“… but the biggest thing I found, I’d say, was a dragon-descended species living on one of the planes I visited!”
Jennifyr smiled widely as Serana narrated some of her adventures out in the planes in what seemed a transparent attempt to do anything but watch Bennu’s duel. Every time she tried to gently pull the younger woman’s attention to what was going on down in the stadium, she’d ignore it.
“That’s news to me,” Jennifyr responded, her attention still divided. “I’d thought that all the descendants from our Ancestors were accounted for…”
“These were more bestial,” Serana replied. “Less mindful than those of closer bloodlines, but still capable of intelligence and thought…”
‘I might have to change tactics…’ Jennifyr thought, her gentleness not achieving her desired result. However, before she could do so, a particularly bright flash of silver-blue illuminated the entire stadium, and Serana’s eyes finally flickered in the direction of the projected window.
Most of their fellow dragons in the box had already crowded around the window the moment Bennu’s opponent revealed the power passed down in his blood, so there were bodies in the way, but that one flash had still been enough to strike Serana mute.
A smile spread across Jennifyr’s face as Serana’s golden eyes narrowed and she shifted uneasily in her seat, curiosity starting to color her expression…
---
“Now…” Bennu whispered, “we truly begin…”
Instead of responding, Leon moved. A quarter mile, even for mages at their caliber, was a significant distance to overcome, and his speed, while great, wasn’t enough to get him to Bennu before the Phoenix could respond.
“Now…” Bennu continued, “you face the tru—”
Leon drew his Stormborn bow, drew back the magical string, and the bow drank deeply of his magic. He took a risk and let it sample some of his origin power, and the bow sucked it down with the urgency of a parched mortal throwing themselves into a desert oasis. An arrow materialized on the bow, ominously dark and ringed by faint blue light. Leon relaxed his fingers, loosing the arrow at his opponent. From conjuring the bow to loosing the arrow, less than a second passed.
Bennu’s boast was strangled off as the deadly aberration of space magic bore down upon him. He thrust his halberd forth, sending a massive gout of golden fire to block the arrow.
The flames did nothing save obscure him from physical view. Leon could still sense him, though, and it seemed that was only an instinctive move as Bennu hurriedly conjured a thin silver sheet, rolled up like a scroll. The scroll unfurled, revealing an ancient rune inscribed upon the polished surface.
‘The end?’ Leon thought, his eyes scraping the surface of the silver sheet.
An educated guess as to the meaning of the rune, but the effect became clear when the spatial arrow slammed into an invisible barrier that sprang into being in front of Bennu, unleashing its fury upon the stadium instead of its target. Space cracked and air rippled in response. A screeching sound second only to the scream of a banshee tore through the air, and when the cracks in space were suddenly and violently mended, the floor of the stadium had been torn asunder for a hundred feet around Bennu. The Phoenix himself stood in a circle of untouched floor about ten feet in diameter, centered on the silver spell, while for a hundred feet around him the ground had been ripped apart, the stadium’s sand spilling into cracks as deep as fifty feet.
This was no attempt on Leon’s part to decisively end the duel, and he’d immediately pursued the arrow the moment it was loosed from the bow. The impact on the invisible barrier had impeded his progress, but now he launched himself into the air, flying over the cracks to reach his enemy.
The spell, he guessed, wasn’t geared to defend Bennu from everything, and his guess was proven correct when he seamlessly passed into the circle Bennu stood within. Iron Pride flashed with silver-blue lightning, and he launched himself into another assault.
Defending himself from the spatial arrow had cost Bennu a goodly amount of magic, but he was still hale and displayed as such when he brought his halberd up and blocked Leon’s first strike. Leon pressed, hoping to bring even the tip of Iron Pride in close enough to overwhelm Bennu’s defenses, but Bennu twisted his halberd and locked their weapons together.
Gone was his easy air; now, Bennu had the attitude of a warrior. Fire erupted from the head of his halberd, which Leon fended off with elementless magic. It pressed in, however, spreading across his body, swallowing him into a large fireball that threatened at every point across his body to pierce his defenses and scorch him into submission.
Leon resisted, lightning surging through him, into Iron Pride, and arcing at Bennu. At the same time, Leon side-stepped and twisted his blade away from the Phoenix, taking Bennu by surprise. Bennu had committed to pressing against Leon, so Leon's refusal to compete in a test of strength had him suddenly lunging forward.
A slash of Iron Pride opened his exposed upper arm, once again letting the blood of the Phoenix run freely. A moment later, however, the butt of Bennu’s halberd sprang up as he fell past Leon and caught him in the side of a knee, sweeping him off his feet. Fire then burst from Bennu, and he launched into the air.
