Cardamom. Sawdust. Ocean.
Each spectator had a scent that only they could identify.
From the stands, it was a violent and beautiful battle. However brief it was, the fighters were killing machines.
This century's Meeting of the Chosen was shortened due to the presence of high-value individuals who defend against the King of Terror's onslaught.
The elven people had to prove that things would not change. That tradition must continue. That the King of Terror will not defeat them.
The radiance that followed the explosion seemed to beam light directly into the minds of those who watched.
What was perceived were images of their favorite food, their favorite place, or their loved ones.
The spell that Einstein, the ninth Chosen One, performed is the result of years of meditation and practice. Understanding is a fundamental part of elven magic. Those who know, know, so they say.
And Einstein knew. He knew the Red Death. The inspiration of the spell he performed for those present at the Meeting of the Chosen.
The lengthy incantation struck the ninety-four remaining layers of the one hundred layers of protection for the spectators. Any regular Dyad couldn't create that barrier. No. Lazlo Waterborne created it—one of the, if not the most, powerful defensive magic specialists in all of Keceo.
And his barrier crumbled before the might of a singular Chosen One's attack.
Smoke filled the arena. Mages all around cast lesser magic to clear the dust in an attempt to reveal what had happened.
The sand in the arena whirled around a mass within the center. An amorphous blob with a bloody point stood in the middle. Gwyn leaned in close to see what happened. Elise was just as eager.
Then the blob became four separate parts. Strangulation dropped all three Chosen Ones as they fell, nearly lifeless and exhausted, to the ground.
Strangulation raised her fist, her red hair a crow's nest of blood and viscera.
The King stood and announced.
"Winner… General Strangulation!"
The Kosmairians erupted into chants of the General's name.
The Kosmairian General fell to her knees around the broken, in some cases, missing limbs of her opponents.
One thing Strangulation had learned from her centuries of combat experience was not to be afraid to use an opponent's attack against them. The more energy they use to defeat you, the less they'll think about how they've already defeated themselves.
This knowledge paid off in spades for this combat.
Jonesy coughed; he was missing his entire back, revealing parts of his inner skeletal structure.
"Wow, you've really worked on your teleportation, huh?"
"I see you've been practicing to be a sufficient shield, how thoughtful of you," Strangulation quipped.
Jonesy smiled as he weakly fell to the ground.
Strangulation looked up, and a golden glow bathed the entire arena.
Spectators leaned over the edge to see what was happening.
Golden vines stretched out from King Sylvian and reached the fighters.
Einstein had lost all of his tentacles. Di 'Vinci lost an arm and had all of his fur torched, leaving him a hairless mess. Strangulation was bleeding internally, but she'd already stabilized herself.
The vines strangled the fighters. An overwhelming strangeness overcame them like a baby looking at its mother. It was comfort. It was warm. The Sylvian healing was the antithesis of pain.
They were all surrounded in the glow, and they returned to normal, except for Di 'Vinci.
"Aw... Come on! You have to put my fur back."
King Sylvian smirked from atop the balcony.
Jonesy petted the furless cat-man.
"Aww, who's a cute little kitty. You are! Yes, you—"
"Fuck off, Jonesy."
They all erupted into laughter, and the King restored his fur, leaving his trademark scar, which Di 'Vinci seemed to adore.
Elise stared in envy as her father effortlessly healed injuries that would be lethal for any normal elf.
Di 'Vinci slapped his formerly missing paw on the back of the General's armor.
"I'll have you know, Strangulation, if we used our manifested abilities, you would have been toast."
"Yeah, but if you did, it wouldn't have made for an interesting show, now would it have been?"
They all chuckled to themselves as the crowds continued to cheer and throw roses at the performance.
Einstein appeared pensive.
"Those Sylvians are monsters."
"If it weren't for them, we wouldn't be able to have fights like these."
Jonesy showboated for the crowd, who were eating it up.
