With little effort, Dregan moved out of the way of the blaze. He then guided his Gold dragon to a nearby cliff, perching himself on the tallest peak in the valley.
An easy target! thought Arius. The effects of the lightning had blissfully subsided, and he flew at Dregan with murder in his eyes set on tearing him apart. Still his brother did not move.
If he wants to make this simple for me, so be it! Arius got just close enough to see the amused grin on Dregan’s face. It was a smile that Arius was accustomed to seeing in their youth spent together, a smile that let him know that Dregan already thought of himself as the winner of this fight.
His brother raised both his arms in his direction, and a dense black fog rolled from his fingertips. Unable to avoid the fog, Arius flew into its midst, and at once everything was thrown into disarray. The world had turned upside down, and it was all Arius could do to keep hold of his reins and not plunge into the storm that now appeared below him. He closed his eyes tightly to keep from looking at the bleak prospect of falling into the heavens. Before his mind could truly comprehend what had occurred, a boot collided solidly with the side of his face, sending him crashing spectacularly into an unforgiving surface.
Arius could taste blood in his mouth as he sat up, trying to shake the cobwebs off from the result of his rather harsh landing onto the mountainside. The impact of his fall befuddled the Link and Arius lost contact with Alrukar.
With his Gold dragon nowhere in sight, Dregan landed on the cliff ten feet away from Arius with his sword already drawn. The Sword of Duncar was possessed with cataclysmic amounts of evil Duncar magic. Its only match was the sword in Arius’ own scabbard, Dragons Fist, the sword that would change destiny.
Arius shook his head, resolutely climbing to his feet to face off with his treacherous sibling. Lightning flashed in the background, showing off the elaborate markings of a Duncar Shadow Priest on Dregan’s plated armor. The intricate ruins upon the plating were outlined in silver, and his long black hair billowed to the side in the wind. His pale pointed face contorted into a twisted smile, with his eyes glowing a sinister blood red.
Arius’ hand slid to his sword, gripping the hilt tightly. Connected to the hilt of the blade was the stone Dragons Fist. That Artifact had transformed his simple blade into a weapon of mass destruction. The devastating energy it lent Arius set his teeth on edge and made his irises transform into narrow wyvern-like slits. He pulled the blade free of its scabbard, directing its point at the Duncar scum.
“Even with Dragons Fist, you are drastically outmatched, Arius. I am the strongest Shadow Priest to ever walk the planet, not to mention the True Dragon. Petty Artifacts will not help you in this fight, tauclava.”
“Tauclava am I?” Arius rolled his eyes at being called an imposter. “I never wanted any of this! If it wasn’t for you, Dregan, we would never have been the two foretold in Jenukai’s prophecy. When you killed our father, you made this fucking nightmare a reality.”
“Such language, little brother! I‘ll have to teach you some manners before you die. We’ll see if all of those lessons in swordplay I gave you in our youth will save your life.” Dregan smiled that infuriatingly cocksure smile of his and bowed mockingly in Arius’ direction. The Sword of Duncar rose in both of his hands, and he advanced in an almost strutting manner.
Arius spat blood from his mouth and leapt into the air with Dragons Fist raised over his head. He swung with all of his might at Dregan’s skull, but with a quick roll to the right, the Shadow Priest dodged the attack and thrust the Sword of Duncar at Arius’ exposed middle. Summoning his Elemantic powers, Arius cast a shield of air that blocked the lunge and got his sword into the way of a blow that would have surely lopped his arm off. It was a blur of movement for the next few minutes. The two sword masters had spent years training together and were able to anticipate each other in flawless grace.
Dragons Fist began to irradiate a white glow that made it look fresh from the forge as his, and the sword’s energy rose to levels that Arius hadn’t fathomed were possible. Still the Sword of Duncar didn’t break. To the contrary, Arius could sense the sword’s evil energy rising to an unprecedented level of its own sinister proportions. The surprise of this unexpected turn of events must have been showing on Arius’ face, because through the clang of steel upon steel Dregan said quietly, “You seem surprised that the Sword of Duncar is capable of such power.”