Twisting in the air, Leon righted himself and planted his feet solidly on the sandy floor, frustration bleeding through for a moment as he realized Bennu had once again bought himself considerable distance. The man looked down upon Leon like a war god, fire metaphorically blazing in his eyes as fire literally blazed around him, forming into wings extending off his back.
It reminded Leon rather unpleasantly of an angel, though Bennu sported only two wings instead of the greater-winged creatures Leon had seen.
Drawing the Stormborn bow again, Leon loosed another arrow, hoping to repeat the dubious success of the first, as although it hadn’t injured Bennu, it had at least allowed him to close the distance.
But Bennu retained his silver spell, which hung in the air beside him. Another invisible barrier blocked the second arrow, leaving Bennu unaffected even as space all around him shattered.
With a sweep of his halberd, a thousand more firefly-sized motes of flame appeared around Leon, detonating not even a heartbeat after forming. Fire washed over Leon, but it was the shockwaves of each explosion that were of greater concern; Leon was shaken like a leaf in a hurricane, and he momentarily lost all sense of where he was, even as his armor enchantments staved off Bennu’s fire.
The flames died as Leon found himself on the stadium floor, face down. A spike of anger and humiliation sent energy coursing through his veins, and he nearly shot into the sky, his anger pushing him to reengage with all the magic at his disposal. However, just as he turned his eyes skyward, he found a bird about the size of the Thunderbird bearing down upon him. Its body was made entirely out of golden fire, while the white fire that made up its eyes flickered with intelligence and maliciousness.
With a swing of his sword, Leon thrust a bolt of silver-blue lightning through the firebird, targeting its heart. His aim proved true, and the wisp animating the firebird shattered, killing the firebird instantly. The fire dissipated as the firebird shrieked in lifelike pain, but no sense of triumph bloomed within Leon as he found a dozen other firebirds circling him, with Bennu in the midst of creating another one.
Leon shot into the air as these firebirds swooped upon him. Iron Pride flashed as a lightning bolt speared the first. Fiery talons raked across Leon’s back, his enchantments straining to keep him safe even as the physical force of the blow sent him rocketing back to the sandy floor.
With gritted teeth, Leon reached upward with his power while fending off the firebirds with a wave of lightning.
The sky reacted to his power, darkening in an instant as storm clouds manifested. In that darkness, Bennu’s fire and Leon’s lightning were both thrown into stark contrast.
An avian shriek pierced Leon’s ears as one of the firebirds made it past his lightning and crashed into him, pinning him on the ground with its blazing talons and surprising weight. It reared back, its fiery beak about to spear down onto him as the other firebirds circled, waiting their turn, when Leon pulled his magic back down.
A thousand bolts of lightning fell thicker than rain. The combined flash would’ve blinded a mortal a hundred miles away, while the thunderclap would’ve torn them apart if they’d been in the stadium. Thankfully for Belicenion, the stadium’s enchantments prevented anything of the sort from happening.
The firebirds were not so lucky; like javelins, the lightning bolts tore through their fiery hides, obliterating all but two. Those last two were then blasted apart as the thunderous shockwave slammed into them. Leon himself felt his bones rattle from his own power.
The firebirds had, at least, been successful in inflicting some injuries on him, though mostly through blunt force. Leon fought through that pain and shot into the sky, only to be confronted by another firebird, this one larger than the others and unaffected by his lightning or thunder. Within its heart, Leon could sense more power than the others—this was no wisp, but rather a body of magical fire conjured by Bennu. This was no transformation enchantment, however, and Leon could see a certain stiffness in the wings and a lack of grace in its movements that betrayed the technique for what it was: an illusion made of fire.
Illusion though it was, however, it was still made of potent magic, and though he attempted to block with Iron Pride, the force of this larger firebird slamming into him, sending him once again careening back toward the ground. Though it lacked grace, a swipe of its talons crushed the bones in his sword arm, finally eliciting a cry of pain from him as Iron Pride slipped from his grip.
Leon’s fall was stopped as the firebird wrapped another of its talons around one of his legs and snapped its blazing beak around his torso, attempting to burn or tear its way through his Adamant armor. Backed by origin power, Leon blazed with lightning, while more lightning bolts fell from the sky. The bolts from on high, however, sank into the fire and were lost, while the lightning from his body barely managed to escape. The firebird’s other talon then locked around his other leg, and while pressure from the beak increased, the talons tried to tear his legs off.
If things continued, Leon knew he’d lose. He wasn’t done yet, but he could sense Anushirawan drawing close, prepared to halt the duel if it seemed like he was in mortal peril.
‘No,’ he thought, and the stored power in his soul realm flowed into his transformation enchantment. If Bennu wanted to fight with beak and talon, then Leon would oblige.
