Tournament of Kings

Chapter One

Baer

The air was alive in the magical city Umbra, the thriving capital metropolis that served as both home and office to the most powerful members of their isolated kingdom. The early summer breeze drove dozens of people out of their homes and into the city center. Children running and screaming with laughter followed the smell of cinnamon and vanilla. Shops up and down the street were giving away pastries to all passers by. The day was all but perfect, and Baer had less than an hour to enjoy it.

His time-line set him walking at a brisk pace, all around him streamers of light danced across the roadway. Freedom like this was such a rare gem that Baer hardly knew what to do with himself. His eyes darted back and forth, following street performers who laughed as they created golems from the river that bisected the city. Water creatures danced across the cobblestone and sent children into shrieks of laughter. Their glee was infectious; he found himself slowly coming to a distracted halt to observe the performance, a wide smile stretching across his face. No matter how long he lived, magic would never cease to amaze him. The little water creatures danced alongside the children, dissolving and reforming in front of unsuspecting passersby which only made the children more riotous.

A sharp thunk against the ground and a loud curse snapped his attention away from the performance, away from the children's merriment and toward an elderly woman, back hunched over trying to collect the spilled apples she'd dropped. He rushed to help her, already reaching into the air itself to draw tendrils of power toward himself, tiny as they were to mend the hole in her basket, at least long enough for him to haul the apples wherever she needed them to go. The woman straightened once she noticed extra beams of sunlight surrounding her, even under the shade of one of their taller buildings, and cast him a wide knowing smile.

"I can take care of myself," she said with absolutely no determination, content to watch him scrabble after each red fruit before he hoisted the basket over his shoulder and took a deep breath. He ignored her of course, as she knew he would. The small bits of his magic that held her basket together felt like a warm familiar weight pressed against his chest, one that didn't bother him quite yet but eventually would start to cause strain that he'd like to avoid.

"Are you taking these home, Hurella? Or should I just keep them for myself?"

She swiftly smacked his arm, feigning outrage even as she chuckled and flicked her wrist to lead him in the right direction. She walked at a brisk pace, the way she always did when there were pies to be made, and while he wanted to help her regardless, he knew that there would be suncakes with his name on them for his effort. Perhaps bringing some back to Cyrus would buy him some extra time. As he stepped through the threshold to her townhouse, the clock above the mantle told him he was running out of time. Hurella's neighborhood was as far away from their home as he could get without leaving the Kindra district. He'd most certainly be late.
She gestured to the countertop without turning to face him, and shucked off the shawl she'd been wearing to ward off the early morning chill. As always, his eyes snapped to the ink that covered the length of her small arms, and as always, her response to his curiosity was obfuscation. "How is your family doing, boy?"

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to stop focusing on that ink, even as strode through her quaint house and gently set the basket down, releasing that tendril of magic that had started to make him feel like he'd been holding in a breath too long. He filled his lungs with fresh air before responding, "Mama and Gianna are fine. Cyrus could probably use more sleep."
"He's still obsessed with the Tournament I assume? He teach you anything interesting recently?"
Baer blinked, still torn between courtesy and curiosity. "Cyrus and obsession are synonyms most days." This made her huff out a laugh. "We're mostly focusing on poisonous beasts, where to find them, how to cure someone they've infected. Please tell me about your tattoos," he finally blurted out.