“Even with the aid of Duncar magic, I’m going to leave your entrails all over this cliff, Dregan.”
Arius lunged with renewed vigor at the amused taunting of his brother, and he stabbed the Shadow Priest through the shoulder. Arius pulled Dragons Fist free and black blood dripped from the blade hissing, while Dregan’s arm hung to his side, useless. In shock, he stumbled backwards holding his wound and fell against a wall of rock to the far side of where their skirmish had taken place. The Sword of Duncar fell from his hands and out of his reach. Dregan stared at the wound as his black blood flowed heavily, the same color as his jet black armor.
“What are you waiting for, tauclava? Finish it as you so diligently swore that you would.”
Arius stalked towards him, slowly rising Dragons Fist above his head. His brother spat, and it hit Arius in the eye.
Wiping the spittle from his face, Arius smiled coldly. “Even in defeat, you show nothing but grace and honor.”
Wary of a surprise attack with a hidden weapon, Arius once again summoned his Elemantic power. He used an air spell to bind his older brother with invisible tendrils so he couldn’t move, or strike out.
“Pal dora unt Dracor, Pal moar ucend!” Dregan closed his eyes and bellowed. He reopened them and looked over at Arius. “I sincerely apologize, little brother, but I really must be going.”
“You die here and now, Dregan! I’ve heard enough of the filthy language of Duncar. You were once my best friend and the person I cherished most in this world. Now, you’re completely unrecognizable to me. The Dregan I knew could have never hurt anyone in our family, let alone murder our father. I want you to know that to me this will be like killing a stranger because that’s what you are to me now. I feel absolutely no remorse or regret that it has come to this. I only care that the innocent people of this country will be saved from any further atrocities at your hand.”
Arius stood directly over Dregan and swung Dragons Fist down at his exposed neck. Right before the sword could do what was intended, Dregan’s Gold dragon burst through the rock and smashed into Arius. He was knocked airborne over the edge of the cliff. As he was falling he lost his grip on both Dragons Fist and consciousness. The last thing Arius saw before the darkness enveloped him was the ground coming ever closer.
Chapter 2
Arius awoke with a start, completely drenched in sweat. It took him a second to realize he wasn’t actually plummeting to his demise. His heart was racing uncontrollably, and he was dizzy to the point of nausea. He put his hands on his head, closed his eyes tightly and took one measured breath after another in an effort to counteract his hyperventilation and stop the world from spinning. After a moment the world righted itself, and his senses began to come back to him. The recurring nightmare had been different that time, he realized. Dragons Fist had been in his possession. That had been a first.
The sun was warm on his face and he could hear the buzz of a lot of voices, though none were discernible. He blinked numerous times, shaking off the grog he felt.
“Looks like you came to just in time, my good man.”
Arius opened his eyes and looked over to see Miles. Of course, he was still in the Royal Box at People’s Pavilion. The massive stadium was bursting with cheering fans. The collective eighty-thousand Jenukai City citizens were there for one reason: the Ryuken championships.
“Looks like the wine went to my head. What have I missed?” Arius smiled, too. Just a dream.
“Robik trounced Villem of Axion. He knocked him out with a nasty kick to the head in the second round,” Miles stated matter-of
-factly.
“He’ll be boasting about that for years, I’m sure!” Arius let out a feigned groan of disgust. Robik was a great friend.
Behind him he heard dual sniggers. Arius finally felt stable enough to stand, so he pushed himself off his plush chair and faced his two Guyver guards standing watch at the back of the box. The twins had grown up with Robik and were overly aware of the man’s verbose and boasting nature.
“Can I rely on you two to keep him in check?” Arius jested.
The twins were identical: blonde, green eyed, tall, and lean. Hunter smirked and turned his forearms into sharp blades. Davin’s fisted hands slowly incased themselves in metal.
“I like where your heads are at gentlemen, but instead how about the usual? We’ll take him out to celebrate and buy him pints until you two have to carry him home,” Arius chuckled.
