Seeker
Eater of Worlds
I feel I should give some backstory on the actual story your about to read. The story takes place in a land called The Sword's Sheath, the main character Theodore is one of the thousands of men and women who possess an enchanted weapon or piece of armor. These objects have energy inside them that when tapped into grants their wielders/wearers spectacular powers. All fun and games right? Just you read.
"Theodore of the Swinging Axe?" The attendant wrote my name down on a piece of paper.
We were outside of the arena in the town of Enchanted Plains, the hotspot for everyone with an enchanted weapon looking to prove their might. I carried with me a heavy great axe, whose power I didn't quite understand.
"Demonstrate your weapons enchantment." The attendant ordered.
Every three years here there's a contest to see who has the strongest weapon. This attendant had to make sure everyone trying to enter actually had an enchanted weapon. Behind me was a line of about 12 people who had enchanted weaponry with them. Watching to see what my power was.
"You might want to stand back." I warned them with a smile.
The attendant stood out of my way, I readied the axe, it began to emit black flames with red outlines. Whenever it did that it made me crave combat, just the thought of fighting made me feel kind of drunk. I was faster when fighting as well, stronger, during battle I was something more than human. It kind of scared me how the axe made me feel, but with its power I'd be sure to win. I swung the axe with some difficulty, a bolt of those black flames shot off of it and hit one of the arena walls, leaving a crater.
"Interesting..." The attendant said. "You're in. I'm sure you'll put up a good fight."
"Thanks." I nodded to them.
As I began to walk away someone else walked up to the attendant, I didn't get a good glimpse of them though.
"Aster." Their quiet voice said, it was a guy.
"Demonstrate... your power." The attendant sounded confused.
A few moments passed.
"Oh my... what the hell? Hold on a sec-" The attendant fell to the floor coughing.
I turned around, everyone was staring with me. The attendant was gasping for and air and clenching their stomach. Aster was engulfed in a black and pale blue fog, so was the attendant. The fog disappeared as the attendant slowly recovered. They let out another desperate cough.
"I guess that means I get to participate." Aster crouched next to them.
I continued to walk away, I caught glimpse of someone in massive armor that appeared to be made of purple rocks.
"Be a afraid small fry!" They slammed one of their fists into their other hand.
"Which one should I be more afraid of, Aster or this jerk?" I thought to myself.
As I walked away back the hotel I was staying at I cut through a market place and saw a familiar face.
"Karen?" I asked the women picking fruit from a stand.
"Who..?" They sounded nervous as they looked way from me, it was her.
"Karen, what're you doing here?"
"Shopping..? What're you doing?"
"Just making my way back from registering at the Enchanted Sword Contest. I have to ask you though, are you following me?"
She chuckled.
"No."
"Don't lie to me I've seen you in the past four towns."
She quickly turned around and looked at me in the eye. Karen still had her brown hair that looked kind of blonde in the sun and those icy eyes.
"I have been following you." She looked ashamed of herself.
"But why?"
"As you know, my house isn't exactly the calmest place. My mom and dad keep fighting so I decided to leave, and when I heard you were going to travel the lands I just started to follow you. Maybe somewhere along the way you would've gotten a house and I could've moved in somewhere close. I just don't want to be somewhere where I don't know anyone." There was distress in her voice.
I let out a sigh as I remembered how Karen's father would treat her, there'd always be yelling. Sometimes he'd threaten to hurt her, her mother would usually step in and take a few punches.
"I guess I'll let her travel with me, to keep her from going back there." I thought to myself.
Karen began to look away slowly.
"You can travel with me, I guess." I scratched my head as I looked down at her.
"Really!? Thanks Theo!" She wrapped her arms around me, I turned to the side to hide my reddish cheeks. "Ouch!"
Karen stepped back and examined her hand, her palm had been cut by the axe on my back. She examined it for a moment.
"Isn't that your fathers axe?" She asked.
"Yeah." I answered.
"Theodore! Of the Swinging Axe!" Someone called from behind me.
I turned around, it was someone I didn't recognize. They stood about six feet high and had a greying hair with some scars on their face.
"Do I... know you?" I asked.
"Not really, I stood a person behind you in the line for the competition though. The names Kirk Wolfenhart." Kirk put his hand out for a shake.
"Nice to meet you Kirk." I shook his hand firmly and noticed a sword sheath near his waist. A strange mask hung from its grip.
"Oh hello miss!" Kirk noticed Karen.
"Hi!" She waved, Kirk got closer to me.
"You're a lucky man, Theodore." He whispered, I ignored him.
"Anyways, not to be rude or anything but what exactly did you call me for?" I asked.
"Well you're invited to a little get-together I'll be having later at sunset at my house. Its right over there." He pointed to a large house a couple hundred feet away. "Everyone who made it into the competition is going, and of course they can bring guests." Kirk nodded at Karen.
"Alright, I'll be there!" I smiled, it had been a while since I had enjoyed a party.
"We'll!" Karen corrected me.
"Good to hear. See you then!" Kirk returned the smile and wandered off.
"So where are you staying in this town?" Karen asked me.
"At the Grand Sword Hotel." I answered.
"Oh alright, I'm not too far from there. I'll go get ready and meet you at the party!" Karen exclaimed as went to our rooms.
"I think its time for a haircut." I examined myself in mirror, my hair was beyond shoulder length. "Maybe Karen will cut it."
As I tied my hair up I noticed something on the axe. I turned around and walked towards it, picked it up and took it closer to the glowing crystals that lined the mirror. There was very little dried blood on the axes massive blade, Karen's.
"Hopefully this doesn't happen again." I scratched it off and set the axe down again.
I slipped into some fresh clothes and left the room for the party.
