Gathering of the Chosen

by Timothy L. Cerepaka

  Chapter Thirteen

  Braim woke up this morning feeling groggier than usual. He dragged his body out of bed, stepped into the shower to wash off, threw on his Tournament uniform, had breakfast provided by the innkeeper (some type of cooked, greasy meat Braim had never had before that the innkeeper called halar that had no direct translation to Divina, along with eggs and some kind of juice that tasted like strawberries and oranges), and then left the inn to head for the Stadium. He had three Soldiers of the Gods accompanying him in order to protect him from that assassin from last night, each one armed to the teeth, although Braim had no idea how effective they might be at protecting him.

  But Braim didn't focus too much on his bodyguards. There was that darkness again, floating in the back out of his mind just out of reach of his conscious thought. It reminded him of his conversation last night with the Ghostly God, as well as the Ghostly God's theory about why Braim felt that way.

  Braim did not really remember Uron all that well. True, he had regained his body by stabbing Uron with the ghostly sword that he used to have (the sword that had vanished when he returned to the physical plane, unfortunately), but like most things from his time as a ghost, Braim didn't remember that too well, either. The others had told him that Uron was a wicked, evil being who could not be trusted, which he figured was true based on the few memories he had of the being who also went by the alias 'Great Snake.'

  But it seemed logical that the darkness that seemed to follow Braim everywhere was simply the remnants of Uron's previous possession of his body. It was the only explanation that made any sense. Even so, Braim wondered if there might be another explanation that made even more sense.

  Could Uron even somehow still be influencing my thoughts? Braim thought. Nah. Uron's gone. He's never coming back. Like the Ghostly God said, his consciousness is no longer independent of the universe, so there's no way he could influence me now.

  Despite that, Braim wished he had some way of getting rid of the darkness that followed him everywhere. It made enjoying life harder, because he felt a constant sense of impending doom wherever he went and whatever he did. It may have simply been one of those things that would go away on its own, given time, but whether that was true or not, Braim didn't know and would not know for some time.

  In any case, Braim arrived at the Stadium without running into the assassin or any other problems on the way there. His bodyguards insisted that Braim go in by himself, because they had not been given authority to follow Braim into the Stadium and that he was probably safe from the assassin in there anyway. Braim supposed that that was probably true, but he still didn't like seeing his three bodyguards walk off and leave him alone.

  I can take care of myself, Braim told himself, patting his wand in its holster at his side. After all, I've had two encounters with that assassin guy so far and have survived both. I've got nothing to worry about.

  So Braim pushed open the doors and entered the Stadium lobby, which he discovered to be full of godlings once again. It looked like everyone was present, but they were not all mixed together again as usual. Instead, a good chunk of them stood in line on one side of the Stadium, going into a door on the right side of the lobby. On the left was another, much smaller line of about twenty people, which was going into another door. Braim saw both Raya and Yoji in that line, which told him that that was probably the line for the participants of the Hollech Sub-Bracket Challenge.

  Then Braim heard someone say, “Hey, Braim, over here!” and he looked over to see Carmaz and Saia in the first line, standing at the back of it and waving at Braim to join them. Braim walked over as quickly as he could and soon stood behind the two of them in the line, which gradually grew smaller as the godlings ahead of them stepped into the open door at the end.

  “Hey, guys,” said Braim to Carmaz and Saia. “How did your night go? Any news on the assassin?”

  “None so far,” said Carmaz, shaking his head. “We haven't heard any news from the gods, so we're assuming that the assassin is still out there.”

  “Uh huh,” said Braim. “Well, I'm glad to hear that you guys weren't murdered in your sleep, at least. So where does this line go, anyway?”

  “To the Stadium's box,” said Saia. “You missed Alira's explanation. She said that the rest of us godlings who aren't participating in the Hollech Bracket are supposed to go to the Stadium's box and watch the Hollech participants compete in the challenge.”

  “That includes Raya and Yoji, right?” said Braim. He looked at the line, where he saw Yoji and Raya talking.

  “Yes,” said Carmaz. “Raya didn't want to participate, but she went ahead and did it anyway because there's no backing out of the Tournament at this point.”

  “Surprised that Raya didn't try to bribe a katabans to take her home,” said Braim. “Guess she's resigned to her fate by now, huh?”

  “More or less,” said Carmaz. “It wouldn't surprise me if she intentionally throws the Tournament so she'll get disqualified. She spent the entire trip to the Stadium complaining about being in the Hollech Bracket.”

  “And trying to seduce Carmaz,” Saia said. “She was trying to elicit sympathy from him, but Carmaz didn't show her any. I did, but she didn't seem to appreciate it much coming from me.”

  “What?” said Braim. He looked over at Raya, who he now noticed was glancing at Carmaz not-so-furtively, apparently not paying attention to whatever Yoji was saying. “She was trying to seduce Carmaz?”

