"[color=gray]You need to check again announcer. I just took my time. You put some effort into the maze, so why not enjoy it?[/center]" Lucus shouted to Ferris as he exited the maze. Like everyone else, he had seen his worse fear, though his had been a combination of being trapped in his parents home again and Rose and Elyse both being dead. The problem was that he took his time to amuse the illusion a bit and got caught up in it. Had he been scared? Yes he had, but he knew none of it was real. First off, even if Rose died, Elyse would still be okay since he knew Jamie and the whole Phoenix Wing guild would do whatever it took to keep his daughter safe and sound. He also knew his that if his parents had tried to capture him again, they would've been there to gloat in his face, unlike what had happened in the illusion, where they had been no where to be seen. Simple logic prevailed for him in the end.

Glancing around, he spotted Master Jack taking care of Jackie, who looked like she had gotten into a tussle with a very skilled tiger or some other animal, and Master Jamie was trying to help... Rose. Cursing the maze now, Lucus ran over to Rose and knelt next to her and placing a hand on her right shoulder.
"Rosey... Come on Rosey, it's okay. You're perfectly okay. It's me, Lucus... Lukey, remember. Listen to me, listen to my voice. Focus on my voice." he said gently, in a soothing tone he used to use when they were both in the first incarnation of the Riders. He had seen her like this when they first started dating and he knew the symptoms.

"Mommy." Elyse said, sounding upset and a little scared.

"Everything is okay Elyse. Mommy just needs some help from Daddy, okay?" Lucus said, just as gently before turning back to Rose. Any questions Jamie had could be answered later. Right now his main concern was Rose and getting her back to her usual self so Elyse didn't get any more upset.



Jack gasped and flinched in pain when the flames Master Jack conjured hit her wounds. However, she just grit her teeth and let him deal with it. It was no worse then stitching her wounds by herself back on the day. The worse wounds were around her midsection and a few blows on her head. When she heard what he had to say, she wasn't as confident as he was.
"I might though. You never know. She might be a part of me forever. She might come out again... and I'm not sure I'll be able to hold her back." She said."What will happen then? What will happen now after all she said?"

"she still haunts me and taunts me...even after I ended her suffering...I was fine till she brought up me losing mynself, elyse, the guild...to my own darkness...I tried keeping calm...I really did...I couldn't hold my rage back...I look like her in everyway, i have her magic, her burden, i have always bared her burden even as a child..."She said slowly standing up taking in deep breaths finally calmed down {color=salmon] "I'm fine...its just been a long time since she came around..."she said [color=salmo]n"Thankyou lucus, master jamie...sorry for scaring you...like i said its been a very long time since I needed to even use my magic slightly."[/color]She said gently before looking at elyse "Mommy is okay now, there is no need to worry..everything is alright now."She said kissing elyse's forehead huging her, jamie, and lucus [color=salmon]"Just seeing mother again, brought back a lot of memories of first loved till my 'friend' showed up then her just trying to kill me, saying she was going save me...father having her committed for her safety and my own...seeing her as my mother then suddenly someone else...it does a lot to a child"She said before sighing placing her hands on her hips looking up. Rose often wondered if her mother was still alive, what would she be like? would she still hate rose for everything? would she be proud of her? No one will ever know. She looked back at them with her gold eyes as she was truely alright

After his initial elation of escaping, Mark had settled into watching the other contestants. They had all been rattled pretty badly, it seemed, and he wondered what magic had been used in the making of this game. In fact, he wondered if the magic games were simply a scam, with some sinister force working in the background, looking for the weaknesses in the powerful guilds for some master plan far in the future. He smirked, and toyed with the idea a bit. Something like that could go two ways, maybe Iron Enigma should try to get buddy-buddy with a 'light guild', as Grant put it. Smirking a little, Mark walked over to the Phoenix Wing members that were still near the exit of the challenge, ignoring his guild-mates calling him over.

"Quite a harrowing experience, wasn't it?" Mark said, hoping that'd catch their attention. "I wonder what kind of magic is behind that... Box of sadness. It's certainly unlike anything I've ever seen before." The mage smirked slightly, and had made a gesture towards the building they had just came out of. His gaze slowly drifted to Mithera, and he had to keep himself from slapping himself in the face at the mistake he just made. He had spontaneously decided on Phoenix Wing because he knew they were fairly strong, and one of the more friendly ones, but they wouldn't be when his guild got around to kidnapping the very member he was now watching sit on another of their member's shoulders. Despite the unfortunate situation however, Mark managed to keep his cool, and force his eyes down to Rose, as well as over to Lazarus, since they were his competitors. "Not to mention something I wouldn't ever want to experience again."

@Amaya Tamashii@Caits@YipeeXD[@Anyone who was listening in and have two cents to put in]

Mithera looked up as another mage came over and started talking. As soon as she realized he was an Iron Enigma mage, she forced herself to tune him out, and looked down at Elyse. "It's okay little one." She would carefully clamber down Jamie's arm and try to snuggle up with the young girl, hoping for it to be a nice distraction. She moved away a little as Rose kissed and hugged the little girl, before Mithera clambered down the rest of the way to snuggle in between Master Jamie and the little girl. "See? Mommy is fine." Mithera swallowed some, hoping her cuteness and cuddles would win the girl's attention. She didn't have any real idea of what they had experienced, but it was clear it was something profound that they would need to get out of their system, and a little girl being worried needed to be the last of their worries.

@Joshua Tamashii

"Do jack from dragon fang, Lazarus from Phoenix Wingn, Zander from frenzy plant, Mark from Iorn Engima, rose from Phoenix wing, Pakuna from tough love, Soren from Pirate lord and Lucas from Riders hlade" Jessie shouted eagerly, "well done! And now we move towards the battles, something we have all been waiting for!"

Damian Vs Hyun battle one
All eyes were on the large screen, as names flickered over it, the teams below waiting to see who would be battling. Games Master Sheldon grinned, and twirled, and performed, before shouting out, "Damian, from Phoenix Wing Team B! And Hyun from Frenzy Plant! Get ready to RRRRUUUUUMMMMMBBBBBLLLLEEEE!" He ushered the teams from the grounds, leaving Damian and Hyun behind.

Damian regarded the person across from him as the rest of the teams, as well as his, were cleared away from the field. Smiling to himself, he turns to face the oriental woman in front of him. She wielded two swords and wore traditional oriental clothing. It seemed the clothing would give her optimal movement but at a sacrifice of most forms of protection short of her blades and her magic, whatever it was. This will be interesting. Been awhile since I crossed swords with someone versed in swordplay. With a nod to himself as he finalized an approach, he focused on his opponent and summoned his Ares Blades. "This is the first time in a long time I've crossed blades with someone. May the best swordsman take the victory."

While Damian observed and spoke, his opponent scrutinized him as well. Her sharp eyes swept over every line on his face and contour in his armor, filling in the abstract, glorified tales she'd heard of this legendary swordsman with the living, breathing being that they represented. She felt some trepidation, certainly. Only a fool banished all fear from her mind. A person could not run faster than possible, strike harder than possible, and utterly triumph without he most basic impetus of fear. When the man began to speak, Hyun listened, but her eyes were done with his body. They drifted over the sea of spectating faces, taking in the throng of humanity while Damian said his piece. Once he finished, a moment passed before she spoke. Her voice was quiet, but bore an immense weight, and the colosseum's magical amplification made sure all heard those words.

"Do you hear them, Blade?"

It was a simple question, but its strangeness made it complicated. How could Damian not hear them? How could anyone on Fiore not hear them, they were so loud. Hyun continued, "No...I'm not talking about the ones you can see, not really. Thousands of eyes, thousands of ears, thousands of voices. Not just those in Fiore. The first Games in a long time draw the eyes even of those in other lands. In Seven, where I was born, they watch me...the queen deposed." Hyun turned back to her opponent, and looked him in the eye. No grimace passed her face, and her eyebrows barely tightened, but all the same her expression was fierce. "I was defeated and cast from my homeland, from my throne. I found solace in a bottle, and then in a guild that appreciated my skills. These are games for some, but for me, they are very real. If I can defeat one of the most celebrated swordsmen on Fiore, my reputation will be reignited, and the path back toward my throne...revealed."

Damian listened to Hyun speak, taking the time to note her high sense of self worth even before she started in on her life as an queen in exile from the land of Seven. He himself had heard stories in his travels after leaving the Royal Army behind, of a land where wars were waged but lives were spared and that the nobility was civil with each other and it was at their behest that the wars were waged. Being a man who'd lived war from a young age, he didn't believe in a land where you could fight a war and not watch the life drain from the eyes of a man spitted on your blade. Still, she was from this land, so maybe it was true, but he'd save questions for another time.

