up to Eliza.

“Yes!” They both confirmed as they moved passed her and walked out onto the field. Eliza turned her head away from them and looked at Rowan.

“Are you going to grace us with your presence?” Rowan held up a single finger as he continued to read. Eliza clucked her tongue as he began nodding his head with the paragraphs and carried on for a silent minute. As Rowan finally closed his book, he turned his gaze towards Eliza and smiled.

“You were saying?”

“Are you coming, or not?” Rowan looked outside the tent toward the other teams and watched as both Giles and Colette, struggled to get on their horses.

“It looks as though they have everything under control.”

“You are our third rider.” Rowan looked up at her, confusion on his face.

“I thought that you were the beast master?” Eliza gave Rowan a dangerous glare as she silently pointed outside the tent towards the horse bearing the House Kaldur lion standard. Rowan sighed as he stood and began to walk onto the field.

“Well, it looks as though all of our teams have begun to assemble. What an event this is about to be, ladies and gentlemen, the finest riders in the three kingdoms have assembled here today. As Keagen began to announce the riders for the other teams, Eliza began helping Giles and Colette.

First, she helped to fasten down the red and gold Highmoorian standard on Colette’s borrowed mare and then she helped lift Giles up onto his horse. Next, she reached over and grabbed a jousting lance from the weapon’s stand and handed it to Colette. As she lifted it up to her, Eliza could not help but marvel at how heavy the lance was. Colette strained slightly, though Eliza knew that she was physically much stronger than she looked.

Colette held the lance vertical and steadied herself in the saddle. Eliza then turned towards Giles on his blue and silver clad steed. As she had for Colette, she handed Giles the lance. The poor boy groaned from the weight of the lance, but managed to pull it upright and hold it in position, though he wobbled slightly. Eliza groaned inside knowing that Giles’ odds of winning were virtually nonexistent.

“Giles, are you going to be alright? You do not even have all of your armor on. Are you sure that you are not going to squish?” Giles nodded his head, doing his best to look confident, an attempt that failed to convince anyone. As Giles tapped his horse on the sides with his heels, his body flopped from side to side as his over encumbered body flung about helplessly on the horse’s back.

After Colette trotted off towards the ring to be presented, Rowan came up to Eliza, lance and shield in tow, his helmet resting on his saddle. His horse was nearly identical to Giles’, though the sight of the two was the furthest thing from a match. He stopped beside Eliza as he looked to the younger two competitors.

“Any words of wisdom, fearless leader?”

“Demolish everything in your path.” Rowan smirked and nodded his head as he pulled his helmet over his head and secured it.

“Consider it done.” He steered his horse around and followed Giles and Colette. Eliza watched them as they walked into the circle and cantered their horses around the median, which separated the circle. The crowd cheered wildly as the riders waved with their free hands. Eliza watched each of the riders move into the circle and found herself amazed by the mounts of the other two nations.

The Dormeeran riders were each mounted on strange, black scaled, reptilian beasts that resembled horses, but swayed back and forth with the bodies of giant lizards. Eliza watched as the three scaly creatures marched passed and the Tartarian riders came forward riding their striped horses. Although smaller than those of Valascaana, the Tartarian steeds were much more agile.

“Riders, to your starting positions!” Keagen called and everyone began to clear out of the ring. Eliza walked up to Rowan, Colette and Giles as they rode her way.

“Is everyone ready? Is there anything that we need to prepare?” Giles dropped his lance and raised his hand.

“Umm, why am I on the horse?”

“Because each of us is only allowed to compete in two games. I have already competed in swordplay and took second in archery. Colette is our best rider. Rowan took sword, avoids archery at all costs, and you have only participated in archery.” Giles glanced down seeing as Talia was not there to bail him out.

