The Lands of Ralosia & Ranuulo (Books 1-3)

Tournament Chapter 5- Round 1

~Chapter 5- Round 1~

The Finalist's stage was several times larger than any of the individual preliminary stages. It was made to provide the finalists ample room to show off their abilities. Based on how bouts on this stage fared in previous tournaments, it could be argued it still wasn't large enough. The circular stone stage had marks on it to indicate the appropriate starting positions of the combatants. A giant drum sat near the stage.

Wooden bleachers surrounded the periphery, and as noon drew near, they began to fill to capacity. The finalist's tournaments were always seen as the highlight of the festival. The Finalist's lobby sat underground, beneath one of the bleachers. From it, the stage and crowd could be seen in all its splendor.

In the Finalist's lobby, Jirro waited with Aero, Emer, and Cmar. The Fighting Academy students who beat Corri and Ruben waited as well - a young woman and a muscular man wearing white, loose-fitting garbs. Emil wore similar but more dirtied clothing.

Cho met with the finalists to explain how things would proceed. Just like in the preliminaries, they would be called when it was time for their match. The only difference was that to win, they would have to score three points rather than just one.

Cho ran through the brackets, but all Jirro could pay attention to was the fact that he was placed in the first match against a rather muscular Mecarne named Pumps. He had a lime tint to his reflective flesh. He eyed Jirro and smirked, revealing sharpened teeth.

The boys stretched while they waited for the finals to begin, staying close to Emer and Cmar. Jirro peered out of the waiting room at the stage and glanced at the immense crowd.

At noon, Cho stepped out to address the crowd, "The sixteen greatest fighters of this tournament are waiting to entertain all of you!" He spoke through a giant horn so all could hear.

As he enraptured the crowd, Jirro began to grow anxious. Was he nervous? No, no he couldn't be.

As preparations were made for finals to begin, those watching in the audience talked amongst themselves.

"A promising set of warriors for this tournament."

"I'm calling it, a Phantine warrior will win this one. Maybe, that big one in orange garbs?"

"I believe that Phantine's name is Cmar."

"There are some young folk among these competitors too."

"How did such young boys make it to the finals?"

"Maybe they're members of the Fighting Academy?"

"It didn't look like they were wearing the Academy's uniforms..."

"The first match is between the young Ralosian, Jirro and the Mecarne, Pumps!" Cho announced.

Jirro left the finalists' lobby towards the stage alongside Pumps in the view of hundreds. Jirro felt his heartbeat quicken as he stepped on stage.

He felt unsure of himself. He'd never been around so many people at once. Before he could mentally prepare himself, the match began, and Pumps charged at him. Jirro barely managed to block his first few strikes, but Pumps landed a knee into his stomach, and he fell over.

The judge beat the drum. "Point to Pumps! 1-0! Return to your starting position."

The crowd gave a half-hearted applause.

"Poor kid doesn't stand a chance."

"How did he get this far anyways?"