CHAPTER 1.2

  A story was once told of a man who beat the Nephilims of the North. It was quite a famous story amongst the knight guards and state guards. It was back in the days when Slejj and Alvatrone were second rank lieutenants, battling for each other to see who would become the next commander of the Independent States. King Higo, the current king at that time, alongside his fellow ruler Hashi had arranged for a ceremonial tournament. A competition to see who was worthy to vie for the role of the next Commander.

At that time it was obvious who amongst the army would reach the final showdown, it was always Alvatrone and Slejj. Everybody knew that. Going into the competition those who registered only did so to fill in the vacancies in order for the tournament to proceed, meanwhile the entire army awaited for the final showdown. The two rivals had been going at each other ever since they joined the army. At that moment they were seen as equals, and the tournament was to be the deciding factor, a final face-off to finally rank one above the other. They did not anticipate what was to come of the event.

Registering last was a slacker, the laziest of men amongst the army ranks, Honorary State Guard Garvin Nez. Nobody knew why he was interested in the tournament since he was never interested in anything at all, except food and sleep. Some even questioned how he got the honorary State Guard rank in the first place. All in all, he was called out, his match against another knight guard was to be the opening match for the tournament.

The rules of the match were simple. No magic was to be used, including magical weapons and items. Participants were allowed to choose weapons of close combat, that included swords and clubs, which meant spears and arrows were rejected. A win was either by knockout or forcing the opponent to quit. Healing mages were present to attend to the fighters after the match so it was a no halts barred fight.

The tournament began and nobody even bothered to watch the first-round fights. Garvin made quick work of his opponent, proceeding to the next round. The following day was where things got interesting.

The fights got harder and longer, attracting more fans to fill the crowd. Alvatrone went up against tough rivals, State Guards who had graduated with him in the same class year. Slejj also went up against his fellow State Guards. Both fights were gruesome and tough. Both Alvatrone and Slejj had to dig deep into their strengths to secure wins and advance to the next round. Then came Garvin’s match. He won the match so fast people were doubtful of his victory. Although his opponent was a state guard on his own the crowd was still not convinced of his win. Then came the semi-finals. Alvatrone was matched up against Garvin. The match started as expected, Alvatrone was making light work of the layabout. Then, things suddenly took a turn.

With the king and the dark bender and the rest of the crowd watching, Garvin dominated the aspiring commander with so much ease it was hard to believe. Landing critical blows after critical blows he brought Alvatrone to the ground, even going as far as disarming him despite him being known to be an impeccable swordsman. With a victory over Alvatrone by knockout, he pulled out the biggest upset in the competition, clinching a spot at the finals. Even Slejj could not believe it. He knew very well how capable his rival was and seeing him lose in such a fashion drove fear into his bones.

The next day arrived and the finals were set to begin, the crowd was now bigger than ever. Everybody wanted to witness the man who beat Alvatrone. Garvin stepped onto the arena, the crowd was confused, they did not know how to react to him. Most people did not even know who he was. The table was set and the match began. The two squared off for quite some time. They were evenly matched. Although they looked even, Slejj looked like he was putting in a lot of effort, using every bit of strength and will he had to fight, while on the other hand, Garvin didn’t even look like he was trying.

Moments into the match, Garvin decided to get a little more serious and began a string of attacks that disoriented his opponent. He beat the life out of Slejj, the entire arena fell silent, even Hashi and Higo were in awe. Slejj fell to his knees but he wasn't ready to give up yet. He pushed past his limits yet it was still not enough, he was dominated. It was like a canine playing with his prey before devouring it.

The victor became obvious after a while since Slejj looked like he was moments away from passing out, then the unpredictable happened, it took everyone by surprise.

When it seemed like Garvin was going to be the clear victor, he stopped attacking. Slejj was already kneeling on the ground, unable to stand and defend himself, he couldn’t even lift an arm. His eyes were swollen shut and his cheeks were bloated. Garvin retreated and announced that he had quit the fight, and the victory was awarded to Slejj. Everybody was so confused, they had no idea what that man was thinking. Garvin walked off and disappeared, probably yearning for a nap.

Egos were bruised that day. And since his performance at the tournament Garvin went back underground. After that, both Slejj and Alvatrone would routinely challenge him to fight but all requests would be turned down. Even after countless appeals no evidence could be found that he cheated, most people believed that, but he was not a gifted, so he wouldn’t be able to use magic. He went back to drinking wine and sleeping and never had the interest in climbing the ranks. Eventually, he was assigned to head the Boundary Defectors State. Since that tournament, he was the only man known to have defeated Both Alvatrone and Slejj, even though Slejj won the tournament everybody else knew who the real victor was.

And so his story would become a myth. The man who defeated both commanders. He would have easily become a commander himself and many asked him that question, why he forfeited the match. They never got a definite answer. Fast forward five years after the invasion. After the tyrant took over. They invaded Defectors State soon afterward and imprisoned the soldiers in that State, locked them inside their own prison. Garvin was amongst the captives. As he was casually napping in his cell one day a mysterious visitor came to him one night and told him that two moons from then, the captives in Royal Republic will escape and make their way to Defectors State.

He told him it was up to him to free the captives in Defectors State and join the rest of the group. He said he would come back and tell him the day before the coupe, that he should break them free by then. Since that day Garvin had been working out in his cell, reviving his old self, reviving the man who made his myth. The day of the Coupe had arrived and soon after Anato Strider freed the Captives in Royal Republic he made his way to Defectors State.

There he was, standing outside Garvin’s cell.

“Hey! Hey, wake up you stupid goat its time!”

Garvin got up from his bed and willed himself to his feet.

“Ugh, you again? I thought I had like two more moons,”

“It's been two moons you fool. Now get up and get these people out of here. I got more important things to do.”

“Like what combing your hair? I just saw you standing there for like five minutes straight combing and patting your hair,”

“I keep telling people teleporting ruins my hair! And these perfect strands don’t make themselves, you don’t wake up looking this good old man.”

“Gosh teenagers, must be hard working with you.”

“Don’t talk back to me, you're the one needing help you fool. And make it quick, some lady in the front cell kept shouting your name in her sleep I think she might wake up the guards. Kept talking about how the two of you are gonna get married or something and have kids.”

“Felista? That is one crazy woman.”

“Look old man I didn’t come here for storytime. Make it quick. And you know the route right? Lead your people there”

“Yes, I heard you the first five hundred times, a village near the forest at the border of Free state.”

Anato stepped back and began his incarnation, “I call to you great presence! Heed to my orison and grant me your unfathomable power. For we serve you oh great link, our path to Tomasa!”

As soon as he concluded his speech, all the cell doors clicked open and the shackles around the prisoners’ ankles and wrists broke free, waking all of them up. Anato gave Garvin one last look before dissipating into embers of orange specks that spread around the hallway. Garvin stepped out of the cell stretching his hands and yawning. He heard the guards’ footsteps rushing towards the hallway.

“Alright then, I guess it's time to go to work!”