“I will do my best, Captain.” Giles called as Eliza patted the horse on the flank and the poor boy bounded about helplessly atop his steed. Anxiety welled up inside Eliza as she watched her team ride off. In a change of pace from the other matches, Team Kaldur was among the last teams to perform, there having been an uneven number of contenders. When the second round was ready to begin, Nathan and Zelus had already been eliminated. Rowan, Giles and Colette had narrowly proven victorious.

“Those Tartarian horses are swift and their riders sure offer more of a wallop than the Dormeerans. Then there is Tatianna,” Zelus pointed out as Eliza examined the massive black and purple welt on Zelus’ side from where he had received Tatianna’s lance.

“You look as though you have been stricken by a wall.” Eliza mentioned as Zelus lowered his shirt.

“Feels that way as well.” I am not even certain how his creature supports him.”

“It is called a Maredrake, although much slower than our Valascaan steeds, they are exceptionally stronger and can carry a great deal of weight.” Giles began. “What I replace curious is that a Tartarian would choose a Dormeeran mount over the ones bred by his Tartarian kinsmen.” The group turned their gaze upon Giles and eyed him. After seeing to Zelus, Eliza turned to her team.

“You all performed marvelously! Great work out there! Now, we just have to be ready for the rest of the competitors.”

Before anyone processed the words needed to continue the conversation, Keagen called for the next round of jousters to enter the field. Giles looked to Eliza and she could see that he was already exhausted.

“Just hang in there Giles. Hand me your lance until they call you.” Giles practically fell off from his horse, lance still in hand. Eliza caught the load and they both turned to watch as the other jousters began their rounds.

“Mariah versus Darius Mainge!” Keagen called and Eliza watched alongside the others as the two jousters lines up within the ring.

“Miss Eliza?”

“Yes Giles?”

“Might you be willing to help me for a minute?” Eliza turned her head just as Mariah and Darius took off. Eliza looked down and saw that Giles could not reach the stirrups on his horse. She heard the collision of the riders and quickly turned her head.

“Excellent run by both jousters, though Darius has broken a lance. Prepare for the second run.” Keagen called out as Mariah and Darius both moved back towards their starting positions. Eliza, frustrated that she missed the first round quickly began adjusting Giles’ stirrups. As she heard the riders start, she turned and watched as both knights held out their lances, each aiming for the shield, body or helmet of the other knight. As they neared one another, Eliza could see Darius tip his lance ever so slightly up so that as they neared, his lance struck Mariah high in the torso and sent her helmet flying.

Darius, himself, was sent slamming back against his own saddle, as Mariah’s joust shattered against his chest. Mariah had been tipped sideways, but was not dismounted by the blow. Her hair blew wildly in the wind as she turned her horse and accepted her helmet from a page that had ran out onto the field. Again, they moved towards their starting positions as Eliza turned back and began to slide the stirrups on one side of Giles’ saddle into place.

Again, she could hear the sounds of the hooves pounding against the list field and turned to see the riders, level their lances. The lances collided with their riders’ bodies again creating the sound of metal against the wood. Mariah was forced sideways and she fell from her horse so that Darius Mainge emerged victorious.

“Darius Mainge has progressed to the next round!” Keagen called out and confirmed by gesturing towards Darius. Darius dismounted his horse and held his hand out to Mariah. Eliza could not hear the words exchanged, but saw Mariah smile and accept his offer to help her to her feet. The matches continued in this fashion for several more rounds. Rowan and Colette had both managed to advance, while Teams Tatianna and Caitha had obtained flawless victories.

“Will Thadeus Carlo and Giles Artellan prepare for battle!” Keagen called out again, which served to startled Giles.

Now, it was Giles’ turn to joust and Eliza was quickly losing faith in the smallest member of her team. He sat in his saddle, not much higher than the head of the horse as his lance rattled in the arret.

“Relax Giles, you will be just fine.” Rowan stated. “Rely on your horse, arret and grapper, lean forward in your stirrup to take the impact off from your back. You just need to remember to position yourself so that the force of the impact does not force you out of your saddle. Besides, you are the smallest target on the list field. Your opponent will have a much more difficult time striking you than you him.”