As she drew her katanas, Damian slid into a ready stance as she tossed the scabbards aside, waiting for the inevitable charge. Already his blood rushed through his veins as the adrenaline surged into it, his body sliding into a position that was more muscle memory and instinct than actual thought.

She drew her twin blades slowly, very ceremoniously, and threw the scabbards to the ground. "I am not telling you this so that you may pity me. I am not telling you this so that you might let me win. I am telling you...so that you know why it is that you must lose. It is that I aspire..."

"To a greater purpose."

Hyun forcefully brought her katanas together with an echoing clang. As their edges slid across another, they created a shower of sparks, most of them orange but one of them white. This spark flew across the open ground and touched Damian, a minuscule pinpoint of warmth, but one that prefaced the disappearance of his magical Ares Blades from his hands, leaving him with only Durandal.

Damian raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to snap a reply but didn't get a chance as the woman brought her blades together, a little hard if anyone asked him. The edges slid across each other and sent off sparks, a normal thing for two blades, but one of them stood out from the rest, a white one that zipped at him. Instinct took over and he rolled to the right, intending to avoid the spark, but to no avail. As he came up from his roll, he found that the spark had caused his Ares Blades to vanish. Tch, I bet this is exactly what I think it is.

Sliding back into his stance, he tried to resummon the blades, but nothing happened. Just to be sure, he attempted to summon a Blade Rain, with no result. With a sigh followed by a light chuckle, Damian stood up straight. "So, you hope to reattain your throne, huh? Well, that's all great and good, but what about the bonds you've made with the other members of Frenzy Plant? Are they just a means to an end?" Damian reached a hand up and rested it on Durandal's hilt, but not yet pulling it free.

To this, Hyun made no reply. There were no words that would distract her from her goal. She had indeed, grown very fond of Frenzy Plant and her allies there. There was a time when she'd have thought them as nothing more than tools, but that time had passed. Now, however, was not the time to tell that tale. Her dark eyes lay, just as Damian's hand, on the hilt of his greatsword.

"Well, I guess that's a bit irrelevant. But those eyes, ears, and voices you hear? Learn to tune them out on the battle field. You see, I grew up in war, real war, not that prissy shit you do in Seven that's as good as a friendly competition. I grew up where when you saw the enemy charging you across the field of battle, you made damn sure that he was dying for his country so you didn't need to. I also didn't grow up using magic like I'm sure you probably think I did. I've only had it eight years and it's not something I prefer to use a lot. Our individual histories aside, you know what the first rule of war was that I learned, at just six years old? Keep your focus on the fight."

Hyun readied herself. The time had come. If this man thought that not taking the lives of fellow countrymen made her weak, so be it. He might underestimate her.

Even without magic, Damian moved incredibly fast, the large sword that had just a moment before been sheathed free and moving through the air. Damian had spent the last two months training more than his magic, he'd maintained the same martial training regimen that he'd used for the last eight years, though training in the mountains had allowed for new agility and reflex training that Magnolia couldn't offer. As he closed the distance, he feinted with a slash from the left before flipping over the Frenzy Plant mage and slicing low, intending to make her either leap up or dance back. He followed the low slice up with a rising slash aimed to rend the woman from hip to shoulder. Having finished this series of attacks, he back flipped away, landing and bringing Durandal up into a guarded position.

From his position, he could see that his fusillade of attacks hadn't served him as well as he might have hoped. With two blades, Hyun had been able to set aside one for the faint, wait for his needless acrobatic display to end, and block the ankle cutter with a vertical katana. At that point her other sword had been fully available for action, and it had served her well by providing a surface for Durandal to slide along and away from her body. The former queen of Seven was thirty-six years of age; she'd been pushing herself to her limits and beyond well before Damian was in diapers. Even in exile, she'd never stopped improving, fixated upon her obsession. More often than not, those fights had been against men, bigger and stronger than her, and often using larger weapons. A greatsword, even one that looked suspiciously like dragonbone, did not impress her.

As Damian was wasting time flipping, Hyun was moving. She dashed, low to the ground, to where he was going to land. The instant that he brought Durandal into a defensive position, he was called upon to use it. Using her right katana, she pushed the greatsword toward his body. If he didn't push back, he wouldn't have enough room to use it as anything more than a shield, and if he did, he'd be concentrating all his force in a single direction. The other katana swooped in from below, aimed at the side of Damian's knee to cut down his mobility.

Damian made a mental note to maybe bring his own twin blades next time, though he'd left the pair of cutlasses sitting back in his room in the guild hall. She was fast and took advantage of her ability to attack from two directions to his one and slammed one katana against Durandal's edge, trying to force it against him, while bring her other around for a strike at his knee. In this moment, time seemed to slow down for him as he considered all his options. Alright, if I try to push my way out of this blade lock, I leave myself exposed to her second blade. If I try to stop the second blade with my hand, that gives her leverage. But it's gotta go if we're going to be fighting on equal terms. So, let's try something.

Letting go of Durandal's hilt with his free left hand, and it was fortunate that he was both right hand dominant and able to wield most swords single handed, he caught the second blade while dropping to one knee. Doing his best to shift his grip around on the hilt of her blade, he did a quick twisting motion, using Durandal to leverage the katana locked against it towards the ground as he came back up to stand up once more with her arms crossed and their blades effectively locked downwards. With a grunt, he twisted the arm he was holding on to, giving her two options, let go of the sword and not have any broken bones or earn a broken wrist and let go of it anyways.

A small, frustrated noise escaped from Hyun's throat. Evidently, the Blade of Phoenix Wing preferred to use his hands. No matter. It had been a mistake to try and deprive her of one sword while only trying to push the other toward the ground. Hyun withdrew her right-hand katana from Durandal, leaving it in an awkward one-handed position, and executed a forward flip, using Damian's grip on her hand in part to keep her from falling down. Her left-hand katana flew into the air, thrown to keep her wrist supple for a second longer. When she landed, it was Damian's arm that was twisted, and hers that was straight. She spun away from him, yanking her wrist from his strenuous clutch and simultaneously bringing her right foot around to kick off the flat surface Durandal's side offered. Her backward leap put her a meter away from Damian and her left-hand katana -Kwang Gae- fell blade-first into the ground. In a fluid motion, she spun halfway around, drawing Kwang Gae, and returned to her stance.

Well that didn't work. Damian did his best to keep up with the oriental woman, but his entire strategy backfired, starting with when she moved the katana locked with Durandal and making him shift his right hand into a weird position to keep his grip. When she flipped forward, she forced him to follow and he ended up in the opposite position of what he had intended as she threw her other katana up into the air. Well, I take that back, it sorta-crap. He cursed to himself as she spun and pulled her wrist free before kicking off of Durandal which caused Damian to stumble a bit. He brought the weapon up into another guard position as she drew her other sword from the ground and sighed. Back to square one.

"Hm." The beggar queen began to spin as she jumped forward, bringing down one katana and then the other in an overhead, then diagonal slash. Her blades shone in the morning sunlight, but her face was drawn with stress.

Damian moved quickly, side stepping the over head slash and the bringing his own sword up to deflect the diagnal slash off to his right. Sliding a couple inches from the impact, Damian countered with a series of thrusts and slashes as he got in close again before bringing Durandal down in his own diagnal slash aimed once more to slice from shoulder to hip. As he came back from that, he spun a full 360 degrees to give his next blow, a powerful overhead slice, more force as he brought it down towards Hyun.

Seeing that her double attack had been cut off, Hyun moved to defend herself, but not quickly enough. She gritted her teeth as Durandal's arc sheared through her sleeve and nicked her skin before she could steer it away with Chon Ji, the right-hand katana. The wound burned on contact with the air, more than it should have been--a byproduct of the blade's material, perhaps? As Damian span, she landed and made a quick cut at his undefended knee, before hopping back. She backpedal swiftly, moving out of Durandal's range and a blow that could have split her skull. Instead, it bit into the hard-packed sand, and Hyun jumped. She leaped over Durandal, using the weight of her katanas to give her a backward spin, and endeavor to connect her heel to Damian's chin and possibly even knock him out if he didn't leaned back. Still, the kick-flip brought a slight cheer from the crowd for its style, and as Hyun landed again she brought both swords vertically upward, targeting Damian's upper arms.