The twins grinned in joint agreement. Arius had to admit that he envied the twins and their Guyver abilities. They couldn’t use the other elements like Arius, but Guyvers were able to control and manipulate all forms of metal.
“What of Xavian’s fight with that Daggerleaf lad?” Arius asked, turning his attention back to Miles.
Miles sprouted an incredulous look at the question.
“Was it that one sided?”
“I was tempted to wake you, but Xavian ended it before I had the opportunity. Xavian was picking him apart in the standup game. He was landing at will with his jab and right cross, and the Daggerleaf guy tried to get it to the ground, but to no avail. Xavian faked the shot for the takedown, and when the kid sprawled his legs backwards to avoid it, Xavian promptly kneed him in the temple. Fight over. It never even made it out of the first round. It‘ll take house Daggerleaf a long time to live that one down.”
That was Ryuken for you. It was the sport of choice amongst the people in the seven cities of the Gaelarian Alliance. It was most popular here in the capital of Jenukai City, but Axion, Kriallis, Mayora, Athenry, Qudai and Rukari all had huge followings of the sport as well. Arius vehemently agreed with them. He was an avid fan and a fighter himself. He was quite annoyed with himself for sleeping through the first two fights of the championships, especially since dear friends and members of his own Jenukai Chosen had taken part in them.
The rules were simple enough. The fight could last as long as three rounds. Each round lasted ten minutes. The fight could end one of five ways: knockout, submission, magical attack, inability for one of the fighters to continue, or a decision that was to be made by a panel of judges if neither fighter could end the skirmish before the time ran out. Only one magical ability was permitted per round. Fighters were also made to go barefoot and shirtless. Eye gouging, scratching with nails, groin shots, hair pulling and weapons were all strictly prohibited.
Now that he was feeling better, it was easy to get caught up in the frenzy of the crowd. Arius had completely forgotten the nightmare for the moment. Instead, he focused in on the anticipation of every soul sitting in the stadium.
The din was palpable. The moment they had all been waiting for was almost upon them. Three days of fighting had brought them to a championship fight even the historians would write about. Arius was very familiar with both combatants. Ryder was a member of his own Jenukai Chosen and was a match for any warrior in the entire world, in his opinion. He had sparred with Ryder on many occasions and had taken as much punishment as he had delved out. Rufio, the challenger was equally as impressive. He was a powerful fighter who was the Sky General of the Phoenix Elite. The Phoenix Elite were an all-Fire Elemantic group of fighters and the sole protectors of the city Athenry. Arius himself had appointed the man as Sky General.
Arius leaned on the railing gazing out over the crowd onto the ring, which was a twenty foot by twenty foot tiled floor. It was a mild afternoon, and a pleasant breeze played across his face and the sun lit the stadium beautifully. A gong suddenly cut through the noise, silencing the spectators almost at once. A woman’s magically enhanced voice filled everyone’s ear.
“Ladies and sirs, be welcome! Welcome to the championship fight of the tenth annual Ryuken Tournament!”
Miles inched forward to the edge of his seat, and the twins gave up the pretense of being on guard duty and joined Arius on the railing.
The woman’s voice continued. “Let me first introduce to you, fighting out of Athenry, representing the Phoenix Elite…Sky General Rufio!” She elongated his name for dramatic effect as the crowd erupted into applause, shaking the floor beneath Arius’ feet.
It was common for fighters to make outlandish appearances into the ring, and Rufio did not disappoint. Four men carried an ornate chest between them, each with a shovel propped over their shoulders. The chest was predominantly crimson with golden phoenixes engraved onto it. The quad entered the ring and placed the chest in the center of the tiles. One of them opened it, and they all proceeded to shovel what looked like sand into a pile.
“Sand?” asked Davin.
“Not sand, you derelict. Ash!” Hunter said as he laughed at his twin.
Arius raised a hand for silence, seeing that Davin had an annoyed look on his face and was undoubtedly readying a rebuttal to the quip.
“Just watch,” Arius commanded lightheartedly.