“You make it all sound so easy.” He replied, the lance still quivering.

“Giles, this is all a matter of mathematics. Determine how to poise yourself to absorb the least impact. This is your specialty!” Giles thought about it for a moment.

“Well, I am rather adequate with mathematics.” He mumbled to himself as Rowan gently swatted the flank of his horse.

“That is the spirit! I will see you in the next round, my friend.” Giles rode to battle as his name was announced and Eliza nudged Rowan.

“Are you sure about his odds?” Rowan shrugged his shoulders.

“Sometimes, our chances for success have nothing to do with odds. Sometimes, it has everything to do with belief and preparation. Giles is the best intellectual in the cadets. He may be modest, but he knows it. Once he breaks the down the competition and takes everything in on his own level, he will see why he cannot be beaten and his belief is what will decide this match.”

“Where do you come up with these speeches ?” Eliza asked him.

“Do you have any idea how much I read?”

“Fair enough.” Eliza responded as she watched Giles ready. Colette stood just outside of the boundary line and cheered for Giles. Zelus along with several of the other competitors stood by as well, wondering how this boy was going to fare against his opponent. Giles sat upon his horse, the faceplate of his helmet still lifted up as he stared at his opponent inquisitively.

“What is he doing?” Zelus asked Eliza as she smiled.

“He is calculating,” she spoke in disbelief as Rowan’s motivation played out in front of her. After a moment, Giles lowered his faceplate and placed his body as close to his horse as possible, leaning forward in his saddle. As the flags waved in front of them, both riders spurred their horses and took off at full speed. Eliza watched as the two riders closed the distance. Giles yelled out as they neared one another and their lances struck. He jerked backwards violently in his saddle as his shoulder was struck, while Carlo fell backwards and was drug by his horse for several paces.

“Giles Artellan is the winner! What an unexpected turn of events this is. All three members of Team Kaldur advance!” All of Teams Zelus, Calnus and Kaldur cheered for Giles as he rode up to them and flopped sideways off from his horse.

“Giles, are you alright?” Eliza asked as Colette helped him remove his helmet.

“That was terrifying!” He spoke as everyone began to laugh at him.

“But, you managed to advance to the next round. Our odds of entering the final round of the tournament have just significantly improved!” Eliza spoke excitedly. As each of the teams cleared the field and prepare themselves for the next rounds, Keagen called for the first match up.

Eliza walked off from the field with Giles, to help him prepare for the second round. As she helped him to remove his armor, Rowan was called up to face off against Tatianna.

“Do you think that Sir Rowan will be alright?” Eliza shrugged her shoulders.

“I am not certain but we need to worry about preparing you. Rowan can take care of himself.” She spoke as she examined the dent in Giles’ armor.

“Excellent work out there, by the way.”

“Thank you,” he answered as Eliza began to gently tap on the dent with a small hammer and Giles looked at the bruise, which had already consumed his left shoulder. As he rubbed at it, they could hear Keagen announce the results of Rowan and Tatianna’s first run.

“And Rowan the wanderer, has been forced from his horse by Tatianna’s blow to his head.” Eliza and Giles both stood upright and walked out of their team tent and looked to see Rowan lying on the ground. Eliza and Giles quickly ran toward him as Colette and Zelus descended around him.

“Rowan are you alright?” Rowan had a dazed look on his face but smiled all the same.

“Yes. I am going to go and kill him now, though.” Rowan stood too quickly and losing his balance, fell against Colette.

“Alright, alright, you can kill him later. Right now, we have to get you checked out.” Zelus patted him on the side as he placed his body beneath Rowan.

“Go ahead and stay here. I will walk him down to the medic tent.”

“Thank you.” Eliza spoke as Zelus and Rowan moved towards the side of the field where a young brown haired priestess was waiting for them.