Damian afforded himself a small mental smile as the trade off of blows finally starting to show with a clipping blow to her left shoulder. he didn't get to enjoy it long as she caught him mid spin. The blow landed on his knee and he winced slightly. It wasn't a deep wound, but it stung, likely a little payback for the wound he gave her on her shoulder. He didn't know what inflicting a would with Durandal did, but he finally had real definitive proof that the edge would do it's job if ever needed. As the sword impacted the ground, much to the woman's credit, she used it as a spring board to land a kick to his chin. "Oof!" Stumbling back, he tightened his grip on his sword and the momentum helped him pull it free. He couldn't understand it, but something about the blow got under his skin. So he decided to be a little reckless. He placed both hands on Durandal's hilt and put the sword behind him, waiting as she came in to strike again, letting the blows to his upper arms connect, though his leather and plate armor helped keep them from going too deep. Now!

Damian used his shoulder to knock her back and off balance, building a bit of momentum to go with the strike. He swung wide and then up, bringing Durandal up and then down towards Hyun. As she brought up her twin katanas to block the blow, he turns the flat of the blade towards her instead, battering through her defenses and landing on her head, stunning her. Pivoting on his left foot, he balled his fist up and slammed it into her chest, sending her flying back towards the wall of the arena.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------^you^

Though the sand was hard-packed, it flew nonetheless when Hyun tumbled into it, a good half-dozen meters from her opponent. She slid along the ground, sputtering, until she sagged to a stop. It was a few seconds before she rolled over into her front and pushed herself to her knees. She stuck Chon Ji into the ground and leaned against it, breathing heavily. "I..." she coughed unsteadily, and composed herself. Her breathing normalized somewhat as she murmured, "I will not allow myself to be broken and cast out into the gutters to drown in a wineglass. Not a second time." As she regained her feet to the applause of the spectating Frenzy Plant soldiers, it was clear that her emotional restraint had lessened somewhat. Anger and fear had found their way onto her features, but they paled in comparison to a more brilliant spark: a desperate determination. "Until my arms and legs are as heavy as stone...and my mind crumbles for want of resolution...and this sand is red with every drop of my blood...I will fight with everything I have. I cannot let my legacy end here, Blade. You're a most worthy opponent, but I must defeat you. Round one was yours, but the final round remains. Mundane Spark!" Another white spark splashed against Damian; Hyun was ready to begin again.

Damian didn't try to dodge the spark this time, already aware of what it was. As she took her ready stance, he took one as well, sliding into a stance that put a little more weight on his rear leg and Durandal poised tip first towards Hyun. Seeing she had nothing else to say, he didn't wait, once more lunging forward to close the distance with the dual katana user and bringing his large blade to bear with a horizontal cut aimed at her waist. As he'd expected, she avoided the blow by moving back out of it's range. He blocked an overhead attack with the armor plates on his forearm, pushing the two swords back and bringing his own back around and clashing with both blades against his one. The exchange was brief and Damian slid back from it, reaffirming his grip on his sword's hilt before dashing forward again. He uses it to knock aside the twin katana's and then attacks in a quick series of thrusts, slashes, kicks, and punches, even throwing in a couple of pommel strikes to keep her on her toes.

Though her self-restraint had been shaken, Hyun remained very much in control of her technique. Rather than attempt to resist the torque imparted to her by Damian's initial pushblock, she allowed the momentum to move her around in a pirouette until she stood in her initial position once more. The next few moments were hectic and dangerous, but Hyun kept pace with Damian. Both warriors had been fighting from early ages, and what advantage the beggar queen could boast in experience, the Blade of Phoenix Wing could counter with youth, size, and strength. The two engaged in a delicate, lethal dance back and forth, blocking thrusts and counterattacking, answering slashes with two, and lashing out with her own extremities when moments presented themselves, though she did not deign to stray from swordsmanship as much as her opponent. In only a few short moment, both fighters gained a slew of new cuts and bruises, but nothing so debilitating as to prevent further exchange.

Throwing one last punch, Damian backflips away and comes up ready once more, waiting on her to move again.

Hyun ducked beneath the wild fist, and seeing that Damian was stepping off, took a moment to steady her breathing. A lifetime of dedication to the warrior's path had instilled in her a remarkable endurance, but against this calibur of foe even that wouldn't hold out much longer. More than ever, the eyes of the spectators were boring into her, those in the colosseum and those far beyond. It was time to finish this.

Frenzy Plant's champion ki-yied, a ferocious spirit yell and battle cry, and moved in. She leaped into the air in a spiral, and began to spin horizontally. Her katanas sheared through the air around her, faster and more lethal than a magicopter's blades, and in a whirring cyclone of steel she descended at a slight angle toward her foe.

Damian watched as the oriental woman ascended into the air and then began spinning at incredible speeds before descending towards him. If he had to guess, this was her all in attack or something akin to it. He didn't know why, but rather than risk one of their blades be shorn by the resulting clash, he tried to put as much distance between him and the attack as possible. And in the end, it prevented his defeat then and there. Her twin katanas sliced through the steel plating that he'd added to the chest of his armor quickly and easily and the leather even more so, and he silently made note to used hardened leather next time. In addition to the now ruined armor, he winced as he could feel the blades leaving a number of shallow gashes along his chest. And then she stopped, her blades in a position that left her wide open, Damian grabbed his chance to secure the win.

Bringing the blunt side of Durandal to bear, he slammed it into Hyun's side, knocking her away from him and off balance from the unexpected attack. He then charged forward, but rather than follow it up with a slash of his blade, he sheathed the dragon's fang weapon and used his fists, delivering a quick series of punches to her chest and gut and finishing off with a round house kick to the side of the head. His opponent did not idly allow this to happen; she dodged and dipped as much as her growing fatigue would allow, and even maneuvered her blades into the paths of his strikes several times. The final kick, however, caught her by surprise and caused stars to blossom in her vision. As she stumbled again, he drew Durandal once more and brought the pommel up towards her chin, intending to knock the Oriental woman off her feet. Whether the blow connected or not, he got inches from her, his blade poised to strike again. "Do you yield?"

On her knees. Could there be any more humiliating or crushing a position for a monarch, particularly one deprived of her rightful rule, to be in? She appeared to fight for breath, chest heaving. Looking like that, it was hard to believe even for her allies that her defeat wasn't imminent.

A few moments later, however, of Phoenix Wingers' wild cheering, Hyun permitted herself a slight smile. "You must not have heard. A blade flashed upward, throwing Durandal off and forcing its wielder back. The entire time that Hyun had been writhing on the ground, she'd been working her way to her dropped katana; her breathing, though admittedly heavy, had been exaggerated to make Damian feel secure. The champion of the Sasithom clan rose to her feet. "I would sooner die than yield. Without this victory, I have nothing left to live for."

Damian slid a couple inches back and gave the merest shake of his head. He should have known she'd be too damn prideful. "We're both bruised and battered and worse for wear, but this is over, Hyun. There is no dishonor in admitting defeat." Still, he could see that she wasn't about to give in, so he moved forward again, sheathing Durandal as she attempted a dual scissor cut, which he slid in beneath. Off-balance and too tired to correct herself, Hyun was powerless to stop what came next. As he came to a stop, he slammed one open palm into her left armpit just beneath the the joint, dislodging her shoulder and making the connected arm useless, all while doing his best to ignore her agonized scream. Pivoting on his right knee, he grasps her other arm and throws his weight into a throw as he twisted the arm. The result put her on her back with a mighty thud. He took the momentary stun this provided to knock both her katanas out of her reach and then plant his butt on her gut.

Once he was sure she wouldn't be able to use her one good shoulder to get free, he pulled Durandal free once more and put the edge to her throat. "I ask again. Do. You. Yield?" She was in need of medical attention, the inherent traits of Durandal's owner still uncertain and she had several cuts from it. For all he knew, she could be dying and neither knew it.

Tears ran over Hyun's face, upside-down. If she heard Damian's voice or felt the impassionate sting of his dragonblade against her skin, she took no notice of them. "It's all...come crumbling...down." As the pain wracked her body like so many red-hot, twisting knives, her fading voice dropped to a whisper. "Don't...wake me up..."

And then nothing at all.

Magni was quite happy with some sort of camping site instead of sleeping on some sort of bed. He had lived most of his life sleeping on the ground and surviving off of what nature would give him. True, it was hard to live in more hazardous areas, but whatever didn't kill the Antimage, it made him stronger. He also didn't really help constructing the camp at all, he mainly just believes that everyone should do their own work for themselves, it seems tedious at first, but it helped Magni become who he is today... Not sure if that is really a good thing though. However, he did sit at the bonfire for quite some time before sleeping, he almost seemed entranced by the blazing fire. Magni almost put his hand into the fire, but it recoiled away as his fingers grazed the beast of destruction. After that little incident, he merely just slept on the ground near the trees, nothing to cushion his sleep and his sleeping pose was quite strange was he was tightly packed in one area. His arms were clamped to his sides, legs almost glued together, and Magni has yet to remove his mask during his sleep which must be uncomfortable at some point.

