Teyva stepped into the waiting room, Kastel had already gone ahead into the arena. She took a deep breath, opening her inventory and pulling out the [Masque of the Newborn Queen]. She slipped it on over her face and looked up at the ceiling. She could already hear the roar of the crowd as they eagerly awaited the next match. She licked her lips, rolling her shoulders and tilting her head left and right. She wasn’t entirely sure how this was going to go but she was confident she could deal with Kastel fairly easily. He didn’t seem like all that much of a threat.

“Lady Akura?” A small voice called to her from the corner of the room.

Teyva blinked and looked to see Abba standing there with a small bundle in her hands and Teyva’s satchel hanging from her shoulder. Teyva walked over and looked into the bundle, seeing little Stella’s big yellow eyes. The child giggled, reaching up for her mother’s face. “There’s my girl,” Teyva cooed, “It’s good to see you, here to wish mommy good luck?” She chuckled and tapped the girl on the nose before looking up at Abba. “Thank you Abba, I needed that.”

“Of course, my lady,” Abba said with a small bow, “Here, these young ones were restless as well, I figured they would be better off with you,” She pulled the satchel off her shoulder and handed it to Teyva. Teyva peered inside and spotted Queenie on top of the pile of gold coins. 

She hefted it once and frowned, “Heavier than usual,” Teyva murmured, she peered inside again, “What have you been up to, Queenie?” She asked. The big coin opened its eyes and the sense of amusement came back to her. Teyva rolled her eyes and pulled her head out, shouldering the bag and nodding again to Abba. “I appreciate it.”

“Good fortune to you, Lady Akura,” Abba said, “May your foes quake at your passing.”

Teyva grinned and nodded, “Time to go, be good for me Stella.”

The baby made a few indecipherable sounds as her mother turned and made her way through the door to the field. As she stepped out, she finally had a moment to take in the full scope of the stadium. It was beyond huge. She looked up at the crowd screaming down at her and scanned it for any familiar faces. It wasn’t hard to spot them. An entire section of stands had been entirely filled with pale-skinned blue-eyed Akurai. Paraklytus himself sat at the head of the group with Batel at his side as well as the elders. They all began to cheer, shouting “Queen Mother!” “Divine Queen!” in her direction.

Teyva let out a low groan and forced herself to walk out to meet Kastel who stood waiting for her. The slimy-looking man crossed his arms when she came within speaking distance. “Figured you’d decided to forfeit,” He looked at her satchel and mask, sneering, “Oh, you needed to accessorize before the fight? Too scared to show your face?” 

Teyva stared at him flatly and called up her journal, he glanced down at the floating book and cocked an eyebrow.

[Kastel Tvar] - [Azar Elite Guardsman]  - Unfriendly - Level 12 <Elite> HP: 100% MP: 100% SP: 100%

She closed the book and dismissed it, letting out a sigh. “You know what, you’re right,” She said, reaching up and removing her mask, she sent it to her inventory. “I don’t need my mask to beat you.”

His face reddened as Karx’s voice broke out over the shouts of the crowd. “This next match is the debut of someone very special! Princess Teyva Akura who was recently welcomed into the King’s family! And her opponent, the Captain of the Eastern Cardinal Tribe’s guard, Kastel Tvar!”

The roars became louder, there was even some less than friendly shouts from the crowd. Teyva ignored them, focusing on her opponent. They stepped away from one another and when they’d gained enough distance they turned back around. Karx’s voice broke out one more time, “Begin!”

“Like the wind, swift-footed!” Kastel shouted, drawing his sword and darting to the left. He began to move in a circle around Teyva. Teyva rolled her jaw and sighed, was he really doing this? “You can’t hit what you can’t see, devil bitch!” He shouted, “Don’t worry, I’ll end this quickly though it might hurt for a while afterward!” He laughed.

Teyva’s expression went deadpan as he continued his taunts, “Some flowery freak like you doesn’t deserve the throne! You don’t deserve any of what you’ve been given! You should pack up and leave! Let me guess, that’s what the sack is for isn’t it? You cheated as well during the race, didn’t you? Niko said it was impossible for someone like you to summon an elemental! That masked wizard of yours must have done it!”

