The Seas were humming with the newest proclamation from the Motu.

The next tournament was being called “The Advent of the 12th.” It had been some years since the last Tu’i had been chosen and now they were announcing that a new one would be chosen from the next pool of candidates.

All the nations that had any dealings with the Conglomerate were scrambling to send representatives they felt could possibly be the next. Both natives of the Seas and foreigners were being sent to the island.

For their usual tournaments the Conglomerate would usually sponsor a couple teams. For the Advents this was not the case. They were inviting any and all candidates and were not going to give any particular teams an advantage.

The news reached far and wide and all countries, major and minor, were well aware of the benefits of having a representative being chosen as the next Tu’i.

Warriors of every shape, size and inclination were now making their way to the island with the hope that they would be chosen.

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The latest arrivals disembarked, belongings in hand and carrying the hopes of becoming the next Tu’i.

Among the crowd were a pair of siblings who had made the trip from their small village. The young man, barely one at that, was scanning the area excitedly. He couldn’t help but smile broadly as he looked around, his excitement barely contained.

“We’re here sis, we’re actually here!” he exclaimed as he took in a deep breath. For some reason, he was sure that the air on the Motu would taste different. “Look, I think that might be the quarters they told us about.” He began to march towards the building he was looking at but his sister stopped him by grabbing the handle of his pack.

“Wrong way, Sone.” she said, slightly annoyed. It took a lot of energy trying to make sure he didn’t end up in some form of trouble. She pulled him and pointed him in the direction that the rest of the candidates were walking. “Pretty sure that’s where we check in.”

Sone chuckled and scratched the back of his head. “C’mon Mai, I just wanted to check it out.”

“Yeah, ok. Come on.” She rolled her eyes, knowing how easy it was for him to get in trouble.

The siblings had left their small village in search of adventure and had instead found themselves headed to the Motu after they’d heard about the Advent. Both were proficient in defending themselves but had no real experience in any combat setting. Why would they? They grew up in a time of peace. Adventure was more about going out and discovering the world and less about fighting people and things. Who still did that?

Still, they were intrigued by the Tu’i and wanted to know more, so they heeded the call of the tournament and came. During the trip over the void-ocean they had met some very strange candidates. Some even looked like the old warriors from the textbooks that they’d studied growing up.

Mai, with her stern and stoic countenance, had received her first tatau at a young age. She had quickly gathered them until the siblings had decided to leave. Both of her legs and her abdomen were covered in tatau along with her hands and shoulders. In their small village she had been the most proficient when it came to physical defense. Despite her slight and sinewy build, honed from long days in the sun, she could easily match men twice her size.

Sone always seemed to have a smile on his face and was really good at easing those around him. He had received his first tatau at the same age as Mai but he had decided to focus on his proficiency with his Le’o. Sone was a natural born healer and only had his hands, forearms, and throat marked. The days he had spent tending the family farm alongside Mai had helped build a rigid, muscular body.

As the siblings stood in line to check in they noticed a tall, beautiful woman wearing a black and white dress walking towards the head of the line. The woman was flanked by two other members, both dressed in what appeared to be the general apparel of all the Conglomerate members.

Both siblings couldn’t help but stare at the woman, as did the rest of the candidates. “Wow.” mumbled Sone. Mai nodded in silent agreement. The woman was stunning, supernaturally so.

Aware that the candidates were watching her, the woman turned and addressed them in a loud, commanding voice.

“Greetings candidates, I am Camarin. I’m the head of the communications department for the Conglomerate.” She was infusing her voice so that all of them could hear her clearly.

Sone, being very attuned to the uses of Le’o, felt just how powerful this woman was through her use of simple magnification. With a brief glance around he could tell that there were other candidates who had also realized just how powerful she was.

“We will get you all checked-in momentarily. After you’re all settled in we will provide refreshments and would appreciate it if you would lend one of our Faifekau your attention as he lays down the ground rules while you are all on island. Thank you all for your patience.” After her short speech she gave a slight bow of the head before walking away with her assistants in tow.

Sone nudged his sister and tried to quietly whisper. “Did you feel that?” Although proficient in Le’o, he wasn’t very good at keeping his voice down.

One of the contestants in front of them turned around and gave him a grim smile. “Even their heads of department are monsters.”

Mai had felt the prickling of Le’o when the woman had spoken but she wasn’t as proficient as Sone. “How deep?” she asked.