The Antimage awoke before most could murmur out some words for more sleep. By instinct, Magni messed up his sleeping spot and made it look like no one was sleeping there at all. He spent some time hunting for his own food as usual to his old schedule and spent the rest of the time before the big announcement either eating or cleaning his equipment for there was a little blood splattered across his armor and blades. However, once the horn was finally blown, he followed anyone that seemed to know they were going to General Sanders. The speech was slightly inspiring, but not really enough to get him pumped for fighting for his life inside of a blood soaked arena. Well, he was glad that the fighting had finally started as he can get excited with mortal combat instead of riddles.

When the rounds finally seemed to start, Magni was less interested in the maze as he was merely paying half attention to the entire event. Seriously, when you have fierce warriors, why isn't the entire thing about fighting? It would make things a lot more exciting for the crowd. Well, it seemed like his angry mumbling were finally answered due to the first fight seeming to go ahead and it was... Hyun! And some other guy that he didn't really care about. The Antimage has been quite ecstatic to see the main Frenzy Plant fighters in action, finally to see what he was up against when he battles these titans. The other teams would know the true power of constant training and amazing willpower. So, Magni just got comfortable in his seat as he knew this match was going to be good.

When the battle finally started, his exterior showed no emotion. He just sat there looking over to see the action and his pose was merely his arms crossed together on his chest, almost as if he was judging the entire fight. However, on the inside he was mentally cheering on Frenzy Plant to win the fight. He still had trouble expressing his emotions.

The entire fight was fast, neither would give room for mistake as it would end their careers inside of this glorious tournament. Both seemed to not successfully hit each other for the time that had passed, they seemed to only be blocking, countering, and dodging attacks at the moment. Magni would like to see some wounds on the battle field without them it was merely a spar between two powerful warriors and nothing else. Once again, his thoughts were answered as Hyun finally managed to get the first strike on the opponent, a slice to the knee which would most likely limit his mobility. After that, she went the full mile and sprang a kick straight into the chin! The Antimage smirked under his mask, it was quite easy to see who would win here. The first wound would always determine the victor inside of his fights in the past. The resulting battle seemed almost a constant blur as the two warriors seemed to give it their all inside of the very close quarter fight. Magni peered closer, his arms gripping his chest even harder and his fingers digging into his palms. However, something happened, something bad. The Antimage saw as Hyun was on her knees from a strong kick and within the mercy of her opponent. Magni's eye twitched, his teeth grinding against each other and his mind was telling him that the scene seemed to be familiar. He subconsciously growled out something that was said to him long ago in his childhood. "Get up, get up and kill him."

And right before his eyes, Hyun had lost. The Antimage suddenly stood up, anyone could tell he was seething in rage, every part of his body wanted to rip the head off the winner. Past urges getting inside of his head, the emotion making his mind weak. However, he suddenly went still and started to breath deeply. Magni would not lose control, not in a place like this with so many people. Magni's breathing quivered and soon gradually became calmer with every breath. After that, he sat down as if nothing had just happened with him and crossed his arms for the next round to start.

The silence was palpable. Even before the decisive blow had been struck, a new mood had settled over the colosseum. They had come today expecting entertainment, sportsmanship, and talent; they received instead a near-battle to the death of utmost seriousness. A little after halfway through, the crowd had stopped cheering except for decisive moments, when one fighter struck a powerful blow or stood back up after sustaining one. And when it was all over, the unconscious broken body of Frenzy Plant's champion lying still in the sand, only a few brave souls dared to cheer.

More than a few eyes turned toward the stands where the members of the soldier guild were standing. They beheld something rather frightening: an entire guild, seething with rage. From the looks on their faces, one would have been forgiven for thinking that every man and woman among them was about to leap from the benches into the arena, chase Damian down, and rip him limb from limb. There was a clanking noise as Xyster's Harvester appeared, as it always did when the Dullahan wanted to hurt someone. The rest was grumbles, growls, and muttered threats.

But the soldiers didn't move. Instead, their anger began to ebb. They were too well trained to release their ire in furious bellows, or to thrash around, or to charge forward and exact revenge. Other guilds might have done so, but this one was stronger than that. Sure, Hyun had seen them as tools at first, barely even thanking them for saving her from drowning in her wine, but in the following years she'd become a strong ally and fast friend to nearly all of them. Seeing her put down so indignantly, and her dream crushed, hurt the entire guild. But they would not stoop so low as to be petty about it.

There came a noise.

Donk, donk, donk, donk donk.

Zander had produced his dongers, and was smacking them against one another to produce the loud, reverberating sound. At first he was looked on with astonishment, but soon after, understanding. Before long, the other team members, and then finally the entire guild, had raised their dongers and joined him in a tribute, not for the man still standing, but the woman who'd fallen, hoping never to awaken.

Afterward, they were seated. But Xyster's scythe remained summoned, Indigo's eyes narrowed, Zander's mouth frowning, and most of all Demetri's forearms smoldering and shimmering with the barely-contained heat of a volcano. Anyone around them knew, that sooner or later, Damian would pay, an eye for an eye.

Damian didn't wait long after Hyun fell unconscious that Damian moved. Most in the crowd assumed the Blade of Phoenix Wing would leave the field and not bother with the fallen wizard, letting her deal with her problems herself. But no, he sheathed the large dragon fang blade and called to a guild mate. "Zenoram, get down here!" He'd already set to getting some small pieces of first aid gear, but the sound of a weapon being drawn in the stands did not escape his ears, though it wasn't any sound he was familiar with. And he rounded on the other guild. He met the eyes of each Frenzy Plant member as they looked into the arena, and shook his head at what he saw. He knew that there were lacrima planted in key areas around the arena to catch every movement and sound. And he decided to use this time to address Frenzy Plant directly.

"Frenzy Plant, the guild of soldiers. Men and women who share the same bond of camaraderie that Phoenix Wing, Dragon Fang and the other guilds here share with each other but claim to be all the better because they have the discipline of a military unit. And yet, I see the same sense of anger that would take Phoenix Wing if Hyun's and I's positions were switched. I understand that anger, I would feel it myself under the circumstances. But she did not fail like you think. She might think so, but thrones and the loyalties of royal subjects are fleeting and change on a whim. Where as the bonds she has forged as a member of your guild are lasting and much stronger. Here, she's not just another noble who's got her eyes on the throne, she's a person who you all care about and would put your lives on the line for.

You payed tribute to her. But she still lost, and no matter what I have to say, you can't forgive that. So, rather than risk my guild members and teammates getting caught in the crossfire, I'll meet any one of you in single combat in a location of your choice. But we fight without magic, as Hyun and I fought. I'll see you at the end of today's festivities."

He returned to patching up the wounds on Hyun after retrieving her katanas and their scabbards, letting Zero, search for and extract any poison that might have come from Durandal from the wounds. He wouldn't let his guildmates be put in danger because a group of wizards claiming to be soldiers decided they had a chip on their shoulders at the fact that one of their own lost. But he also knew that it was only fair, as he didn't think Hyun would want a rematch at the end of all this, if she ever found it in her to wake up.

Wrapping the last bit of bandage around the cut on her arm, he waved off the medics who were trying to see to his own wounds as he lifted the unconscious woman off the ground, keeping the arm he'd dislocated braced against himself. "I've had much worse than this, I'm fine. Just point me to the infirmary." The medics hesitated but finally nodded and he patted Zero's shoulder in thanks as he followed them. This was going to be a long week.

Zami - The Bubble Magician

____________

The Grand Magic Games

Sitting in the crowd Zami anxiously looked around to make sure that none of the guards were on to his infiltration to the games. Normal entry cost jewels...jewels he didn't currently have so he improvised. Thankfully he seemed to be in the clear. Seeing that he floated in while the weather was overcast, it was no surprise he got away with it to be honest. His gray attire blends in with an overcast sky pretty well and floating in a clear bubble made it difficult to see nor hear him enter. Zami was thrilled to see the games underway. He figured he could learn a lot watching the powerful magic of others while at the same time getting an idea of what the guilds he hasn't experienced before were like. He enjoys travelling and staying with new friends on a daily basis but he couldn't deny it to himself, he needed a home and he had a feeling this was where he could find it.