“I am serious, where is my sword? I am going to go and over there and pommel strike him in the head a few times.” Rowan grouched as he limped along with Zelus, who again patted him on the belly.

“Yes, we all know how tough you are. Save it for tonight and tomorrow.” Eliza shook her head as the matched continued on. Tatianna wore a smug face, glaring over at them as he pointed to Colette. Eliza glared back at him angrily as she guided Giles back towards the tent. The remaining rounds went smoothly, both Giles and Colette moving through their opponents without too much difficulty. For the last match before the semifinals, Colette was called upon to go up against the last remaining member of Team Caitha, who she dispatched easily.

“Alright everyone, we have now come down to the semifinals of our jousting event. Of the many teams that have entered, we now have our final four contenders. From Team Tatianna, we have Tatianna. From Team Zelus, we have Sir Thomas and from Team Kaldur, we have Miss Colette and Sir Giles, the unexpected lucky star of Team Kaldur!” The crowd cheered on everyone involved in the games as the excitement for the final four competitors escalated.

Giles and Colette buzzed with excitement at the insurmountable odds they had already overcome. As they stood, bouncing for joy, Keagen began calling everyone back to attention.

“First match of the semifinals, Colette Valeerian versus Tatianna!” The crowd roared as Giles turned to Colette.

“You will be fine. You are the best rider out here today. I know that you can do it.” Colette blushed slightly as she playfully punched him in the shoulder.

“Just do not think that I am going to hold back on you in the final round.” She joked as she mounted her horse and began riding towards the list field. Eliza clapped loudly as well as the other participants whom had already been eliminated.

“You can do this Colette! Take the giant down!” Eliza screamed as Colette found her place on the field and readied herself. She lowered her visor as she gripped her lance tightly and drew in deep, steady breaths. At Keagen’s command, she spurred her horse and yelled out confidently. Tatianna did the same with his Maredrake and everyone watched as the strange beast ran on six hooves, it’s awkward body swaying as it ran.

As the distance between shortened, Colette trained her arm on Tatianna’s right shoulder. She could see her opponents joust perfectly poised towards her as well and she braced herself for an inevitable impact. As the gap closed, Tatianna lurched slightly and struck Colette in the right side of her chest. Colette’s body was slammed backwards aggressively against her horse, but she managed to maintain her hold of her horse’s reins and did not fall off.

As her body sprung back to a seated position, she gasped desperately for air as Eliza and Giles ran up to her. As she leaned over off from the side of her horse, she pushed her helmet off from her head and felt her arm go limp at her side. Her broken lance fell to the ground as Keagen announced the round a draw.

“Colette, are you alright?” Giles asked as Eliza helped her off the horse. Colette was still gasping for breath, but after a brief moment managed to force out a sentence.

“Am I set to go again?” Eliza smiled at her as Colette looked up at Giles and smiled.

“You are terribly stubborn; you know that?” She laughed.

“I suppose I am on the right team then.” her breathing steadied. “So am I?” When Eliza moved Colette’s arm. She winced but was otherwise able to move it.

“It is not broken. You may still compete.” Colette smiled as she looked back at Tatianna who was sitting, waiting for her.

“Colette, you do not have to do this.” Giles spoke, but Colette shook her head as she placed her helmet back on.

“That is quite enough. Lance!” She spoke as she held out her right hand. Giles lifted up the lance and with Eliza’s help, secured it into place within the arret and grapper. Colette gripped the lance in her hand and smiled, confident that she was ready. As she slid her visor closed again, she turned her horse towards Tatianna.

At Keagen’s signal, both riders spurred their steeds into action. Colette could see Tatianna’s Maredrake was much slower than her Valascaan horse, but that it packed a mighty wallop behind it. She could also see from the way that the creature’s body swayed back and forth, there would be breaks in its power as it pulled away. Colette took this moment and as Tatianna approached, she tipped her lance upward and caught him in the helmet as he barely grazed her left side.