  “Let's not talk about it, please,” said Carmaz, almost begging Braim to drop the subject. “Raya is crazy. Let's leave it at that.”

  Braim was not quite sure what to think about this new piece of information, but he decided to respect Carmaz's wishes and not bring it up again. He just followed the rest of the godlings through the doorway, which lead to a set of stairs that took them up higher and higher with every step. It was slow-moving, however, due to the eighty godlings that had to go in an orderly line up the stairs, but soon the top of the stairs came into view, an open doorway that, as Braim soon discovered, led into a large box with about a hundred seats in neat, rising rows that were in front of a thick gray stone wall with no windows or holes in it, which made Braim wonder how they could see the field where the challengers were.

  There was apparently no particular order to the seating, so everyone sat pretty much wherever they wanted. Braim, Carmaz, and Saia took up some seats near the back, but they weren't alone. Tashir, the shark-headed aquarian godling from last night, also took a seat next to them. He still had his sword, even though there was no reason for it, seeing as it was unlikely that a fight of any sort would break out in here.

  “Hey, Tashir,” said Braim, smiling at the aquarian, despite not knowing him very well. “How are you?”

  “Fine,” said Tashir. Like most aquarians, he had that strange gurgly accent whenever he spoke in Divina, though it wasn't as bad as some aquarians that Braim had heard. “You?”

  “Great,” said Braim. “Heard anything about that assassin from last night?”

  “No,” said Tashir, shaking his head. “I stayed up all night listening for it, but it did not come after me, so I managed to get a few hours of sleep before breakfast.”

  “You mean you aren't tired at all?” said Braim.

  “Of course not,” said Tashir. “I have trained my body to require the absolute minimum amount of sleep in order to function at its maximum. I sleep no more or less than I need to, and as a result, I am rarely tired.”

  Saia, who sat on the other end of the seats away from Braim, leaned forward and pointed at Tashir's sword. “What's up with your sword? It was glowing last night. I've never seen a glowing sword before.”

  Tashir rested his hand on the handle of his blade. “I am a practitioner of the magical style that you humans call makhimancy. In essence, sword magic.”

  “So you're a mage?” said Saia, who seemed very interested in Tashir's abilities. “But where's your wand?”

  “My sword acts as my w
and,” said Tashir. “My sword is made out of a special type of metal that is capable of handling the magical energy I channel through it.”

  “I think we offer makhimancy classes at North Academy,” said Braim, stroking his chin, “though I've heard it's one of the toughest magical disciplines to learn.”

  “It is,” said Tashir, nodding. “The art of makhaimancy requires its user to be both physically and mentally fit, whereas most ordinary magic simply requires mental fitness from its users. Makhimancers must master swordplay and magic, which is a much tougher combination to learn than you might think.”

  “Is Malya a makhimancer as well?” said Saia, glancing down at the other godlings in the seating rows below them. “I saw that she had two swords that glowed like yours.”

  Tashir folded his arms over his chest and scowled. “I suppose she is, but her form of makhimancy is nowhere near as efficient as mine. It is the dual sword style, which is far less effective than my single sword style. Though that doesn't surprise me, seeing as I've noticed that you humans tend to go for style over substance in many areas of your lives.”

  Braim was pretty sure he should be offended by Tashir's generalization about humans, but he was frankly too distracted by the darkness settling in his mind to care. Carmaz, on the other hand, did look rather offended, while Saia said, “So there is one-sword style makhaimancy and dual sword style. Is there a three-sword style version of makhaimancy?”

  “Three-sword style?” Tashir repeated incredulously. “How would you hold the third sword? Between your teeth, perhaps? How ridiculous.”

  “Just checking,” said Saia. “Anyway, where do you come from? Are you from the Undersea?”

  “Considering that I am an aquarian, yes,” said Tashir. “I come from the country of East Yudra. Have any of you heard of it?”

  Braim, Carmaz, and Saia shook their heads.

  “Well, it is a beautiful country, set in the middle of a vast coral reef that is famed throughout the Undersea for its sheer beauty,” said Tashir. “It is in that country that I was born and raised, though I learned makhaimancy after I went to the Surface.”

  “Can you fight well on both the Surface and the Undersea?” said Braim.

  “Yes,” said Tashir, nodding. “I have spent years training in both environments. I prefer to fight underwater, but I can fight just as well on land.”

  “Interesting,” said Braim. “Changing the subject, does anyone know what is supposed to happen next?”

  “In the Tournament?” said Tashir. “Well, Alira explained that we will be able to watch the other godlings below as they participate in the Hollech Sub-Bracket Challenge, which should be starting any minute now.”

  “So what's the Sub-Bracket Challenge, then?” said Braim.

  “She didn't say,” said Tashir with a shrug. “I imagine it must have something to do with deception, thieves, or horses, though I don't know for sure.”

  “I hope Raya wins against her opponent,” said Saia, folding his hands behind his head and resting his feet on the back of the chair before him, causing the godling sitting there to glare at him, though Saia apparently didn't notice. “I think she'd make a great goddess.”