Zami sat there as the two sword mages delved into each other. The tension between the two competitors at the beginning made it look like it was gonna be a promising fight but he did not expect it to be so...aggressive. Exchanges were happening so fast, he couldn't make out who was winning or losing. After a quick look around to ensure everyone was focused on the fight, Zami put his hands into his bag to hide the magic circle produced as he conjured a lens bubble, hoping he wasn't noticed, certain that some people might take issue with the use of magic by a member of the crowd, let alone a member who, in fact, sneaked in. He peered through the bubble, gently adjusting his grip to change the curve of the bubble to get the correct magnification. He was amazed to see that neither of the fighters were bleeding after so many attacks. Then he saw it, the woman had drawn first blood. "Fair play" he thought to himself as she abruptly introduced her feet into the man's jaw. Through the lens Zami could swear he actually saw the guy get lifted about 20cm into the air for a split second before retaliating furiously. The fight continued but it wasn't very long at all until the Phoenix Wing swordsman gained the upper hand and stopped. Zami couldn't hear but he watched intently at what looked like some form of mercy. Then the woman seemed to pass out, he wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that the battle was over and the man called Damian stood victorious.

It wasn't the victory that impressed Zami though. It was the sense of honour he got from Damian. This meant that so far, Phoenix Wing was winning over his interest. He was gonna be sure to keep an eye out for whoever this guy talks to. Damian's guild master had to be here somewhere and Zami had no idea what they looked like. If he wanted to meet the guild master, Zami knew he had to keep a keen eye out. He smiled and got up to walk around and stretch his legs. For now, Zami was happy to wait and see what was to come, after all...he was merely considering the Phoenix Wing guild as a potential home and had by no means made up his mind after only one fight. He knew better. There are plenty more guilds here capable of grabbing his interest.

Trinity watched with a certain solemn reservation, as the day's contestants went through their trials and tribulations. She frowned, thoughtful, reflecting inwardly as her comrades faced their fears. Fear, huh? Rose and her mother, that one there and her past... Jack, was it? She considered herself. It wasn't fair that these eight had to face their fears alone, for everyone to see. Maybe it wouldn't help them directly, but it was the thought that counts, right?

So she reflected, leaping up to the ledge next to Jamie and the rest of the guild's seating to sit. Her fear... she's felt it gnawing at the edge of mind in the past. What if her father was dead? And she'd been searching for naught? It was a daunting thought, but-

Just then, she saw Mithera alight to Master Jamie's shoulder. She gasps, a smile spreading across her lips. "Aaah~, so cute!" She steps in close to Jamie's side, holding her hand up for Mithera to smell before she'd go to pet the small creature. "Hello~, aren't you adorable?"

She pet Mithera for a few moments, if allowed, before her eyes turned back to the challenge. Her eyes were drawn to Jack's, studying the woman's fight as it came to a close. "There are certainly a few..."


Ryan considered how he should phrase the rest of that thought, "... interesting people in this tournament." He shoves the final bite of his meal into his mouth, resigned to not being able to catch that girl on the screen again. However, it then showed Phoenix Wing B, just for a moment for Damian's victory. "There. Petting the cute thing." Ryan pointed the girl out, and Kracko turned to spot her.

"White hair?"

"Yeah." Ryan finished his beer and leaned back in his seat. Maybe he should get dessert for the two of them? They had more work ahead of them, and important research to conduct...


Fears? What did fears have to do with weapons or forges? Or any of this, for that matter? Sure, this was a big event, but she just didn't understand what her boss was thinking, sending a reporter from a weapons and smithing magazine to a Magic festival. She'd have nothing to report on! She got a great seat, too... it'd be a waste to dip out. An insult to her boss, even! She couldn't do thaaaat. And waste his money as salt in the wound.

So she watched. It was really quite moving, if a little... uncomfortable... to watch these individuals overcome their fears. She wished she wished she had time to prepare for something so voyeuristic, but there it was. That assassin woman - or the woman that was once an assassin - had an interesting fight. What was that she was fighting with? And being attacked by? Daggers made from the mist? How interesting... she wondered how the edge was formed.

And then, and then! The fight after everyone cleared the round! Damian from Phoenix Wind and Hyun from Frenzy Plant. They were going to face off, and both were sword fighters? When she realized that, she saw what her boss was thinking. Magic weapons! She got poised to write, watching the fight closely. As the fight carried on, after taking notes of both combatants fighting and weapons, she comes to a realization. Neither were using magic. Though their weapons were impressive, were they not supposed to be magical? The fight intensifies, and her concerns are dashed as she realizes these two don't need magic to show their weapons as impressive.

She would have plenty to report on.

Jack had not answered Jackie right away until they had made it back to their seats. When they had, he turned to her. "Nothing, because these games are simply that, games. There is no proof you were ever at any of the jobs you did and so the Magic Council can't hold that against you."

As Damian made his way out of the arena, he found the exit crowded by little figures. Wood, cloth, clay, straw...they were all dolls, some with button eyes, some with pins in, some hilariously misshapen, but the playthings of children and witches nonetheless. In response to the Blade's approach, the little things lurched and stirred to life, too slowly and feebly to possibly be mistaken as threatening. Unsteadily they achieved their feet, and stood huddled, as if waiting for Damian to pass through the door.

He was beaten to it, however, by a squat figure in white furs and mask. She waved away the other two medics. The dark, narrow eyes of the mask regarded limp form of Hyun with a look of permanent intrigue, though the emotion that flowed from behind it was very different. ”Poor girl's had a rough day,” she said in a sorrowful, motherly tone. Morimato Tsubano raised her staff, singsonging something under her breath, and the senseless woman began to float out of Damian's grasp. ”I'll take it from here. I'm the guild healer, you see. For the Games, I joined the Crocus medics. They've got some good stuff, but nothing like my Marsh Songs.” Slowly and gently, using a sublime, multicolored, misty light emanating from her lanterns, she buoyed Hyun down to where her dolls stood, hands stretched upward to receive. In response to the activation of Tsubano's lanterns, their own hands pulsed with a similar glow, and where they touched the pain was subsided and the tissues kept from jostling together.

Tsubano began to walk down the hallway after her dolls, keeping the stream of light swirling around her patient. She paused, however, and looked back at Damian for a moment. ”I heard your challenge. Maybe you should walk with me, and I can tell you a little about how the people I know feel."

Damian knew that there was a number of interpretations for what he'd just said and he expected a rather long line of Frenzy Plant mages to be knocking on his door after the last of today's battles was done. But he knew that the matter would never be allowed to rest until they got whatever they determined was equal to fair play for today. However, before he could continue too far with the train of thought, he noticed the dolls standing and moving and the masked woman approach him.

He didn't argue when she took Hyun and had turned to follow anyways when the woman suggested he walk with her and listen to what she had to say. "Well, it's better than walking in awkward silence, I'll admit that." Matching the woman's stride, Damian walked in silence for a couple minutes before speaking. "For the record, I entered that arena with no intention of destroying anyone's dreams."

Beneath the mask Tsubano's expression was inscrutable, but by her tone she didn't seem too upset. "Yes, yes. But someone had to win that fight, and it wasn't going to be her. She could take on nearly anyone under the sun with her magic and her sword skill, but she reached too far with you." The witch sighed, looking down at Hyun's face, frozen in a look of desperation. "She hasn't been improving for about eight months, you know. She reached the peak of her ability. I spoke to Zander, and we agreed that she probably could retake her throne at this point. At least, she could defeat the enemy leader. After her defeat, she had no army, and no matter how strong a single woman can't win a war. She was afraid of going back, and losing again. I think she needed this. Not the defeat, but the fight. Win or lose, she needed something to change. Either to become proud enough to return home and try again, or to be humbled enough to banish the thoughts of home, queenship, and her family altogether. She'll be better off, if she ever awakens. Unfortunately, I don't suspect she will."

Tsubano and her horde of dolls reached a room. They transposed Hyun from the critters' clutches to the bed, and Tsubano sang an eerie, chanting song. The croaks of frogs and songs of crickets could be heard as an ethereal music played along, filling the air with damp fog and blotting out the electric lights. When it had gone, Hyun's wounds went with it, but true to the witch's prediction Hyun did not awaken. "She has lost the will to live," Tsubano diagnosed remarkably matter-of-factly, as if describing a dead rat she'd found. "I will have to find other methods." Shuffling to the side, she motioned for Damian to lean close.

"Frenzy Plant may not ever take you up on your challenge. Until today they've never seen a swordsman more ruthless or powerful than Hyun, and your display knocked her out of the water. You've terrified them." She paused to let that sink in. "Zander might try you later, but perhaps not. He has incorporated his magic into his swordsmanship style, and if there is the slightest chance he will lose, he will not commit. Kilo and Mercury are both physical powerhouses, and plenty angry, but they will not chance it either. If there is anyone you should be worried about, it is Demetri and Xyster. The former once beat our guild master in a fit of rage far less warranted than this, and Xyster's Reaper magic simply happens when its prerequisites are met. Surely you heard her manifest her scythe? She did not control that. If she wants to hurt someone, it happens. Both have hidden depths of power, not too unlike the 'Second Origin' phenomenon I've been hearing disturbing rules about. Even if they do not challenge you, they will not hold back against any of your allies, reasoning that all of your guild members are like you. Every tale we've heard about Phoenix Wing seemingly confirms it. I'm not so sure of you myself, but then, I'm crazy. I'm sure the Blade of Phoenix Wing will have no problem from a bunch of measly claimers." She cackled and left, leaving her dolls strewn around the room.