“Very. Deeper than I could ever hope to reach.” he replied. When it came to speaking about how powerful a Le’o user was they usually referred to their levels in terms of depth. The deeper one was the stronger they were.

Both siblings shuddered slightly as the void-ocean sun beamed down on them.

---

After getting checked-in and getting settled into their rooms, the siblings decided to explore the man-made island. They felt they had enough time before they had to head to the gathering area that the members had told them about.

They had been provided with weighty obsidian discs that were about the size of their palms that they had been asked to imprint with their mana. This would act as their identification during their stay on the island. The Conglomerate, despite all its power and prestige, still had to account for all who entered the island for the tournaments.

As they walked Sone was busy humming a lullaby while Mai was studying the ID discs they’d been given.

“Man, these are pretty damned cool.” she said as she twisted it around. “Look.” She held up the disc and activated one of the tatau on her hand. In response the disc glowed and showed her name and an accurate picture of her.

Sone wasn’t really paying attention. He just grunted in response as he continued to walk, thoughts preoccupied by how strong that woman had been.

They had decided to check out the market district, an area where the Conglomerate’s merchants were set up for trade. Due to the various candidates coming from all walks of life there was a lot of profit to be made from the wealthier ones.

As they walked into the market area they observed the beginning of an argument.

An average sized man dressed in a members uniform was being yelled at by an arrogant looking man who towered over him.

The arrogant one was accompanied by five others and the siblings noticed that they were all wearing ID discs.

“Do you know who I am?!” the taller man yelled, wagging his finger in the shorter man’s face. “Do you?! I’m the one that’ll win this stupid tournament and become the next Tu’i!”

Around them the various members and candidates had stopped as the man’s yelling began to draw attention.

The man was a lanky foreigner who seemed to be all arms and legs. He was using the Voice, the foreigner equivalent of Le’o, and Sone could feel the slight difference.

The nondescript member simply nodded in agreement and apologized, keeping his eyes on the ground. “I apologize. I didn’t mean to run into you.”

The taller man, feeling the eyes of those around them, seemed to well up at the thought of having gained some attention. He looked down on the member and smiled evilly. It was obvious this man enjoyed bullying those he perceived as weaker than himself.

“Well, that’s the right attitude to take.” He said, grinning. “But I don’t think it’s enough.”

The taller man reared his hand back, winding up momentarily and slapping the member hard across the face. The member barely budged as he was slapped.

As the man went to take another swing Sone stepped forward and yelled out. “Stop!”

The man’s body froze as Sone’s Le’o hit him, forcing him to obey his command. Sone walked towards the two as he spoke angrily. “You have no right to hit him!”

Behind him Mai had activated her tatau and was getting ready to dash in as she noticed the tall man’s lackeys moving to surround her brother.

The man let out a grunt of frustration as he tried to fight the Le’o purely with his will. “Release me you little shit!” His face was twisted in an ugly mask of fury as he yelled “Get them you idiots!”

At his urging the man’s lackeys jumped into action, moving to jump the young man and his sister.

Before any of them could take more than a few steps the member who had been slapped spoke up in a commanding voice. “Enough!”

His firmly stated command was enough to make every single person in the market area take a knee. The candidates who were turning to attack Sone immediately belly flopped painfully on the paved ground while their leader, still frozen from Sone’s incant, was thrown backwards.

Sone and Mai were also forced to their knees. “What the fuck!?” was all he could say as he tried to fight the pressure that forced his head down. Mai felt as if a huge hand had taken her and crushed her against her will.

After a couple moments the pressure relented and everyone in the area let out a collective sigh. As they all stood and collected themselves a Faifekau entered the market square, nonplussed by the sight of all the candidates and members shakily standing up.

He swiftly walked over to the arrogant man, who was still laying on his back dazed, and nudged his shoulder with a shiny boot.

“Candidate #4033 and entourage, I am one of the disciplinary Faifekau. Get up and come with me. All of you.” While his Le’o wasn’t as strong as the member who had been slapped it was still strong enough to compete with most of the candidates in the area.

The arrogant man was helped up to his feet by his entourage. He looked ready to argue with the Faifekau but one of his lackeys whispered something in his ear that kept him quiet.

Without looking at them, the Faifekau spoke over his shoulder. “Candidates 0434 and 0435, you two will also come with me.”

The siblings shakily followed, both bewildered by the sudden turn of events.