LET'S GO NORVAL

“We welcome you all to the first phase of the Trials of Ithea! ” the announcer said, eliciting a chorus of shouts from the audience.

“The participants of this first phase will be none other than the candidates themselves. Luciana Vonner, Ithea's very own princess! The cameras zoomed in on Luciana, who stood clueless, and she could see herself on the enormous screen hanging over the arena, as the announcer shouted. She waved to the throng, and they greeted her warmly, singing her name and waving banners spelling out her name into the air. Others carried cut-outs of her face, which they waved in the air as well. The atmosphere was electric and it was justified for the students to feel nervous, they had never experienced a crow of that size.

“We have the one and only Jalon Barr, the teen sensation!” announced the broadcaster. Give a warm welcome to the face of teenage fashion! ” said the announcer. Jalon took a step forward and began waving both hands in the air. A swarm of teenage girls that were sitting in the stands went nuts. They sang his name as if he were a savior. Jalon reveled in the spotlight so that his peers could see how well he dealt with crowds. “Don't be fooled by that smile, people; Jalon is a skilled swordsman and alchemist, so keep an eye out for him; appearances can deceive! ” said the announcer.

“Last but certainly not least, we have Norval Greensmith! When it comes to scholarly work, intellectual genius is unrivaled. Guys, give him a hand of applause!” the announcer urged. Norval did not take a step forward; instead, he smiled and waved as the throng applauded him.

“All right, now that we've introduced you to the locals, it's time to meet the foreign players. We have Eadmer Todd, the Northern Prodigy! ” said the announcer. Eadmer took a step forward into the crowd. He was the shortest of them all, and he swung his tiny hands around, eliciting sweet applause from the crowd as if they had just seen a small puppy. “Once again, don't be fooled by his stature. This child is a dangerous opponent with the best undefeated record in Seolara! ” said the announcer. Eadmer gave Luciana another awkward glare before returning to his place in line.

“Now next we welcome a holy monk in our midst. Please put your hands together for Wardric Waller,”

Wardric stepped up and bowed to the crowd with his enchanting smile. He didn’t seem to have not one violent bone in him. “A Yulcite mage and the crown of his monastery, he is a well-taught Yulcite mage and one of the most skilled,” the announcer complimented him.

“And last but not least, the lone wolf himself, Vandrad Stanier!” Some people in the audience began howling like wolves. “They call him the lone wolf, the self-taught mage from the sacred mountains of the south,” Vandrad moved forward and gave the crowd two quick waves of his hand before stepping back into line. "Lorth had never seen a wizard as powerful as himself, let alone self-taught one. You can all see his leather grimoire and Red ruby, indicating that he has attained a level of mastery that only a few people achieve, and not to mention that he has accomplished all of this at such a young age and without the assistance of a master Lorth mage, so let us all give it up for the lone wolf once more,” the announcer said. The crowd exploded in applause, and his chants continued. Luciana was on the other end of the line, glad she wasn't in his immediate vicinity.

“now, we also appreciate the table of judges seated. They traveled long distances from IAA, Seolara, Yulcite, and Lorth to preside over these trials. Let us also extend a warm welcome to them,"  The screen above the stadium shifted to show a group of people seated in the nosebleeds behind a long table. They returned the wave to the crowd.

“Now the rules are going to be simple for the first round. This tournament does not determine who the next champion of Ithea will be, but it bears a lot of weight in the decision. The international students are here to test the limits of our candidates. The points awarded for the win will carry over for the rest of the trials, and the points will be awarded by the judges, their format and way of awarding points will be based on the skill set, creativity and strategy on the battlefield and also the offensive and defensive capabilities of the fighters. If the match ends in a draw, where both of the fighters cannot continue with the fight, the winner will be declared based on the points garnered. A win is either by knockout, if you get the opponent to tap out or if the opponent is knocked off the ring and cannot get back up before a countdown to ten expires.” The announcer said.

“Now we have an expert medical team comprising of the best Ithean medical Alchemists and Seolaran doctors to help with any injuries one might succumb to during the fight so don’t worry about anything, it is a no holds barred fight!” the crowd erupted once again.

“The matches are arranged. There will be three battles today to determine who advances to the finals. And in the finals, the three who win will fight each other in a round-robin, the one with the most points will be crowned the champion of this tournament, now let the games begin!” the announcer said, pointing towards the screen on the roof of the stadium.

It began to display the candidates' names and faces at random on one side and the foreign students' names and faces on the other side. It finally settled on Norval, displaying his name and face. On the other end of the screen, it displayed the name and face of Wardric Waller.

“And there you have it, folks! In our first match, we have the intellectual Norval Greensmith going up against the holy monk Wardric Waller. The match is set to begin in fifteen minutes so let give the participants time to prepare!” The announcer said.

Norval swallowed nervously as he and his peers walked back into the lobby.

“I told you were going to face the Yulcite, he is quite a tricky one,” Jalon said. Norval did not look intimidated in the least. In fact, there was a certain brightness in his eyes, like he was excited to fight him.