Outside, she passed a thin teenager in a gray shirt and purple cloak. He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed, and a wide smile was on his face. He didn't move as the witch passed, but clearly he had heard the whole thing.

Damian watched the old witch leave and sighed, taking a seat next to his unconscious opponent and looking at her. After all he'd done, he was still able to find someone who'd describe him as terrifying. In hind sight, someone of his age, even as a kid, displaying the kind of skill his father had at thirty plus years of age could be described as terrifying, even if Damian had never used the description. But now...his whole guild was at risk and it was his own fault. Terrifying? Is that what that really was to them? Hell, I just wasn't going to go down without a fight...

With another sigh, he stood and looked to Hyun, watching her breathing a moment before leaving the room. However, the boy standing outside the door drew his attention. "Any reason you're stalking around outside the infirmary?"

The bespectacled kid chortled, putting on a derisive expression. "My friend, you just won the biweekly 'how many things can ya say wrong in a single question' award! Big honor, lemme tell you. But first, lemme tell you that this entire part of the building's the infirmary, I haven't even tried to be stealthy, and I haven't moved in three minutes. But yeah, if I'm to strangle that ridiculously-misconstrued abomination of a sentence into decent language, I do have a reason for being here. It is, however, on a need-to-know basis. Fortunately for you, since I'm not in the mood for dislocations today, you need to know! Hyun here's an old friend, I've had her best interests at heart as long as I've known her. Thought I'd pay her a special visit. Hah hah hah!...entendre." He offered Damian a dazzlingly white, stunningly sincere smile, and readjusting his glasses in a very self-secure manner.

"More importantly, any reason you're sittin' around inside the infirmary? Don't you have precious guildmates to try and convince that you did the right thing by rearranging my pal's bones? I bet the lovely Penny's just pining for your reassurance right about now. Perhaps if you were to stay here with my friend, I oughta go and say hi to yours. Let her know the Blade's sympathizing with the enemy." In two months, seemingly, Nero had changed. Not only had he not gone through with his initial plan that he'd confided in Damian, but he'd grown even more unabashedly snarky. He was being truthful, however. Some time ago he had met Hyun at the Frenzy Fort, and at the moment he wanted nothing more than to be alone with her.

Damian grimaced and repressed his inner urge to deck the suddenly familiar face's state of consciousness into that of unconsciousness. "Should have known I'd run into you here. As for her bones, the worst of it was a dislocated shoulder which has been healed. In case you missed it, I tried to get her to back down and she wouldn't. But I'm not in the mood to argue with a diluted genie in any case. Floor's all yours." And with that, Damian reclasped the cloak bearing Phoenix Wing's emblem around his neck and headed back towards where Phoenix Wing Team B was, but then decided to redirect to where the rest of the guild was watching from to converse with Master Jamie. He needed to know so he could tell Team A about the sudden difficulty increase for them in the games.

Stopping at the door to the infirmary, Damian looks back towards where Hyun and Nero were. "Pacifice honesteque, Hyun. You've earned your share of both." And then he was gone.

Nero entered the room and stood over the still body of Hyun. A strange, almost hungry look passed over his face. Slowly, and very delicately, he reached a pristine white-gloved hand toward her. The fingers brushed against her stomach, and then went inside, passing through the skin as if it were water. He rooted around within for a few seconds, then took hold of something and with definite precision pulled it out.

Catching his breath, he lifted the thing up, dangling it in the air. It was a grotesque, gray-blue tumor, covered with branching spindly growths. When looking at it, Nero got the sense that it was horrible enough to devour hope. Eagerly, he plopped it onto the nightstand before jabbing Hyun's side. "Wakey wakey, swordmaiden."

Hyun's eyes flashed open, and she flinched, blinking. It was a moment before her eyes focused. She recognized Nero's face, but not his name. "You.." Then she caught sight of the awful thing on the bedside table. "Ach! What is that?"

Nero crossed his arms. "That...was your despair. Look at it! Grody! It's been festerin' inside you for a long time. A few minutes ago, it got a growth surge, and it woulda been terminal if I hadn't come along. I'm not here about that, though. I've got a present for you. The witch said you reached your full potential a while back, but I've got a little something-something that can take your power to a whole new level." Nero reached inside his pouch and pulled out a glowing, golden diamond prism. He grinned at it a little too wildly, for it represented his conquest. "Turns out the Law of Manifestation doesn't just work on traits. It works on spells too. I really had to get a guy way in my debt to get this. But desperate people will do anything for a solution, won't they?"

The swordswoman shivered. "What are you saying?

"I'm saying that before I arrived, you lost the will to live. You let despair consume you. Now I'm doing you a big-time favor, but it doesn't come free. I'm cutting your despair..." Suddenly, a knife flashed in Nero's hand. Hyun's eyes widened, but before she could scream, the tumor of despair shrieked instead as the blade sliced through it. "...in half. It is despair that motivates you after all. You'll have to find a way to get rid of the rest on your own." Seizing half of the tumor, Nero abruptly jammed it into Hyun's chest. She gasped as the despair returned to her; the other half withered and turned to ash. The dark mage seemed satisfied, all but for one thing.

"Now say it."

"Say what?"

"That you wish for more power. Come on, I've got to hear it, haven't I? Your first wish."

"I...I wish more power."

Nero's squinted eyes opened wide. The pupils seemed very, very small. "Your wish is granted."

Then, Nero infused his golden prism into her in the same manner, and Hyun was shocked to feel a new strength surging through her. The world, however, was growing blurry. The last thing she saw before blacking out again was Nero's smile, but the last thing she heard was:

"Now you owe me a great deal. What is the price of a new lease on life and the power of Cancellation Magic? If I ever figure it out, heh heh," the genie held his fingers up in a phone gesture. "I'll give you a ring." Then for the second time that day, Hyun's world went dark, and Nero left her to dream.

master Jamie

The battle between Damian And Huyn had been intense. Jamie watched, silent in the crowd with the rest of the guild. She studied every movement, and still couldn't tell a winner. Although Jamie knew that Damian wouldn't give up, sometimes there was nothing that you could do. Jamie started to grow worried, not because the battle was taking a long time, but because things just didn't seem to be all that they were.

When the battle was over, Jamie let out a soft breath. As the donking began, Jamie looked over to Frenzy Plant. She could tell in the way they were doing it, that it was meant as nothing more then a symbol of the fact that Huyn had failed them. And Thant infuriated Jamie.

"a guild should not treat its members so" he said angrily, Jamie had never really liked Frenzy Plant, and this just made it seem worse, although the fact that they seemed anger was worrisome to Jamie, and he looked to Damian, worried. Damian could look after himself. But not from an entire guild.

gabriel

Gabriel seemed confused why Frenzy Plant was donking their fallen member. He didn't join in, finding it preocular to say the least. Instead, he started out the stands, heading toward the medical building, knowing that by the time he reached the ground, Huyn would be being transported there.

Gabriel had always been taught that concern should be shown. Huyn had caught admirable, but there was always someone who was better then you, whether being they were simply stronger, or quicker or smarter, it didn't matter. Losing sucked, but that didn't mean you hadn't done a good job. He stepped into the infirmary, and looked about.

Something seemed wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. He went over to Hyun after a moment, and stood silently. Gabriel wasn't one to sit still for long periods of time. He gave a soft sigh. "they say unconscious people can hear what you say....I don't know if it's true or not, but...you did well: you didn't lose because you weren't strong enough, or because you weren't skilled enough. You are incredibly skilled. It just...sometimes, things have to happen for us to realize how much something means to us. I don't think anyone should wake up alone, after something like this, so I'm going to leave coda with you."

He summoned the small brown bear, and watched as he sat beside Hyun, before walking out.

michael

Michael had kept Akila summoned, wanting to spend some time with his newest spirit, watching the games, the maze and the battles. Michael was glad that he wasn't down there. He doubted he could be good enough just yet to do the guild proud, and besides, he didn't want that sort of attention.

Jarvis

Jarvis watched what happened as well, watching the skill at which Hyun fought with, knowing that it could have been Damian who had lost just as easily. But it was clear that battle would come between Frenzy plant and Phoenix Wing soon or or later. Jarvis hoped for later. Like after the games.