  “Why?” said Tashir. “She certainly doesn't seem very special to me. She may be royalty, but she stomped off after she was assigned to a bracket that she doesn't like and almost got herself killed as a result. She seems like a very foolish girl to me.”

  “What about Yoji?” said Carmaz. “You know, the kid mage? Anyone know anything about him?”

  “I spoke with him because he showed interest in my sword,” said Tashir. “He told me that he's a child prodigy and student of the Thief's Way. Hollech was his favorite god, so of course he was ecstatic after learning which bracket he was put into.”

  “Didn't he mention being in the Itrija School of Magic?” said Carmaz. “I've never heard of that school.”

  “I have,” said Braim. “They're known as the second best human magical school in the world. They don't really like North Academy all that much, mostly because they've been trying to take our position as best human magical school in the world for decades, with little luck.”

  “Wonder how well he will do,” said Carmaz, scratching his chin. “If he's a mage, that gives him a pretty large advantage over Raya, seeing as she doesn't know any magic at all. I wonder if they will have to compete in the same challenge at some point.”

  “Always a possibility,” said Tashir. “I, personally, would like Yoji to be the winner. He is a bright and eager young lad who seems less spoiled than Raya.”

  “The idea of making a kid like that into a god, though, kind of scares me no matter whether they're a 'child prodigy' or not,” said Braim with a shudder. “I've seen some of the kids his age at North Academy. While they're not stupid by any means, they're still kids, with all of the positives and negatives that that entails.”

  “How is Yoji a 'child prodigy,' anyway?” said Saia. “Sounds suspicious to me.”

  “Yoji told me that Skimif visited his mother when she was pregnant with him and blessed him prior to his birth,” Tashir said. “That's what he thinks gave him his natural magical talent. I have no idea if that is true or not, but he does seem to have an advanced understanding of magic for a kid his age, considering how he briefly discussed with me the Five Principles of Elemental Magic and how humans and aquarians apply said principles differently.”

  “So he's smart and magically-inclined, then,” said Carmaz. “Clearly, that gives him an edge over Raya.”

  “Raya will probably do well,” said Saia. “I don't know how, but I'm sure that she will.”

  “Anyone know anything about the other participants in the Hollech Bracket?” said Braim, because he saw that Carmaz was going to voice his disagreement over how well Raya would do and he didn't want these two arguing about the matter with the first challenge about to start.

  “Nay,” said Tashir, shaking his head. “I have tended to avoid that group, aside from Raya and Yoji, because they have struck me as an untrustworthy group of individuals.”

  “Gee, you think that a group of beings who are competing for the position of God of Deception and Thieves might be untrustworthy?” said Carmaz, the sarcasm dripping from his words. “Wow, I would never have guessed that.”

  Tashir looked more than a little irritated by Carmaz's sarcasm, but before he could talk, Alira appeared at the front of the seats where everyone could see her. She clapped her hands, causing all conversation among the spectators to die off immediately as everyone looked at her.

  “The Hollech Sub-Bracket Challenge is about to begin,” said Alira. She gestured at the blank stone wall behind her. “From this place you will be able to see all of the participants in the Challenge as they attempt to conquer it.”

  “But Judge, how will we be able to see them with that wall in the way?” asked one of the godlings sitting in the front rows. “It's not like we can see through solid stone, after all.”

  “A good point that I was just about to address,” said Alira. She waved behind her. “This is how you will be able to see how everyone is progressing.”

  As Alira waved her hands, ten shimmery bubble-like squares came into existence behind her until they filled up the entire wall. Each bubble-like square showed nothing on their surfaces, which made Braim wonder what those were supposed to do.

  “These are your viewer bubbles,” said Alira. “Each bubble will focus on two challengers at once, so you can view whichever individual pairing you want without having to strain your eyesight. As each challenge is completed, the bubbles will vanish, until the entire Sub-Bracket Challenge is over.”

  That's convenient, Braim thought, reclining in his chair as his eyes darted from bubble to bubble, wondering which one would show Raya and which one would show Yoji.

  “But the challengers will not be able to hear you through the bubbles,” Alira continued. “You can talk all you want, but they won't hear a word you say. They will not even be aware t
hat you are watching them. They will behave as if they are entirely alone within the Stadium.”

  “I have never heard about this kind of magic before,” Tashir muttered to Braim. “How about you?”

  Braim shook his head. “Me neither. Maybe it's exclusive to Alira?”

  Tashir shrugged as Alira continued speaking.

  “The gods are also viewing this match from the Temple,” said Alira, “and I, of course, will also be watching the bubbles so that I can intervene in the unlikely event that any godlings attempt to cheat.”

  Alira waved her hand to the side and a throne that looked much like the thrones that the gods sat on back in the Temple materialized to the left of the seats. “And so, without further ado, let the first challenge of the Tournament of the Gods begin.”

  ***