Even over the roar of the crowd, Tatianna’s angered scream could be heard. As Colette recovered from the blow to the shoulder, she could feel her right arm quivering and she dropped her lance. As Eliza and Giles ran up to her to help her down, Tatianna continued to rage at her strike.

“You are doing great Colette! You only need to keep going and you will win! Two more passes are all that is left and you are winning!” Giles cheered for her as Colette allowed her right arm to dangle helplessly while she looked at her lance.

“Giles, I think that you should still aim to win. I am not sure I will have much left after this match.”

Giles stared boldly.

“Of course! Team Kaldur will win!”

Colette smiled and Eliza helped her back onto the horse as she prepared for the third pass. Once again, Keagen called and both riders began moving at full speed. As they plummeted towards one another, Colette could feel the javelin slip free of her grasp as her arm gave out and it fell away from her.

“They will have to do the pass…” Eliza started as Tatianna, against the customary rule of raising one’s joust to an unarmed opponent, still struck Colette with all of his force. Colette fell free of her horse as she took the full blast in her abdomen. As Colette struck the ground, Giles and Eliza ran out onto the list field as Keagen spoke.

“Most unsportsmanlike of Tatianna. One must raise their lance if the opponent is unarmed. The round is forfeit, no point awarded. Prepare for the final pass” The crowd cheered for Team Kaldur’s one point upstart, but Colette was not moving as Giles pulled off her helmet.

“Colette! Are you alright?” He asked as she fought for air. Eliza turned her onto her side as people began to run from the infirmary tent. Giles as Eliza were asked to back away as they examined Colette and they watched on while they worked. After a moment, one of the caretakers rose from the rest and walked up to the judges table where Keagen sat. They spoke briefly and Keagen turned to the other judges who discussed the matter presented to them.

“First, young Colette will be alright after some treatment in the trauma tent, but she will be forced to surrender the match to Team Tatianna.” He spoke with an undertone of anger, vibrating within his voice. “Team Tatianna advances. Everyone, please clear the field for the next match.” Giles turned his head, eyes gone mad with anger as he stared at Tatianna. Eliza walked up to him with his lance in hand.

“Are you going to be alright without me?” She asked. Giles shook his head as Zelus came up to them.

“Take care of Colette. I have two more to beat.” He slammed the lid of his visor and climbed onto the back of his horse unassisted for the first time as he reached out for his lance.

“Take care of your team, Eliza. I will help Giles.” Zelus spoke as the healers helped Colette walk from the list.

“Should you be helping Thomas? Eliza asked.

Zelus shrugged his shoulders.

“Not much I can do for him. The boy walks around with that lance unencumbered.”

Eliza thanked Zelus and moved to aid the healers as Giles stared down at Thomas. At Keagen’s call, both riders spurred their horses into action. Giles let loose a, completely out of character, blood thirsty war cry as he tore across the list towards Thomas who was startled and did not start his run immediately.

Giles continued to ring out his cry the entire way down the field but, being so l, it was still the cry of a mousey boy and Zelus could not contain his light chuckle. As the jousters neared, Giles, having already carefully observed each and every match thus far, poised his lance perfectly and caught Thomas in the ribs before Thomas was able to strike Giles.

The crowd cheered as Thomas toppled backwards and barely grazed the much smaller boy on the first pass. Keagen must have been in shock as well as the others, for no words left his mouth before the second run. Nathan moved to assist Thomas as Zelus came to Giles’ aid.

“Do you need anything?” Zelus asked. Giles, without answering, slammed down his visor and trotted back into starting position. As Keagen made the call for the second, third and fourth rounds, the results were all the same. Giles charged forth, screaming with the ferocity of a madman and managed to break both lances against Thomas’ armor on the second and fourth pass. As the crowd roared its approval to Giles, Zelus helped him off from his horse as Team Zelus ran up to him.

“You performed remarkably Sir Giles, congratulations!” Giles did not smile, nor did he partake in any of the conversation around him as he eyed his next opponent, took a drink of water and mounted his horse once more.