Jarvis would have left then, if they didn't have another guild member to watch in a fight, as well as the fact that he should watch the other matches to study the contestants styles

Sasha

Sasha had retreated from the stands, to the grounds, and shaken Lazarus awake, before moving back into the stands. Damian's battle was fast and furious, and Sasha wondered how Damian could keep at it, how he could do this, without his magic. It was fascinating, and when the battle was over, Sasha let out a sigh of relief. One team had won one battle, at least. But then she scrunched her face up with worry, thinking that it might be her going next.

penny

Penny watched the battle. She did not like the end of it, as Frenzy plants fury was quite palpable even from where they were. And then Damian went and challenged them. Penny let out a groan. Chances were, they would indeed try and extract their revenge. He was trying to be honorable, to stop the guild being hurt, but what was the point in that, if one of the others beat another of their members?

She went to rise, to follow, but Master Jamie pulled her back. "no. Stay. Let's not provoke them any further" Penny let out a growl, but sat back down, clearly not happy

Lazarus

Now awake, Lazarus watched Damian's battle. It was intense. He nudged Sasha. "It seems people can become vicious in these games." He said sternly. "Be careful if you have to fight. No opponent here will be a push over. You got that?" He eyed her.

Shujin

He had remained quiet largely that day. "Marvelous." He watched the battle with keen eyes. Both of them would've made fine editions to his squad back for the kingdom. He genuinely hoped that he could fight soon. He hadn't been in proper battle for quite some time. People do miss certain things.

Thor and the other members of Frenzy Plant had been sleeping outside for the night in comfy tents and on sleeping bags under the starry sky. Thor had chosen for a tent since it would protect against rain and annoying little pesty bugs. Thor had already been brightly awake since the beginning of sunrise to train a little more. Slacking off because of watching some silly games, that wouldn't be acceptable in any way whatsoever. Thor had been training in martial arts a little more to improve after the fight with Hyun. Using magic should only be priority two instead of one. How could Thor have been so mistaken the last few years. Thor returned to camp after a short training session with mister stray dummy and took some breakfast before heading together with the other guild members towards the arena.

It wasn't a big surprise Zander would be doing the first challenge. Zander didn't look like he had many fears, well thats only to think. Anyone can be scared of the most tiny little things but still act big about all of it. It was very clever of them to blind Zander but it also seemed a little unfair in a maze. Luckily Zander didn't come in last and left the maze without much of a scratch. Thor lightly clapped for Zander's win and they soon went on to the fights. Maybe something that could learn Thor some new techniques for their fighting style.

Hyun against Damien from the guild Phoenix Wing. Thor had been hearing some great things about Phoenix Wing, like they would be having two teams in the games. It was a plus side that they would be having two but also a downside if they would be fighting against each other only. Anyway it would sure be interesting to see the outcome of that guild. Thor focused on the fight together with the rest of their guild. There was only a little magic involved in the fight but it still was pretty interesting to see such a intense sword fight. Thor sat on the edge of their seat as the fight was drawing to it's end, Thor was pretty sure Hyun would still win despites the grip from Damien however it didn't seem like that was the case. After the plan of Hyun had failed she fell unconscious.

Thor was stunned by the yelling from close by them. It was Magni that seemed to be getting a little bit too much into the fight just like Thor. Following up with him Thor balled up their fist and looked down at the ground. Thor didn't look that happy about what happened and their negative aura grew bigger by the second. Thor felt furious for hurting the poor girl just like that. Deep in thoughts Thor only noticed a few moments later after feeling pain coming from their hand and slight dripping of blood by the short nails digging into their skin, that their guild members weren't so happy with Thor sitting so close to them. The aura that had been growing and even electrical currents between Thor and any metal object started to appear Thor started to hurt their guild members around them without even realising, Thor slowly started to drive the to other guild members away, making the others take more distance of them to stay safe from the aura. Thor gave a apologetic nod to the other members and left the spectators seat area.

Before Thor could walk any further the bonking of the other Frenzy Plant guild members made Thor smirk. This was what being in a guild felt like. The hate and anger seemed to be getting Damien his attention and Damien also looked bothered by all the anger pointed towards him. He shouldn't have done his little speech, this would only turn into a civil war between the two guilds and it would only pull out more casualties. With nothing more to listen to Thor descended down the stairs. In the time Thor descended down the stairs the aura already started to grow calmer together with Thor trying to keep the electricity from destroying everything. As they ended up on the first floor Thor started to hurry a little more towards the hospital inside the arena. In all the hurry Thor bumped into the curse mage Nero. Thor immediately stammered back by the two heads bigger mage and immediately bowed. The mage looked pretty intimidating and the fact that Thor shocked him full on might not result in anything good. Thor hurriedly walked passed him and if he did nothing else Thor would enter the hospital.

As Thor entered something remarkable sat besides the bed. A small brown bear that Thor recognised as one of Gabriel's summonses. Thor gave a small smile at the bear and circled around the bed to take place on a chair besides the bed. Thor kept the smile on their face and negated the electricity in both their hands to hold one of Hyun her hands. With nobody else nearby Thor lightly started to talk to the empress with a soft and gentle voice "Did well... rest now." Thor kept their forced smile on their face while squeezing Hyun her hand a little more "I'll Revenge" Thor remained by the bed for the time being.



Isla had been sleeping over in a hotel room for the night and had left the painting she made of the arena itself in the room for her own convenience. Day two of the magic games would be getting a little more exciting since the first fights were about to happen. Isla had been hyped all morning and went over to the arena as quick as possible to get a good place. Isla had entered the arena and the maze of fear had already passed. Luckily Isla was still in time for the fights, the fighting got her hugely hyped and she cheered for Damien from Phoenix Wing. Her cheering was loud enough to annoy the other people sitting around her but it only made her smirk. While the fights went on Isla caught hold on one of the spectators. He was sneakily getting something out of his bag to get a closer look at the fight but this didn't bother Isla right now since she was more interested in the fight then him. Isla hyperly clapped and stood up taking a step towards the railing for the win of Damien.

Isla happily smiled and grabbed all her stuff that she had placed on the seat next to her. As she had gathered her bags with paintings and paint Isla sneakily headed over to the boy sitting at the seats not far away from her. Isla stood next to the boy and slowly lowered her face to his face so close by as possible. Isla dipped one of her fingers in the can of paint hanging by her side and drew a red circle on his cheek
"B-u-s-t-e-d~" Isla had a big smirk on her face as she drew the circle on his face. Isla sat besides him while keeping her eyes on his face and kept her face close to his to see how he reacts.

Before Zami could get up to stretch his legs, he felt a strange warmth near his face just before he felt a wet sensation on his cheek and heard a girl's voice spell the word "busted". His face seized up in panic. "Ohhhhhhh noooooo...a girl caught me?! What did she see?! Is she a guard?...no, she can't be...can she?". Zami's thoughts were racing due to the panic. Question after question after question. He had to calm down and pay attention. He took a few slow breaths. Quickly he began thinking calmly again and realised that maybe the girl wasn't a guard and wasn't gonna rat him out. That's what he hoped so he ran with it. Zami slowly turned his head to face the girl.

She seemed harmless. Her smirk was suspicious though. His eyes glanced down and noticed the painting gear. He smiled at her briefly before raising a quizzical eyebrow and pointed at her, then to the paint and then to his cheek. Before she could interpret his actions, he glanced back to his bubble lens, closed his eyes and altered the lens, turning it back into a regular bubble form before it began to turn from clear to chromatic and shiny. He used this mirror bubble to see the red circle on his cheek and he giggled.
In an attempt to ask why the red circle, Zami looked at the girl once more, pointed at his cheek again, smirked and gave her another quizzical look.

Unaware of what had just happened back in the infirmary area, he continued on to the Phoenix Wing stands area and looked around a bit before finding Master Jamie. Approaching her, he sat next to the guild master after giving Penny a quick hello kiss. "I spoke with Frenzy Plant's guild healer, they joined the medics to help heal all the wounded. She said that they would treat the rest of our guild like they were like me, and it's my fault. I didn't realize that we were competing against a guild full of assumption makers."

Summoning a partially formed blade with his magic, he lets it float in front of him as he thinks on what exactly had happened both in the arena and afterwords. Guess he'd just have to keep his guard up during the games, not withstanding anyone willing to show up and take him up on his offer. Two members had stood out, one wearing a cloak that hid their features and another in a suit of full body armor, even hiding his face. One stood out for the heavy static atmosphere that had come up and started striking all the metal around them and the other because he'd practically yelled for his death. I'm willing to bet the two of them will be there at the end of today. Should probably get my armor fixed up by then. Turning back to Master Jamie, he smiles. "I'm going to get my armor repaired before people come demanding my head on a platter. I'll be back in a couple hours." And he headed back out, going to leave the Colosseum.

