[IC] When the Flames Die

[MicahTheRogue]

The kick connected with the back of Jon's knees, sending him to on knee. Jon knelt there, breathing heavy, with blood dripping from his face, "There is no week nor day nor hour when I will yield to you." Jon said, with a tone of defiance on his tone. Jon tried to raise himself from the ground, but as he rose a couple inches to get himself back up, he collapsed back down to one knee, "If you want your victory so bad, knight, why don't you earn it?" Jon said, spitting to his side, once more. He kept his back to Jezin, as he stayed there, on one knee. Jon struggled to find his strength to get himself back up, to fight, to win this fight. His vision blurred as he did so, but the sheer amount of will he exuded made it impossible for him to give up. He wouldn't bow for anything.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth shook his head. "No, no! I'm fine!" He lied to her through his teeth, his cheeks becoming a little pink with fluster, and Harker chuckled slightly. Two things were possible: Sophia either knew how he felt about Thomas or knew of his problem with talking to other people. Whichever it was, he fretted about it and plainly denied any sort of nervousness before her. He shyly looked back to the fight like she did, and it bemused him equally while he tried to hide away just how vulnerably apprehensive he was.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin sighed. "Stubborn to the bitter end." His voice was completely drained of any emotion. He took a step forward. With the position the man was in, a decapitation would be easy. One quick stroke and the fight would be over. But the bodyguard would not get blood on his hands, not standing before the people of a foreign land, and he certainly wouldn't remove a man's head in front of Sophia if he didn't have to. He raised his sword and struck downward with the pommel again, this time much harder toward the back of Jon's head. He sincerely hoped the strike would be enough to render the relentless man unconscious.

Sophia looked at the young man inquisitively. "Are you certain? I promise you there's no need to be nervous." She was puzzled by Gareth's sudden defensiveness. She wondered if she had said something to offend the young man, or if perhaps it was her royal position. She didn't seem to recall introducing herself by her title though, so maybe someone else had told him. Her internal ponderings were cut short by Jezin's opponent falling to one knee. It seemed the fight would be over soon. As strong as his will was, it seemed the other man had run out of energy.

[MicahTheRogue]

The pommel struck true, slamming into the back of Jon's head. Jon blacked out, once more, this time for about five seconds, before coming to. He was now on one knee, and one hand. Jon could once again feel the warmth, this time down the back of his head, "You hit like a mule, you know that?" Jon said, as he slowly started to rise, struggling as if an invisible mule was on his back weighing him down. As Jon stood completely straight up, he turned to look at Jezin. The vision for Jon was now almost completely blacked out, "You're lucky, you damned knight." Jon managed out, as he fell forward, landing on his side, at the feet of Jezin, rendered completely unconscious from bloodloss.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth quietly confided his two explanations in Sophia, "I mean I... fancy... Thomas, and I don't want to, uh, make a fool of myself before you." He was much calmer, pacified by Sophia's gentle reassurance, although he still seemed just a tad unsettled, he kept some degree of composure nonetheless. Harker wished she'd put no shame on him for his little outburst of trepidation, and she probably wouldn't mind him, but his petty paranoia tried to convince him otherwise. It seemed a little bit foolish itself, him stressing over something so small, so simple, too trivial to jeopardize anything, but it only happened because Gareth let emotions like anxiety have power over him. He felt like that man on the field, always forced into a position of defeat no matter how he moved, except his battle was not with swords and spears. The man on the field went down helplessly, and Gareth knew then that the knight had won.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin showed no obvious emotion as Jon went down. He was quite impressed the man had managed to stand after all of his injuries. He silently sheathed his blade and made his way around the field, first picking up his helmet. He dusted the dirt from it's plume and placed it back on his head. He then picked up his spear and shield. Before leaving the field, he turned towards the stands and gave a deep bow, then promptly turned on a heel and began walking off, raising his shield above his head for a moment as a symbol of triumph. His first fight had been interesting to say the least, and he had no doubt things would only get more so as time went on. As he walked off the field, he saw a group of tournament assistants rushing to move Jon. He had no doubt the man would overcome his injuries quickly.