“Lance!” Was all he said as he slammed shut his visor. As Zelus handed off Giles’s lance and Giles rode off, Zelus turned toward Thomas and smiled at him.

“I appreciate you letting Giles win, but you do realize that they did not need the victory to pass onto the final rounds after Team Caitha lost again?” Thomas looked at Zelus and shook his head.

“I did not let him win. He beat me on his own efforts.” Zelus smirked as he watched Giles glaring at the sight of his opponent ahead of him.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! We have here the final match of our jousting competition. I need not tell you but, with the elimination of the other teams, both Teams Kaldur and Tatianna will advance to the final rounds. This match shall merely serve as a grudge match over Tatianna’s unsportsmanlike behavior in the previous round. Riders, on the ready!” Moments later the red flag waved and both riders took off from their starting positions.

Giles as he did with Thomas, began to emit his war cry as he took off towards Tatianna. Unencumbered by the weight of a usual rider, Giles’ horse moved much more swiftly down the list field than the other riders had. Likewise, Tatianna’s greatly encumbered Maredrake, slither galloped toward Giles, weaving toward and away from the boundary line. Giles, being careful to watch and observe his opponents patterned movement, began to tip his lance ever so slightly, until they were nearly at length from one another.

Giles’ blood thirsty call intensified as he leaned into the thrust and knocked Tatianna hard in the shoulder. Giles tipped backwards against his horse from the force alone, Tatianna having missed the small boy. Zelus and the others cheered loudly for Giles as he removed his helmet, face still burning with abysmal discontent. Tatianna yelled with anger, on the other hand, at not even having landed a blow.

The crowd cheered on as Giles and Tatianna moved back to their starting positions. The two faced one another as they closed their faceplates and awaited Keagen’s signal. As the flag went down once more, Giles’ scream returned as his horse charged effortlessly to destroy his foe. As before, Giles dipped away as Tatianna swayed towards the boundary line and jabbed forward as he began to pull away.

As Giles struck Tatianna again, his lance snapped and flung him sideways unexpectedly. As Giles slid from his saddle, Tatianna’s javelin again missed its mark and Giles, abandoning his grip on the lance, used all of his strength to hold himself. As his horse slowed, Giles managed to pull himself back into his saddle and sighed with relief. The crowd roared once more as Tatianna threw his things aside and Giles tried to catch his breath.

“You almost have him Giles! Just two more passes the same as that and you win!” Nathan pointed out as Giles focused himself. Giles placed his helmet back over his head and held out his hand.

“Lance!” He called as he sat up straight. Zelus carefully slid Giles’ second lance into place and Giles moved to starting position. Giles’ adrenaline was beginning to fade as his physical limitations began to creep up on him. He could feel his body ache from the trials he was putting it through. As his body shook and quivered, he remembered his promise to Colette and gripped the joust tightly.

As the flag stroked downward, Giles charged ahead. He and Tatianna stormed towards one another, lances at the ready. As they grew closer, Giles found himself having difficulty holding lifting his lance up all of the way. The two riders met in the center, and this time Giles took a blow from Tatianna off from the left side of his chest. Giles entire body struck the horse’s flank with such force that he was jarred out of his saddle.

As his body moved skyward, he gripped onto the reins of his horse with his left hand as hard as he was able and felt himself lashed violently against the saddle with each stride. As the horse slowed, Giles opened his eyes to replace himself narrowly holding on, his body supported by one single boot which had twisted in his stirrups.

Giles let out a sigh of relief as the crowd roared its approval. Well knowledgeable of the boy’s long running streak, the medics poured out from the tent to examine what they expected to be an inanimate body. Giles allowed his helmet to fall off from his head as he pushed off from the horse’s back and dropped to his knees.