Isla grinned at the boy his reaction. He looked very stressed and freaked out at first due to the fact Isla had gotten hold of his sucpision. But he seemed to be calming down more after seeing the young cheerful girl sitting next to him instead of a big guard. Isla grinned a second time and wiped the paint on her finger off onto the side of the chair. No one will notice anyway. Isla looked up to the slightly taller boy and noticed his lack of talking. It would have been more convenient to talk or just write it down but maybe he was a alphabetical and wasn't able to talk. However Isla just went with the flow trying to figure things out he meant by all the pointing he did. Isla her expression changed a little to a more calm and timid one. Isla slowly repeating his actions in words "Why... you... paint... my cheek?" The only thing that was a bit vague to her was the eyebrow he pulled of, but Isla placed it for why for the moment since it seemed to fit in the spot.

Isla cheerfully smiled again but before she could say anything the boy was busy with his telescope. The parts of the telescope were detachable from the looks of it but to her surprise the lens was just a mere bubble that had altered form. Seeing how the bubble changed from color made her get closer to it to see how it worked "Ohhhh." Isla stared at herself in the bubble as the vision of herself seemed to clear more and more as it changed to a shiny color. This was not a ordinary trick but something more advanced maybe even magic. Seeing the boy giggle at the paint on his face made Isla turn towards his face again "You like it?" She forcefully said immediatly talking on while keep getting closer to his face "I can do a lot more!" Isla didn't hesitate two seconds and jolted one of her thicker brushes out of her bag. Isla dipped the brush lightly in the red paint and placed two more dots in the red circle with a twist to smooth them out so they would be perfectly round. Isla place a red line that circle upwards ever so slightly. Isla sweeped the brush through the air towards the audience behind them and swung it against the railing to get off all the paint. The paint went flying to the air spatting all over the people behind them and the people on the spectator seats below them.

Isla didn't take her concentration of him and grabbed a thinner brush out of her bag while placing the bigger brush back. Isla dipped the brush in the can of paint again but this time it was yellow. Isla stuck out her tongue and lightly bitted on it while squinting her eyes and placing one of her knees on the bench so that she could get closer to him to see if she didn't mix the red outlines with the yellow. Isla colored in the red circle avoiding the two dots and the line in the middle and gave a happy laugh. She had drawn a smily on his face but wasn't done with him yet. Isla smirked and placed her other leg on the benches too, sitting on her knees now. Isla placed the leg that was on the benches already onto his lap and placed one of her hands next to his seat. Isla immediatly began drawing three unfinished triangles with yellow seperate from each other and repeated the progress to clean the brush.

However this time she used the same brush to paint. Isla dipped it into the can again and this time a light blue color was on her brush. Isla connected the unfinished triangles with three other unfinished triangles to make a multicolored star. Isla still didn't find the need to stop and cleaned her brush again. Isla dipped it into the can again and removed his bangs to paint a cross onto his forhead with purple. Isla removed herself from Zami his lap and sat down on her knees facing him. She gave another smirk at him "I'm Isla. And what would your name be?" The area they were sitting at had been getting a little messt from the painting of Isla but Zami wasn't filthy except for his face. Isla however had even more paint in her hair from swining he brushes around. Isla holded the can of paint out in front of him so he could write his name down anywhere with the purple paint with the people around them giving angry looks at the girl.

Trinity looked up at Jamie as she pet and fawned over Mithera. She paused, frowning thoughtfully as she eyed the Master. "I don't think that's how they meant it, Master. I think, perhaps, they meant to respect her effort. Would you say I'm wrong?" She looked across at Frenzy Plant before she smiled softly. "Yes, I think I can call that Love. A little aggressive, maybe, but..." She shook her head. "Well, some people are just hot-headed, right?"

She smiled at Jamie before worry colored her expression and her eyes drifted off. Drawing her words before making to speak, she only got so far as to begin before she stopped herself. She shook her head, "no, I'll... ask you that later. I'm gonna go find Karn." The Minstrel turned back to Mithera, scratching under her chin and behind her ear before patting her head lightly. "Later, cutie." She looked around for her target and spotted him nearby. With a calm pace, Trinity brought herself to him and sat next. "Hey. How you feelin'?" She paused, briefly, "any better?" She hoped he understood what she meant.

sasha
@yipeexD
Sasha nodded at Lazarus, but his words just served to make her fert more. Was she even strong enough to be here? True, she had trained hard the last few months, but so had the other guilds she imagined. Sasha was powerful and skilled, but was it enough?

She didn't know.

Master Jamie
@zarkun
@lugubrious
Master Jamie sighed, "Frenzy plant has a dynamic that, is in essence like our own. If someone felled one of ours, crushing their dreams and goals, I have no doubt that we would rally around them. This though...I shall talk with their guild master. The games are a competition, but it should not interfere with our relationships. Be careful" Jamie said, rising, not enjoying this. But it had to be done.

"Rose, Jarvis will make sure you and Elyse are okay. you can come if you wish Mithera" he said, in case mithera wished to stay by him still. Jamie started towards where Frenzy plant was in the stands

announcer Jessie
"well" Jessie said softly into her mic after a moment, when the battle was over."that was certainly very lively. Frightening, actually, the skill these two wizards have shown simply without magic. And impressive, wouldn't you say Ferris? They have certainly set the bar quite high for the rest of the games, I'll say"
@hatakekuro

battle set two: part one

Again, the teams waited, watching the large screen as the names flickered across it, the battle before had sure been entertaining and most of the teams, the guilds, were excited to see who would b going next. Games Master Sheldon once more pranced about, and shouted, "Looks like we have a molder battle here today, Folks! Sasha From Phoenix Wing Team A, and Shujin from Dragon Fang! This battle should sure be lively!" He ushered those not fighting off the arena.
Sasha stood, uncertainly washing over her, and she very nearly asked if it was possible for someone else to take her place, but instead she swallowed, and stepped forward. She didn't speak.

Shujin heard the announcement. It wasn't against Lazarus and that pissed him off. However it was against his little girlfriend. He stepped into the arena tall and strong. He pinpointed Lazarus in the crowd, smirking.
"You're in my way. I see a white haired angel that needs to be brought down to earth during these games." He muttered.

"Too bad you'll just have to deal with me" Sasha said, quickly and without much thought, as if she just said the first thing that game to her mind. Shujin didn’t seem to react to it.

Once the arena was clear, Sasha shifted, and began the battle. "Ice Make: Ice Queen!" It was a lot easy to create that, now then it had been three months ago.

Shujin took a step back in preparation as she began. "Ok ok... looks like you're going all out." He smirked a little. "Want me to go all out too?" He cast golden purity, forming his golden armour, and changing his hair colour.

Sasha held the stuff in one hand, shifting again, "Ice Make: Floor! Ice make: Gorilla smash!" The ice began to form over the ground, and above, on an incline, a gorilla formed, ice boulders around it, beginning to throw it at Shujin.

Sasha was not going to simply back down. She was going to do her best, was going to show that she was Phoenix Wing. So she was going to go at this with all her strength.

penny

Penny was about to follow Damian, when Sasha's name was called for the next battle, torn, Penny stood watching, as the battle began. She watched Sasha, terrified for her, but Sasha seemed to have acquired some power. No, that wasn't true. She seems to have...acknowledged power that she had. Penny was soon engrossed in the battle, cheering Sasha on silently, as if her own will could help Sasha win

Zephyr Hardt- Grand Magic Games

@Joshua Tamashii@Zarkun@yipeexD
As the first event went underway, the member from their team was Jack who was chosen to face their fear. It felt kind of dirty to watch her face her fear like this yet as he watched he understood what the two from earlier were talking about now. This was Jackie's past when she wasn't a good person but a bad one that fought Phoenix Wing with every intention of killing them. Yet watching her fight this fear, he could tell that it was all behind her and as such Zephyr could never see her as this evil killer that the fear made her out too be. If anything Zephyr pouted a bit knowing she went easy on him when they sparred.

When Jackie emerged victorious in first place and was brought back by Jack, Zephyr walked over to them and sat down he was silent for the match between Damien one of the guys who mentioned Jack and Hyun from Frenzy Plant, they were both awesome fighters both of which Zephyr wanted to fight. Yet when it ended Zephyr looked at Jackie and finally spoke to her. "So...You are without a doubt the most badass female I ever meet. That also brings up the fact you went easy on me when we sparred once. So when we get back to the guild after we win these games, we are going to spar seriously! Also you were awesome out there Jackie!" Zephyr said with a grin, as he watched the next fight which was Sasha and Shujin. Zephyr stood up and pumped his fist in the air. "Woooooo go for it Shujin! Don't go easy on her now!" Zephyr would cheer as they would begin to fight.