His body suddenly exploded outward, his armor disappearing, replaced by moon-white feathers. The talons of golden fire around his legs were blasted away when his legs became gold-scaled talons. The fiery beak that had snapped shut around his torso was ripped asunder, along with the fiery head it was attached to, when his chest inflated to prodigious size. With long blue feathers streaming down his now-avian head, Leon threw his face forward, his golden beak glowing in the light of Bennu’s fire, and pierced into the firebird.
For the first time since the duel began, Leon was aware of the crowd’s reaction, as the stadium suddenly became eerily quiet. Neither cheers nor jeers could be heard as he flapped his wings, wind magic snapping from his feathers and cutting into Bennu’s firebird in a thousand places.
Any thoughts about the crowd were pushed from Leon’s head as his golden beak snapped shut on a human body buried within the flames. He twisted his head, tearing Bennu from the heart of his firebird and throwing him into the sky. With another mighty wingbeat, he not only ripped the remainder of the firebird asunder but also propelled himself after the Phoenix. At the same time, he called upon the clouds above, and Bennu was struck three dozen times by silver-blue lightning before Leon closed with him.
Every one of those lightning bolts was absorbed by Bennu’s bracers, but they were looking a little worse for wear, blackened and tarnished, with the magic they emitted being somewhat compromised if what Leon could sense was any indication. They were still Adamant and likely wouldn’t shatter, but Leon guessed that the enchantments inscribed upon them might be starting to fail.
He bore down on Bennu. The Phoenix’s face was hidden behind his helmet, but Leon imagined him paralyzed with fear.
Bennu immediately proved the ‘paralyzed’ part wrong as he hurriedly thrust his halberd forth, sending not only a gout of fire to intercept Leon, but also bringing a thousand more motes of fire into being. But Leon’s feathers were as much armor as his Adamant, and the motes splashed harmlessly against his body. The gout of golden flame, meanwhile, he took head-on, and with silver-blue lightning arcing across his body, he cut through it.
The tip of Bennu’s halberd met the tip of his golden beak. Lightning exploded from him as golden fire exploded from the halberd. The intensity of the shockwave hurled them back, with Leon beating his wings a few times to steady himself in the air. Bennu, meanwhile, took the moment to conjure another dozen firebirds.
If Leon could sneer, he would’ve. He launched himself at the closest, tearing it to pieces before the others could react. For a handful of breathless seconds, he rampaged through the sky, tearing Bennu’s fiery shades apart, determined as he was to banish this insult.
When he turned his eyes upon Bennu, he found Bennu hovering, stationary, seemingly unbothered by what had just happened.
“This is it,” Bennu calmly stated. “You fought bravely, Leon. Such powers…”
Leon charged, and Bennu snapped his fingers. Power flooded from the Phoenix, manifesting as chains appearing from nowhere. Leon’s eyes widened in alarm, and though he tried, he couldn’t twist out of the way before chains wrapped around his wings, talons, and neck. Enchantments on every link of the solid chains flared, and the chains suddenly snapped to the ground, tearing him from the sky and slamming him into the stadium’s sandy floor.
The power of a thirteenth-tier: conjuring matter using magic and the Mists of Chaos. Leon had been training for more than a century, but had yet to cross that threshold…
Struggle mightily though he did, Leon couldn’t snap the chains. They tightened around him, threatening to snap his wings and talons and strangle him into submission. Notionally gritting his teeth, Leon reverted his transformation. His body shrank, almost instantly returning to human form, clad in his armor. He slipped through the chains and launched himself back into the sky, but he barely made it ten feet before the chains once again wrapped around his legs, whipping him back into the sand.
Leon called upon lightning, but more runes on the chains flared, and his lightning remained locked tightly within his body. He raised his hand, calling for Iron Pride, but more chains slammed into his arms, preventing him from grasping the weapon. He snarled, trying to will the Iron Needle to respond, but as lightning sparked along Iron Pride, a ball of golden fire slammed into it, sending it flying across the stadium.
“You’re a brilliant warrior,” Bennu said as he landed beside Leon. “But you’re not yet strong enough to take me.” He magicked away his helmet, revealing not a hair out of place, his skin unblemished, his expression proud. He hardly looked like he’d just fought a deadly duel, as his golden fire had already healed any injuries Leon had managed to land.
“Admit your defeat,” he said as he leveled his halberd at Leon. “Abandon your pursuit of Serana. Never darken her doorstep again.”
The stadium was silent, every eye in the stands boring into Leon. He could feel their attention, their judgment, their power. He couldn’t give up his attempts to find his mother at the best of times, let alone in such a public setting. More than that, his wives were watching, and he vowed to be nothing less than undefeated when he had their attention.
But he could sense Anushirawan coming in for a landing, his loss seemingly apparent.
‘No,’ he thought.
Anger and humiliation gave him power. Love gave him intent.
He projected his power, rattling the chains around his body, and giving Anushirawan pause. Bennu grinned confidently, not realizing what Leon was doing.