“Sir Giles is still alive!?” Keagen announced as Giles looked down at his collapsed breastplate and praised Aneira that they had yet to replace him a suit of armor that fit him. The medics examined Giles and shook their heads in disbelief. After they walked away, Keagen called out over the crowd again.

“It appears that the lucky rabbit of Team Kaldur has done it again! Tatianna will have to dismount Giles in order to overtake him at this venture.” The crowd cheered as Zelus took out his boot knife and cut the straps of Giles’ armor. As the small boy squeezed out from the crumpled mess, Teams Nilus and Zelus searched for a suitable replacement.

“There are not any cadets or knights in the entire kingdom that match his size. What do we do?” Nilus yelled. They thought for a moment as an awkward smile crept across Zelus’ face and he looked at Annette.

“Perhaps not in traditional armor, but how about custom armor?” Annette immediately understood Zelus’ meaning and bolted towards the medics’ station.

“I will stall them. Once Annette is back, ready Giles, quickly!” Zelus ran towards the judges table and began discussing the situation with them.

“So, Sir Giles’ armor has become unfit to continue but you have a replacement available?” The King of the Field asked.

“Exactly, if you only give us a few minutes, he will be out promptly.” No sooner had Zelus finished his sentence, then Giles appeared, on his horse, wearing none other than Colette’s armor. The crowd laughed hysterically as Giles rode onto the field wearing the anatomically corrected breastplate of Colette. Giles bore it no mind, however, as he rode out, head held high, noble and proud. As he took his place on the list field, he held out his hand and closed his faceplate.

“Lance, please!” He spoke to Eliza, who had helped Annette fit the armor to Giles. Eliza handed him the lance, which he slid into the arret and grapper with her aid and rode to the starting position. Giles and Tatianna stared one another down as Keagen waved the flag. Giles high pitched scream, coupled with his current appearance, caused for a stream of laughter on the sidelines as he and Tatianna both aimed for a victory. Giles traced out the pattern of Tatianna’s movements as he had before and as they drew near, he leaned back as had been his winning strategy. Tatianna, however, jerked his steed aggressively towards the barrier and the Maredrake lurched up at the boundary fence. Giles horse responded by kicking up its front legs as well, in an attempt to defend itself as both riders were pushed backwards.

In the collision, Giles‘ lance struck Tatianna in the head as he felt his much larger opponent’s joust striking him in the shoulder. As Giles fell backwards, his horse leaned sideways and collapsed on the ground beside him as the six-legged Maredrake managed to catch itself on its middle set of hooves. As Giles reeled in pain, he could hear his opponent not far from him, yelling out, declaring his victory. Giles gazed at the ground and sighed.

“At the least, I gave it all that I had,” he muttered as Eliza walked up beside him. She watched as his horse stood, unharmed and walked to his master’s side and snorted at his head. Eliza smiled for a moment as Giles patted the horse gently on the nose.

“Do not be so upset, Giles. You did a tremendous job. Honestly, none of us knew that you had it within you. I am proud of you.” Eliza’s encouraging and yet half apologetic words made Giles smile.

“Do you think that you could have the others come and help me? I do not think that I can move.”

“Well, at least you remained conscious, my friend.” Thomas spoke as he picked up Giles as if he were a baby and held him until the medics came up to them.

“We need to take him to the medical tent and ensure that he is unharmed. That was a rather nasty tumble from the horse just now.” Eliza nodded her head as Keagen cleared his throat to make the announcement. He bore a serious tone as the two judges finished arguing with one another.

“The results of the fourth round between riders Tatianna and Giles Artellan. Do to Giles’ horse collapsing, in regards to the rules, we must determine that the rider Giles cannot be held at fault. Concerning the lance strikes between both riders of the fourth round, we have determined…” Keagen paused for a moment as a smile crept across his face. “That Tatianna’s strike to Giles’ chest is overturned at Sir Giles having knocked away his opponent’s helmet. Sir Giles is the winner!” The crowd roared its approval as Thomas held Giles high into the air.