"If it weren't for them, we would've fallen to the King of Terror a long time ago," Strangulation said knowingly. She slapped Einstein's chest, who flinched. "Damn, that was an impressive spell!"
Einstein did his species equivalent of a blush.
"Oh… it was nothing."
"Nothing!" Di 'Vinci shouted. "That was like… nine or ten lines!"
"I can only get to six," Jonesy complained as he flexed for some women who seemed to be fawning over him. He threw up his hand like, "call me."
"It was eleven," Einstein said humbly. "But who's counting? It took quite a bit of practice for an incantation to go on so long."
General Strangulation nodded.
"I can only get to about seven in my head before the spell fizzles out."
"We can always work together sometime," Einstein suggested, but then realized his mistake and shook his head. "Never mind."
What could almost be considered a smirk crossed Strangulation's face.
"How you were performing the incantation, so ominous. To control, to swallow, their bones will hollow." Di 'Vinci mocked.
"Oh, stop," he waved his tentacle. "You know how to make an octopus, ink."
The vines surrounding the fighters had faded. The King finished healing all of their wounds, except for General Strangulation's missing arm, simply because it was impossible to do so.
"You are all amazing fighters," Strangulation said. "Except for you, Jonesy."
Jonesy flipped her off, but then he winked.
"Oh, whatever, hag."
They all chuckled, and the King floated to the center of the arena. Golden leaves fell like snow.
"Thank you all for attending! That concludes the Meeting of the Chosen!" The King lost all enthusiasm in his voice. "And... there will be some Chosen One outside... signing autographs..."
The Elven people nearly lost their minds upon hearing this. The clapping and jeering continued as they eagerly left the arena, hoping to get their memorabilia autographed.
The King vanished, as did most of the Great Eight. The tenth Chosen One left somewhere in the middle of the event, yet Gwyn hadn't noticed.
Elise held Gwyn from behind, her arms wrapped around the chair. After some time, the entire arena was nearly empty.
Elise used lesser magic to pull a chair in front of Gwyn so they were now facing each other.
"How are you feeling?"
Gwyn buried her hands in her face.
"I…" It wasn't often that anyone asked how Gwyn was feeling, except her father. The tears were now streaming. "That was so humiliating."
Elise swallowed hard, stood, then pulled Gwyn into her. She hugged and ran her hand across her back, trying to comfort the Chosen One.
"How will I ever reach their ability?" Gwyn choked out. She sniffled, wiping her eyes. "Thanks for standing up for me."
She placed her hand on the young woman's cheek.
"I will always stand up for you."
Gwyn suddenly felt her cheeks heat beneath her palm.
"And if it makes you feel any better. The only one with any real talent is Einstein and Strangulation. The others are just mediocre Dyads at best."
Gwyn laughed a little.
"How is that supposed to make me feel better? They were moving so fast, my eyes couldn't keep track of them."
"Because they're unmotivated and indulgent." Elise placed a hand to her chest. "You also have me, and I know a thing or two about magic."
Gwyn smiled and sat back in her chair.
"Thanks, Elise."
Elise couldn't hide her smile.
"Now, if you'll get there within five years, that's another story."
"Woooooooow." Gwyn's lips curled. "You going to knock me down like that, huh?"
"It's good to keep one's expectations in check."
Their hands fell onto one another.
Now that Gwyn wasn't crying, the simple interaction of a hand on another person's was infinitely more meaningful. Their eyes met, and they felt something pull them to one another.
"You guys going to kiss?"
A single spectator shouted. He appeared to be the only one left in the arena besides them. The figure was munching on popcorn. Silver hair peeked from the hood of their robes.
"Get out of here, pervert!"
Elise flipped them off.
The man sighed and walked away, eating his salty snack.
Both women made eye contact and laughed.
Gwyn's heart was racing.
"Can you believe what we almost did?"
Artero stood beside them.
"I, for one, can't believe it."