Sophia's eyebrows raised slightly when Gareth mentioned that he fancied Thomas. She realized she should've put two and two together much more quickly. Such feelings weren't looked down upon in Lyok as they were in some parts of the world, still she was a bit surprised. "Oh, don't worry about making a fool of yourself Gareth. I promise you, you're free to speak about whatever you please." She smiled. "So you fancy Thomas... You do mean you fancy him, right? As in... you have feelings for him?" Her voice was slightly quieter, as she could tell it was a sensitive subject and didn't want the surrounding people to hear. She still spoke sweetly though, and her voice had a calming quality to it that could put anyone at ease. She turned away from the conversation briefly to see that Jezin had indeed won his match. A bright smile crossed her face and she stood, clapping joyfully for her guardian's victory.

[Sightles]

As Jezin walked off the field, Thomas called out to him, as he was not too far away, "Jezin, over here!" Thomas called out, over the new person who had struck up conversation with him. The person had not yet afforded him the respect of her name, and instead wished to delve straight into conversation. Thomas wanted to speak with Jezin about the match, and if he was still feeling healthy. Thomas would have to compete soon, and no doubt Jezin would be watching Thomas. Thomas still relished for the chance to fight Jezin, more than anything.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth nodded, a small smile coming to his gentle face. "I mean... it is not love, only blind lust..." He at the moment was aware he only fancied Thomas for an external appearance, for he had yet to know the knight long enough to say he loved Sir Morgan's soul with his soul. Harker only hoped she didn't take his liking for the older man too seriously. He wasn't too quick to act on a small attraction. Minor allures were ethereal, they came and they went and passed on. "I don't believe that it is meant to be, Princess Sophia." He stated bluntly and he rose and clapped alongside her for Jezin and for a good match, indeed. The half-elf, though, wanted to come to know the knight at least before he said nothing was to come their way, and hoped Sophia understood that. Besides, he didn't even know if Thomas himself placed those attractions mutually, and it was a matter for time and fate to decide.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin heard a familiar voice call out to him as he left the field. "Thomas!" He shouted, raising his shield arm to wave. He approached the knight, placing his shield on his back as he went. He stopped a few feet from the knight. His breathing was still shallow and his heartbeat rapid from the fight. "I'm going to guess you saw most of that then?" He hadn't noticed Thomas watching during the brawl, but he had been to busy following his opponent's movements to recognize much else. "I apologize, I only got to see the last bit of the joust. Nice work, though." Jezin leaned against his spear. He could feel the cut Jon had left on his leg. It wasn't serious, but it was a reminder he'd have to watch himself in future fights, especially if he was to fight Thomas.

Sophia nodded silently, listening to Gareth's words. He seemed to be unsure of just what the situation was. She couldn't really blame him. If she had learned one thing during her time in the court, it was that people were complicated. They had many layers to them. They second-guessed themselves, they had trouble understanding their own feelings. Gareth had only known Thomas for about a day now, and it was likely he was very unsure of a great many things. She turned to the young man with a smile. "Perhaps it is, perhaps it isn't. But fate has a way of working itself out. Don't let such things worry you too much. For now, enjoy yourself, this is a celebration after all." She smiled brightly as she took her seat. Part of her wanted to rush to Jezin to congratulate him, but she imagined the soldier would need some time to rest before his next match.

[Sightles]

"Indeed, I did. That was excellent fighting on your part. You're an expert with that spear." Thomas complimented as he smiled. "No worries, my jousting wasn't anything impressive. I'm in the finals, however." Thomas added, as he examined Jezin head to toe. "Doesn't seem like your opponent did a good job find his mark." Thomas commented, as he noticed the lack of visible injury to Jezin. Thomas crossed his arms as he talked to Jezin. The knight was definitely a force to be reckoned with, and the fight with the farmer was not an accurate picture on what the knight was capable of. Everyone who was ever taught to fight a certain way, and to defend a certain way, can be caught off-guard by wild combat such as the man had shown, "I think I'm going to be competing next. Will you be staying around to watch?" Thomas asked,interested if the knight was going to catch some rest, or watch the next round.