The four men had amassed an impressive pile of ash by the time they closed the chest and walked out of the ring with it. A brief moment passed before the ashes began emitting sparks of red, gold, and orange. The flashes grew more violent until the entire mound burst spectacularly into flame. Out of the fire stepped Rufio. His wings of flame spread magnificently behind him, with his bald head reflecting the inferno. The crowd in attendance yelled and cheered wildly at the spectacle. He extinguished his wings and waved jovially to the audience in reply.
“Quite the flare for the dramatic, wouldn’t you say?” Miles asked Arius. “He certainly knows how to play to the audience. Ryder won’t be nearly as showy though, mark my words. I spoke to him a few hours ago, he’s eager to get in there and defend his title.”
As if his statement had been a cue for the announcer, the woman’s great voice boomed once again.
“Now, fighting out of Jenukai City, representing the Jenukai Chosen, your very own defending champion… Ryder!”
Ryder sprinted to the ring amongst more clamor from the crowd, wasting no time with showmanship. After vaulting into the ring, Ryder strode immediately to the center of the ring and put his chin directly into Rufio’s face, but Rufio didn’t back down at all. They both stood nose to nose for a moment, staring each other down before the referee broke them apart. They both backed to their respective corners, awaiting the start of the first round. After a short pause, the gong rang and they walked forward to the center of the ring beginning the fight.
Ryder’s long black hair was pulled into a braid. He began circling Rufio, and the Sky General put his guard up and circled with him, but Ryder was the first to engage. He leapt in and attacked with a flying knee toward Rufio’s mid-section, but Rufio was able to sidestep the attack and counter. He lunged forward and landed a sweeping elbow to the face. The elbow hit with a sickening crunch, and Arius grimaced as blood began to flow from Ryder’s nose.
“Not good. He’ll be breathing through his mouth the rest of the fight, which will make him more susceptible to the knockout,” Miles noted.
Ryder bounced back on his toes and fired off a left hook, a left body kick, and a right overhand combination. Rufio was able to block the hook but was caught in the ribs by the kick, and the overhand punch landed on his chin.
He dropped to a knee, stumbled by the blows. Ryder quickly capitalized on the attack and dove in, tackling the man for the takedown.
Ryder landed on top of Rufio and began raining down punches. Rufio covered his face and stopped the worst of the barrage from inflicting damage. A flash of fire came from him on the bottom of the fray, forcing Ryder to stumble quickly off of his opponent. The referee raised a blue flag indicating that Rufio had used his one magical attack
for the round. Ryder raised both hands in front of him and used his Adimus Aura to cast forth a blindingly white energy blast, but Rufio was able to deftly flip over the attack. Again the referee raised a blue flag.
Before the energy wave could disintegrate the fans in the first rows, a protective shield popped up and absorbed the blast. Now that the magical attacks had been used up for the time being, the two combatants picked up their physical assaults. The rest of the way they traded brutal punches, kicks, knees, and elbows. The gong sounded to end the first round, the fight completely even.
Both warriors were bleeding from various wounds, but they received only a short breather. The gong sounded twice, and they continued round two right where they left off. Rufio was using his reach and height to his advantage. His jab was landing at will, and after a slew of unanswered punches, Ryder finally closed the distance and grabbed him around the waist. He lifted Rufio high over his head and brutally slammed him directly onto his head. A collective gasp shuddered through the stadium.
“Jenukai’s Wings!” Arius swore loudly. “He’s killed him!”
Rufio was visibly dazed, and he was having a hard time protecting himself from the punches that were landing on him as Ryder dove onto him and straddled him. A nasty cut had opened above Rufio’s right eye, and it was bleeding freely over his face. He kicked Ryder off and scrambled hastily back to his feet, but it was obvious that he was unsteady. His legs wobbled slightly as he tried to circle away.
Ryder sensing an advantage went on the offensive and let loose a slew of wild haymaker hooks and uppercuts. Rufio jumped awkwardly back barely maneuvering himself out of the way. As he was backpedaling, he cast forth a sword made of fire. The referee raised his blue flag yet again. Rufio took a mighty two-handed swing at Ryder, who was just able to duck and roll out of its path at the last moment.
Dragons of Destiny Page 2
