A Two-Faced Soul-The Daemon Rebirth #2

Chapter Nine: The Peacock and His Hens; Part 1

----- June 10th, 2010 -----

+++ "Well beloved fans, here we are the first round of the Quarter finals. I must say this year's Tournament is shaping up to be quite interesting given the unique folks in the crowd, wouldn't you agree Chuck? "

" Absolutely, Larry. I must say the Serphina Coven is by far the most surprising turn out. It's the first year they have competed, and I believe they are the first Coven ever to reach the Quarter-finals in their first tournament, other than their opponents that is, but comparing anyone to them is very unfair."

"I whole heartedly agree, they are most certainly this years Underdogs, I think it's largely due to the Heiress selection of Keys, the way she perfectly completements their existi... +++

"Hey I was watching that!" Judith practically yelled, 

 Sammy had turned off the Crystal ball we Demons used to broadcast that kind of thing, although modern day it wasn't so much as a ball but rather a cube designed to look like a human TV. She then walked over to the small table in our Green room and picked herself up a glass of water.

"What's the plan for the Harem-King?" Geena asked, as she performed last minute checks on her gear.

"Geena do not disrespect him like that, Shariq is a Commander in rank show him the respect he deserves."

"With respect Sam, if the guy didn't want to be seen as a freak who collects women then maybe he shouldn't fill her personal Coven with only women." Geena replied with a shrug.

Sammy shook her head then sat down. "For the rest of the Coven, we already have a plan but I do agree, defeating him will be difficult. His Coven is undefeated for a reason. Honestly I don't know how to counter his healing powers but we will cross that bridge when we come to it."

+++Would the Serphina Coven and the Firestorm Coven Please report to the arena.+++

With the announcement coming through we stepped through the portal into the arena, well the 'starting' chamber. One of three chambers within the Tethered Space, so that we could teleport within the arena, the other two being an emergency infirmary, as no matter how hard we tried accidents happened, and the 'stables' for Familiars which although they could be called on, weren't allowed in the Arena from the start, with the acceptation of a handful. Since right now the arena was still emptied as the battle field we would play on had yet to be decided.  The only thing that was for certain was the size of it, for that was always fixed. The Qualifier rounds were always played on one the size of a Basketball court, the next few rounds were played on a football feild, the Quarter-finals were played on a battle field the size of a large town, the semi-finals an arena the size of an average city, the final used the full arena. Stolas currently stood between the two teams, running one of our 'coins' through his fingers with skill and grace, it was of course made of an Emisurua scale so neither team could effect the toss.

"Senior-Commander Heiress Hades, I will allow you to call the toss." Shariq spoke with a smooth voice.

She nodded and replied "Heads." 

Stolas tossed the coin and it landed on Tails meaning that Shariq would decide the battle feild. A set back to be sure, but we could adapt. He walked over to the crystal panel on the far wall and selected one, and as he did we could hear the distinctive crackling of magic as the battle feild took shape. Shariq and the women of his coven stepped through first. 

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We then did and teleported to our Beginners circle, like always our base was a fully realized fortress in this stage of the tournament, the Beginners Circle being located on the 'roof' of the castle at the very centre. The Battle feild he had chosen was a desert, the bitter air biting at my skin and the cold of it came from him having chosen to begin at night, although considering how long these games could last it might not stay that way. In the very center of the Battle feild was an oasis with a large lake and a handful of trees. To the far left of the area was a small ruin, while the right was a sand dune. I sighed heavily, in this bitter cold, and then the heat if we reached the day cycle, we'd be at a major disadvantage. Sammy quickly scoped the battle feild shaking her head.