[ravenDivinity]

"Ah, yes, I will try my hardest to enjoy myself. Thank you." Gareth bowed his head in gratitude. He clasped his hands together when he sat down again for the next melee fight. He thought for a moment, recounting the order of the tournaments. The joust finals would be after the melee rounds, and then after that the melee finals. This order left archery for the last competition of the day, thus Harker would compete in the last tournament of the day before the last feast. He held onto that and cognized that he would have to be fully prepared to hit a target by then, but in the meantime, he and Sophia would be watching the melee and joust together from the stands for most of the day. Honestly, he wished he ate more. It was getting to be early in the afternoon, and the hour in which he'd normally eat was upon them, but they weren't eating lunch on the coronation to make room for the midnight gorging.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Jezin have a slight nod at Thomas' compliment. "Thank you, that wasn't really the best showcase for it, but I'm sure you'll get to see more later." Jezin laughed. He was surprised to hear Thomas would be fighting in the next round. "Oh, I didn't know you'd be fighting so soon. I'll definitely stay around to watch that. Any idea who you'll be fighting against?" He was secretly glad he'd get to see Thomas fight. If they were to face one another later on it'd help to know a bit of what the man was capable of. The bodyguard leaned on his spear and glanced out over the stands. He found Sophia immediately. She seemed to be talking to the same man she'd been speaking with at the feast. She seemed happy enough.

Sophia smiled and gave Gareth a curt nod. She imagined the next match would be beginning soon, and she was curious to see who the combatants would be. She was glad Jezin had won his match, he deserved that much. She decided it would probably be good to start some conversation between the matches. There was much to learn about Gareth. "So, Gareth, how long have you lived here?" She was curious to find out more about Gareth, and hopefully more about Keilaudrin as a whole.

[Sightles]

"I have no idea, although I'm fairly eager to find out." Thomas replied, as he gazed back to the dirt runway that was still converted to be a melee pit, "I'm hoping this isn't the year my old age starts getting to me." Thomas added, with a chuckle. It was hard to believe the youthful looking man was 34, when he cut the appearance of more of a man in is early twenties. "Might want to play it safe, by the way. You can win all your matches, up until the final, but if Sir Redwyne is in the finals along with you, you have to make sure you aren't tired, or wounded." Thomas spoke, giving advice to Jezin. Redwyne Cole was the type of man to attack relentlessly, and never give up on his attacks, especially if his opponent was tired.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth rested his head on one hand, tilting to one side to look at Sophia. "Well, I've only been around Mullen for a month or so." He looked up and tipped his head back. "But I suppose I've lived in Keilaudrin my entire life." Even though he lived in the country for so long, he truly longed to work enough to be able to leave and explore the world or to learn about magic himself and become practiced in it, but his life in Mullen called for him at the moment to find a profession before he could seek anything else. "But I dream of other places and doing magic... Sophia, where are you from? What brings you here?" He wanted to know her more, who she was and what she sought, and the curious inflection of his voice reflected that.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia smiled as Gareth asked about her homeland. She loved Lyok, and any chance to talk about it filled her with excitement. "I'm from a land to the far east called Lyok. It's quite large, there are numerous colonies with all sorts of different people and cultures." She smiled. "My mother is the Empress of Lyok. I grew up in the capitol ,Veranthium. It's a beautiful city, the largest in the known world. You should really see it, there are lovely spires and markets, and merchants from all over the world come there to trade. The royal palace is also very popular, it has a massive spire that reaches into the clouds called the Ivory Tower." Her excitement was obvious in the fervor with which she described her homeland. "My mother sent me here as a sort of ambassador. I learned the ways of the court from the time I could speak. I'm actually here to foster relations between Lyok and Keilaudrin and promote peace between our two nations." She gave a brilliant smile. "Oh, magic? What sort of magic?" She had heard of many kinds of magic, though it was incredibly uncommon to meet a true practitioner of the magical arts. She had seen a magician once, he'd been a guest of her mother's court. A few of the provinces of Lyok also were said to hold ancient powers.

Jezin smirked. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Sir Thomas." Thomas went on to speak about Redwyne Cole. The way Thomas spoke of him, he had to be a formidable man. "Right, I'll watch myself, I'd hate to make it that far only to lose to my own exhaustion." If Cole was anywhere near the expert that Thomas described, the bodyguard would need every bit of energy he could muster. He shook his head. He couldn't allow doubt into his mind. He had to uphold the glory of Lyok at all costs. He smiled and pulled the necklace from beneath his armor, leaving it free to hang against his chest. The small engraved serpent glittered in the sun.