Leon could picture what he wanted, his last possible move that he could use consciously. A blade, no larger than a knife, made of ordinary iron. He pictured the runes of torment carved into Jors-kil’s body when he’d been found deep within Iaivi Fortress.
Mists of Chaos formed the iron within his soul realm. Magic gave it shape. Origin power gave it substance.
Leon shouted in frustration and flexed, the sudden movement loosening the chains just enough for him to summon the blade.
It appeared, thin, brittle, and weak, but solid and inscribed with the runes, hovering just above Bennu, right where Leon’s power was concentrating. The Phoenix’s eyes widened as he turned, fire bursting from his hair, but Leon brought the knife down.
It cut into the Phoenix’s hair, scraping across his scalp, drawing blood. The magic upon the blade flared once, and the knife shattered into dust.
But Bennu screamed as his body was ravaged by agonizing power, power meant to punish, to torture.
With his attention momentarily disrupted, the chains around Leon’s limbs went slack, and Leon didn’t waste a moment. He launched himself upward, black fire curling around his fingers, and drove his fist into Bennu’s exposed jaw.
With a sickening crunch, Bennu’s jaw was shattered as Doomfire swept across his face.
Iron Pride snapped to Leon’s other hand, and Leon swung precisely; the blade burned with Doomfire and parted Bennu from his left arm just below the shoulder.
Bennu screamed in torturous pain and tried to snap his halberd around to strike Leon, but Leon easily deflected the hasty blow and took the other arm at the same time. He then delivered another blow to Bennu, sending him crashing into the sand.
It was Leon’s turn to land beside Bennu, Iron Pride leveled at his neck, Doomfire blazing along the sharp edge. With Doomfire still burning in his other hand, Leon glared down at the Phoenix and said, “Enough…”
Bennu stared up at him in abject shock, his eyes darting from Iron Pride to the Doomfire in Leon’s fist to his face. Burns covered his face, and one of his eyes had turned red from a burst blood vessel. His jaw hung open, the mandible broken and deformed. He was silent, as was the rest of the stadium. Like thousands of watching Lords, he could say nothing in the face of Leon using Doomfire.
Anushirawan, however, was not so paralyzed. He landed beside Leon, and after a hesitant glance first at the Doomfire in Leon’s hand, then at Bennu lying in the sand not even trying to defend himself, he said, “That’s it. Your duel is over.” He laid a hand on Leon’s shoulder, heavy as a mountain, his aura settling around him. Leon understood and lowered Iron Pride. The Doomfire he’d summoned vanished, as did the chains Bennu had created.
“Looks like you’ve reached the thirteenth-tier,” Anushirawan whispered to Leon, his fingers momentarily digging into his pauldron. “Congratulations.”
Leon didn’t feel much stronger, and while his heart skipped a beat, he was far more focused on the duel. Relief was already roaring at the gates of his heart, but he kept himself bottled up.
“I need you to say the words,” he said, his eyes still locked on Bennu, though his words were directed at the Sun King.
Anushirawan smirked and, with a chuckle, announced to the stadium, “THE DUEL IS OVER! LEON RAIME HAS WON!”
---
Though Serana had started the duel doing all she could to not pay attention, Jennifyr found that she needn’t have worried. From the moment the duel captured her everdark sister’s attention with one particularly bright bolt of lightning, Serana hadn’t turned her eyes away. Leon may have worn armor that concealed his face entirely, but that power was something Serana recognized.
As the duel progressed, Serana got up, pushed past the others, and stood by the window, transfixed by the duel. No one disturbed her, and Jennifyr even saw her father, Fargrim, smile at her.
“Bennu is proving his power, isn’t he?” he said to her, but Serana ignored him. He might’ve gently chided her if Leon hadn’t turned into a Thunderbird in that exact moment, stunning him into silence. Even Jennifyr found her thoughts abandoning her as Leon put that particular power on display for all the universe to see.
The box, which had been critiquing both Leon and Bennu, fell silent for the rest of the duel. They watched Leon almost lose, and Jennifyr’s heart nearly leaped into her throat when Anushirawan descended upon them while he was immobilized.
When Leon revealed his draconic power, the box practically exploded.
“WHAT?!” Tiir boomed, the Gray Dragon turning to Fargrim.
“WHO IS THAT?!” Ouros roared, the Blue Dragon nearly pushing the others out of the way so he could get a better look through the projected window.
“BROTHER FARGRIM!” Merenni exclaimed. “WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT?!” The Green Dragon looked ready to tear into Fargrim when Anushirawan made his declaration.
“THE DUEL IS OVER! LEON RAIME HAS WON!”
To most of the dragons, this meant nothing. But Jennifyr watched as one of Serana’s hands went to her mouth and her golden eyes widened in shock.
“Leon…?” she whispered. “My… Leon…?”
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