He continued to pick up speed, using the spell once, twice more. He was nearly a blur in her vision. Teyva rolled her jaw and held out her hand in front of her, timing his movements. “Finally going to make your move, good-”

He was cut off as a wall erupted from the ground just an instant before he passed over that spot. He hit the rocky surface, hard, blood erupting from his nose and mouth as his body crumpled. There was a sudden gasp through the crowd as he hit the ground. Teyva tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, whipping her hand down and letting her third-arm chain travel across the ground. It snaked forward, wrapping around his battered body and tightened. He let out a howl of pain as his skin was punctured in various places by the razorchain’s spikes. She pulled him toward her until he was at her feet and released the chain around his body.

He looked up at her, stupefied, and she held out her hand. “<Restore Life>.” She murmured, and white light erupted from her palm. His injuries began to close and the blood stopped rushing from his face. In a few moments he was back to full health. He looked at his hands, and then back up at her. She looked him square in the eyes, the pale glow of white light burning behind them. She pushed down with her aura, not enough to try to drown him but enough to get her point across. “Submit,” She growled.

“I-I-I I submit! I submit! Please!” He begged, tears welling in his eyes, the humiliation of it all battering his ego to pieces. He pressed his head to the ground, “Forgive me princess, please!”

Teyva sighed and glanced at the crowd. They were still quiet, waiting to see what she’d do. She knelt down and put a hand on his shoulder. He flinched and she grabbed his chin, pulling it up to look at her. “It’s over, come on, let’s get you back to the waiting room. You can rest there.”

She reached down and pulled him to his feet, throwing his arm over her shoulder before turning to walk out of the arena. The cheers of the crowd were deafening, but Teyva paid it no mind. Instead, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other and keeping her expression firm as her anxiety built back up in her gut. When they finally arrived in the waiting room she deposited Kastel on one of the benches before returning to the viewing box. When she arrived everyone was staring at her. The four grinned, Azrael beamed, Conrad nodded his approval, and Niko scowled, his face purple with rage.

Teyva smiled at him in particular.

---

The next round was Niko versus one of the unfortunate souls who had managed to skirt infront of Teyva during the race. Unlike the King and the Four, Niko had his guard up and Teyva could only get his name from her Journal. The fight was short and brutal, Niko making a point to only use his martial arts instead of relying on any sort of magic. The result was Teyva knowing next to nothing about what the man was capable of. What she did know, now, was that he would be her next matchup. 

“Did you really heal Kastel?” Azrael asked, as Niko came back inside.

“I did,” Teyva said grimly.

“Talk about crushing his spirit,” Conrad chuckled, “You humiliated him, broke him, and then healed him as if to say you could do it all over again.”

Teyva glanced his way and gave him a hard look, “That was the point.”

Conrad barked out a laugh, “Good. I figured as much, you showed me no mercy in the prison.”

“I’m not pretending to be one of the good guys,” Teyva said darkly, “I’m here to protect what is mine, my friends, my family, and my people. I don’t give a shit if I look scary while doing it.”

Azrael frowned but nodded, “I can’t argue with that.”

Teyva glanced back at the King who was eyeing her with an appraising look. After a few heartbeats, he smiled and nodded before turning his attention on the next match. Another two of the other Azar went at it on the field until one was left standing. With that match out of the way, the coordinator poked his head into the waiting box and called out the final two names. 

“Conrad Akos and Princess Azrael Unabi are up next!” He called.

Teyva looked between the two of them but found that their attention had already been singled out for one another. Azrael got to her feet first and marched out of the room. Conrad followed her. Teyva looked at the King who shrugged playfully, sipping at a beverage. She frowned at him. “Where’d you get the drink?”

---

Azrael stopped in the waiting room for just a moment, going to a small lockbox off to the side. She unlocked it with a key and pulled the bundle inside out. She tucked it under her arm and got to her feet, stopping when she saw Elat waiting for her. She felt her chest tighten and moved over to him, placing a hand on his chest. He reached up and took her hand in his, squeezing it once. “You don’t have to go so far for me.”

Azrael shook her head, “I need to make a point. My lady has already accepted him as one of her own and I need to accept that too, but I can’t until…” She trailed off and let out a breath, “If I’m going to be your wife I need to do this, one way or another, win or lose.”

He blinked, “What?”

Azrael unfurled the bundle and revealed his gauntlet which had been refitted to her hand and his compound bow. She slid the glove on and gripped the bow with her other hand. “Let me do this, love,” She said, resting her head against his chest.

“I won’t stop you, just be safe, okay?” He said and let her pull away. 

She grinned at him and turned, “You just watch me, husband.”