“I thought I already told you guys, I have a plan to defeat him. He won’t catch me off guard, you wait and see,” Norval said, clenching his hands into fists as he looked to hype himself up.

“Well, bro, we will be in the stands watching. Good luck, you’re gonna need it!” Jalon said, walking back into the arena. Luciana punched him in the shoulder as they walked away, “Shut up you. Good luck Norval, I know you can do it!” Luciana said, Norval waved both of them goodbye. He began jogging on the spot, staring at the clock displaying over his head as the time counted down from fifteen minutes to zero. The sound of the glass vials on his utility belt hitting against each other rhythmically gave him a soothing sensation. He could feel the mutagen and potions splashing against the walls of the glass. There were six minutes left and his gut felt like they had been tied up in knots. Sweat trickled down his face, not from the jogging, but from the anxiety he had bottled up. His hands couldn’t stop shaking but he knew he was ready to fight. He knew the strategy he was going to employ would not fail him!

A loud horn buzzed and the lights over his head turned green, it was time. He walked out of the lobby and onto a hallway leading back to the arena. The fighting arena was a raised platform about ten feet off the ground. The floor of the arena was pure concrete slabs connected, forming a perfect square measuring a hundred meters on each side. In the middle of the arena stood the announcer and an umpire. Norval headed for a flight of stairs that gave him access to the arena. He scaled them slowly, his feet synchronizing with the chants of the crowd.

From the opposite end of the arena, Wardric Waller stood amongst his elder minks. They seemed to be talking to him in a chastising manner.

“Listen, boy, I was not in favor of this tournament thing, but we are here and if we have to compete in it, we have to compete to win. Do you hear me?” A monk said, juggling a necklace bead around his hands.

“Yes, master. I will do my best, I will not let down my monastery,” Wardric said, slightly bowing to the man.

“We don’t want your best, we want you to win. We want you to prove once and for all that that the Yulcites are superior to this low-life Ithean alchemists, do you understand me?” the monk said. “Yes, masters,”

The monk leaned in closer to Wardric and whispered into his ear, “And remember what I showed you. It is every alchemist’s weakness, you must use it if you want to win this fight!” the monk said, his face curving up a smile in the end. Wardric felt a vile rush under his skin as the monk stuck his face closer to his. “But, master, that is a dishonorable act. I cannot do that in a fight, it might shame the name of our monastery with a move that low,” Wardric said.

“Then if you lose to this Ithean fool, you will never set foot back into our monastery,” the monk said. He joined the other monks that lagged behind him and they walked back into the lobby.

Wardric stared them down anxiously, his mind in confliction. He turned to the arena after he heard the announcer call his name a second time. He slowly ascended the steps and walked to the center of the arena.

Norval had been trying to examine him as he walked towards him. The large garment covered his physique, for the most part, so Norval wasn’t able to tell how big he was. But he was taller than Norval, not to an overpowering extent, but he edged over him with a few inches. They met at the center and Wardric gave Norval a slight bow, Norval replied with a bow of his own. The announcer shook both their hands and began to speak to the crowd.

“Get your bets on people, the first match of the day is set to begin. Let me hear you!” The crowd erupted into cheers and some shook banners with Norval’s face on it. Others chanted his name and others threw their food in the air.

The umpire got closer to the two and put both his hands on either one of their shoulders as he spoke to them, “Now listen up, I know this is a fight and it can get extreme, but I want you all to respect each other alright? It is no holds barred, but do not attack your opponent with the intent of killing him, only attack with the intent of knocking him off the arena, or landing a hit or render him unconscious, do understand these rules?”

“Yes,” Norval said. Wardric on the other hand swallowed heavily and looked to his feet as heave his response, “yes,”

Norval’s eyebrows elevated in suspicion. Something seemed off about the monk that day, he was not his usual calm and friendly self.

“Alright, both of you fall back to your corners, you will remain there until I give you the instruction to commence the fight!” the umpire said, releasing his hold on their shoulders and backing away. His gloves had some powdered substance coating them so when he lifted his hands off their shoulders, it left an imprint on them, but none of the boys seemed to care about that.

Norval backed away into a slab of concrete close to the edge with a blue line marking his position, he stepped behind it and the umpire nodded to him, an indication he had reached the legal distance, he looked towards Wardric and he too had stepped over a red line on the opposite end.

Norval looked into the crowd and noticed his peers on the front row of the seats, Jalon and Luciana were cheering him on. Her eyes widened and his mouth involuntarily opened, his jaw ready to drop when he spotted another familiar face close to them.

It was a face he could never mistake for anyone else, her little sister was beside Jalon, and his brother was on the second row of the seats. He flashed his eyes around and soon enough he found who he was looking for. On the second row sat his father and mother. Her mother was raising a small makeshift flag with his name on it while his father stared intensively at him, his eyes devoid of emotion.

Finally, the horn blew loud and the sound buzzed him off his trance. Wardric did not wait for him to revert his attention, he went on the attack, cutting through the arena with a death-defying Ariel display of agility.