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth found the tale of her homeland enchanting, and he would love to see it someday, if he could. "Lyok sounds just splendid!" A tone of awe lay in his now-melodic voice, falling into topics of his affinity. "Ah, and magic, I do not practice nor know any, but it'd be exciting to try and learn." If it could be learned. Magic would be an amazing gift to wield, to have power and to use it to impress others and do great acts, and Gareth sought it for righteous purposes. He smiled at the word, and at Sophia's talk of home, both leaving a lasting love on him. He was a dreamer, he wanted wonderful things to happen, and it was clear why a fantastic land such as Lyok and an ability like magic would appeal to him.

[Sightles]

Thomas nodded at Jezin's response, and turned to look at the crowd for a moment, before turning his attention back to Jezin, "Well, now is as good as a time as any to go get ready for my match. I'll see you afterwards, Jezin." Thomas said, bowing slightly as he left his friend and made his way to his tent once more. As he entered, he walked over to the table, where sat a pitcher of wine, along with an empty glass. Thomas poured a glass, and downed the wine in one swig. Putting the glass back down, Thomas turned to his armor, which set on it's decoration stand once more. Thomas began the long process of taking off garments, and adding armor, once more, until he was fully decked out in his Champion's armor once more. As Thomas finished donning his armor, he grasped his white Order cape, and clasped it to his armor, then proceeded to strap his sword to his side, along with a small dirk attached to his other. As Thomas exited the tent, to start heading back to the runway, he grabbed his armnet with a white plum in one hand, and started his journey back.

[DrowsyPangolin]

Sophia smiled. "Oh, it is! You should see it one day, Gareth." She smiled as the young man talked about magic. "Oh yes, it is fascinating. I saw a brilliant magician once. He was a guest in my mother's court. I can't recall his name, but he could produce light with his hands. It was spectacular!" She brushed her long hair away from her face. Her hand stopped on the bright white streak, holding the strand of hair when she spoke again. "I don't know any magic myself though...." She had a realization. There was something 'magical' about the people of Lyok. She had never thought about it as magic before, the people considered it a gift from the Eternal Serpent. "Actually, I suppose I do. I guess I'm using it right now." She smiled and looked towards Gareth.

Jezin gave Thomas a respectful nod and leaned against a nearby post, spear still in hand to watch the upcoming match. He was excited to see his new friend fight in the tournament. He leaned his spear against his shoulder. The light glittered on the blade. The day was just beginning, and he'd already witnessed more excitement than he had in a long time.

[Epsir]

"Lexine Tristan," She managed to say, before Thomas went on the talk with the newly arrived Jezin. If not for an entire week of getting snubbed by the ever unwilling participant Karl Leid, she might have even gotten agitated at the slight. Instead, she stood by the side and watched with her perpetually disinterested look until their business concluded, and Thomas wandered off without so much as a glance in her direction. There were a few profanities and curses that sprang to mind, but none of them would look particularly in character with the retainer getup, and Jezin was standing close by. Showing what qualified as restraint, she ran a hand to down her face and stood there holding her chin for a moment, figuring where to pick up from there. Well, there was the spear fighter. It wouldn't be long until the next melee. "I don't suppose there's any chance that you've seen a man named Karl Leid either?"

Tournament Announcer

---

The announcement then came, trumpets sounded after Jon had been carefully removed from the field, taken to the token hospital tent to be hopefully nursed back into health. The orderlies of the palace were highly qualified and, although the medical practices were a bit dated, the man was in no significant danger of expiring from his wounds. After the noise, the man with the horn again spoke up, "Sir Thomas Morgan and Sir Hadryn..." the man briefly considered reading the full title but assumed it was against convention and perhaps unsporting to name the two men separately. With a shrug, the steward continued. "Make yourselves ready for combat and appear before the court for your duel, sirs. The melee will resume within the hour!"

[ravenDivinity]

Gareth looked bewildered at Sophia's statement, his eyes widening and lips quirking to reflect his interest. "Really now? What sort of magic, Sophia?" He was quite intrigued, until an announcement accompanied by a chorus of trumpets interrupted their talk. "It seems my knight goes to battle again." Harker said under his breath just within earshot of Sophia. Another knight's battling with Thomas didn't quite sit with him right. It'd mean another difficult duel for Sir Morgan, and Gareth's displeasure with the announcement certainly showed that when he narrowed his eyes and set his jaw in upset. He shook his expression off and turned back to Sophia with a smile, awaiting her response while the knights arrived to the field.