As Azrael walked out onto the field, she felt her gut twist. She wasn’t a trained marksman like Elat but at the very least she was a decent enough shot. She’d trained with the guards and the wardens but ultimately had favored the sword over the bow. She just didn’t like the idea of running out of ammunition in a pinch. She looked down at the gauntlet and her lips twisted into a smile. Not that that would be a problem now. She looked up as the crowd roared their greeting and she turned her focus on Conrad. The Fallen Knight stood with his head held high, his reddened eyes burning with intensity.

“I recognize that bow,” Conrad growled.

“You should,” Azrael cut back.

“Vengeance for your mate?” He asked.

“Vengeance for my husband,” Azrael corrected him.

“Well I need to prove myself to Lady Akura, so I will not be showing you any restraint, Azrael,” The fallen knight said, entering a fighting stance and drawing out his mace. His skin began to turn black and fur rose along his arms, neck, and face. Soon a skull began to form over his head and his eyes turned yellow-red. There was no madness there, though, only grim resolve. “I am a creature of order and I have spent a great deal of time reigning in this wild spirit inside of me. You will have to give this everything you’ve got.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Azrael growled, jerking her arm and opening the bow up. She let out a low whistle and a cloud of mist formed at her back, two wolves stepping out of the mist and letting out low, hostile growls.

The bigger man laughed and whipped his hand to the right, a dozen small pools of inky blackness forming around him. The shambling forms of lesser wightlings pulling themselves out of the dark. They shrieked and thrashed only to go very still at the sound of a growl from Conrad. 

“W-well it seems like our fighters are more ready than I was!” Karx shouted over the crowd, “The Mysterious Conrad Akos and his opponent, Princess Azrael Unabi! Begin!”

Conrad darted forward, followed by his wightlings. The Wolves responded in kind, charging the tiny creatures while their mistress darted backwards, shouting a spell. “Like the wind, swift-footed!” She vanished into the sudden burst of speed, drawing an arrow of green light and sending one, two, three shots in Conrad’s direction. He bellowed, the force of the shout sending one arrow flying off to the side while another struck the ground at his feet. The third shot dug into his torso and he let out a grunt, reaching to grab it only for it to dissipate before he could touch it. 

He barked out a laugh, “Cunning! I like it!”

“Then you’ll love this,” Azrael’s voice came from behind him. She opened her mouth and released a terrible howl that ripped across the field and caused a few people at the front of the stands to cover their ears. She followed it up with a kick to Conrad’s back, the man staggering forward and whipping his arm out behind him. She took a few steps back only to gasp in surprise when his arm stretched, grasping her chest and pulling her close to him. She quickly reached for her belt and grabbed her throwing knife, hurling it at his head just as he reared back with a clawed hand aimed at her face. The blade struck bone and he let out a cry of pain, releasing her. She darted away and shouted her spell again, picking up speed.

Around him, Conrad turned to see several of his wightlings had already been felled by the wolves. He snarled and turned his attention to Azrael who had begun to move in a circle around him. When the first arrow flew in his direction he let out a hiss and sank into the ground. Azrael slid to a stop, turning to see where he had moved to. She spun once, looking behind her but saw nothing only to let out a grunt of pain as something stabbed into her side. She looked down in shock at the injury dripping blood from her waist. Snarling she pulled herself forward and tucked into a painful roll before righting herself. Conrad was just standing there, his twisted and bladed teeth bared.

“It’s not enough! Fight me!” He bellowed, letting out a high-pitched scream that ripped toward her.

“Silent as the grave, become a whisper!” She shouted back, the spell nullifying his scream.

He darted toward her as she called her throwing knife to her hand, throwing it again at his head before diving between his legs. She slid across the ground and peppered his back with glowing arrows, causing the mighty creature to stumble. He whipped his head around, the blade sticking out of his skull mask. She called it back to her palm and darted away again, checking her mana. She’d been using the bow fairly conservatively and she hadn’t even dipped past fifty percent yet. She smiled, this heads-up display that Teyva had given her came in real handy.

“Fine! All out it is!” Conrad roared, holding out his hand. Black ooze dripped from his palm and splashed against the ground. It boiled and spread into a large pool. A moment later something horrible began to surface from within. The creature looked like something between a dragon and a gargoyle, its body encased in gleaming black metal. Its wings were large and wicked looking with claws at the end of them. It had two arms that it held close to its chest and two legs that were planted firmly on the ground. The creature threw its head out and roared, a cloud of dark mist billowing from its maw.

“The hell is that?” Azrael shouted, looking to her wolves who had finished off the other Wightlings.

“My newborn!” Conrad laughed, “Behold the offspring of the Aspect Stone of the Unspeakable!”