On my way to Kirk's house I saw some of the other contestants making their way over there too. Karen was waiting outside of the house, she was wearing a flowery dress, her right palm was bandaged.
"Why'd you wait for me?" I asked.
"I didn't want to make it seem like I was going in alone." She chuckled.
"Fair enough, well lets head inside." I gestured for her to go inside.
As she walked in I saw a huge figure in the corner of my eye.
"Hey small fry!" It was the man in the rocky armor. He was bald and had tan skin, he had the type of grin that made you question if you could trust the one smiling.
"Hey... um..." I stretched my arm out for a shake.
"Just call me Tank, that's what all my friends call me." He nearly crushed my hand in his.
I examined my hand before walking inside.
"Hey you guys." Kirk greeted us. "Take a seat, the food came out a little earlier than expected."
All the contestants and some of their friends were seated a long wooden table. I took a seat next to Karen, there were plates with covers in front of each of us.
"Charles." Kirk called.
"Yes, sir." An elderly man appeared and collected all the covers, revealing our dishes.
"Ladies and gentleman what you have before you is grilled tani'wha tentacles on a bed of rice with some greens on the side." Kirk said proudly. "Enjoy!"
I stabbed a tentacles with my fork and bit a piece off.
"So Tank, why'd you enter the competition?" I started some conversation.
"Yes, why did you?" Kirk asked.
"I guess you can say its kind of a challenge." He answered.
"Oh? Did the Brotherhood of the Enchanted Mail place this challenge on you?" Kirk asked.
"The Brotherhood?" Karen asked.
"The Brotherhood of the Enchanted Mail is a kind of 'club' where everyone has a piece of enchanted armor. The whole point of it is to show people you can win a fight without an enchanted weapon. I am a member of the Brotherhood, and also the one Curtis challenged to enter the competition." Aster answered.
"Yeah, cause someone needs to knock you off your pedestal." Tank muttered under his breath.
"What if someone has an overpowering enchantment on their armor?" Karen asked. "Wouldn't that make the Brotherhood's message kind of pointless?"
"Then that person just doesn't get the bragging rights that comes with defeating someone without an enchanted weapon." Aster answered.
"Don't worry everyone! We still got plenty of drinks!" Kirk exclaimed, slightly drunken.
"Hurray!" Tank grinned.
I was sitting on a chair drinking some water, I looked up and saw Karen talking to someone
"So how's it feel being able to take on anyone?" Karen looked up at the woman in front of her, I think her name was Maria.
"Well I can't take on everyone." She chuckled.
"But you can fight can't you?" Karen asked. "I just can't believe it."
"Can't believe what? That I'm a woman?" Maria laughed. "I'd expect that from someone else, not a fellow female."
Karen looked a little disappointed as Maria walked away.
"Shouldn't have been acting weird like that." I thought to myself.
"Come on, Aster! Lets settle this right here right now!" Tank pulled a chair next to a table he was sitting at. "In an arm wrestling contest, if I win it'll prove that I'm stronger than you. If you win, ha! What am I saying, you won't!"
"We've been through this before, Curtis." Aster looked at him from a rocking chair he was sitting in not too far away.
"I don't give a crap, you little punk!" Tank became impatient.
"You're clearly drunk, I think its time you head home." Aster took a sip from his glass.
"C'mere!" Tank roared, the only person who appeared to actually be phased by his yell was Karen.
Aster made his way over to the table and sat down, he pulled the sleeve to his coat up to his bicep and set his elbow down.
"If you don't give me everything you have in the first few seconds, you will lose. So prepare yourself." Aster said.
"Ha!" Tank pulled his sleeve up to reveal his muscular arm that when compared to Aster's arm made it look like a tooth pick.
They put their hands together. Tank grinned at Aster who just stared back at him, for a moment it didn't look like anything was happening. But Tank's grin quickly disappeared, it look like he was putting a lot of force into his arm but Aster's just stood still.
"The hell!?" Tank growled. "Theodore come over here!"
I stood up and walked to the table.
"Try this." He looked up at me.
"Sure thing." I wasn't sure I'd even move Aster's arm.
We put our hands together and I started to push. I was surprised to see Aster's hand almost meet the table top, I looked up at Aster who looked pretty shocked. His pale blue eyes grew wide behind his straight black hair. Just as I was about to win, Aster's pale lips curled into a smile and in one motion he slammed the back of my hand into the other side of the table.
"What the..?" I looked up at him.
"Move outta my way weakling!" Someone pushed me out of the chair. "I'll take you on."
The man who took my spot was swiftly defeated by Aster in about a minute, he had put up a better fight than Tank and I but he was just delaying the inevitable. I just stared at Aster, still shocked, my mind was blown.
"How'd you do that?" Karen questioned with a smile.
"You see, its all about being much stronger than your opponent." Aster gave her a small smile. "So strong, they have no chance of beating you."
We were outside of the arena in the town of Enchanted Plains, the hotspot for everyone with an enchanted weapon looking to prove their might. I carried with me a heavy great axe, whose power I didn't quite understand.
"Demonstrate your weapons enchantment." The attendant ordered.
Every three years here there's a contest to see who has the strongest weapon. This attendant had to make sure everyone trying to enter actually had an enchanted weapon. Behind me was a line of about 12 people who had enchanted weaponry with them. Watching to see what my power was.
"You might want to stand back." I warned them with a smile.
The attendant stood out of my way, I readied the axe, it began to emit black flames with red outlines. Whenever it did that it made me crave combat, just the thought of fighting made me feel kind of drunk. I was faster when fighting as well, stronger, during battle I was something more than human. It kind of scared me how the axe made me feel, but with its power I'd be sure to win. I swung the axe with some difficulty, a bolt of those black flames shot off of it and hit one of the arena walls, leaving a crater.
"Interesting..." The attendant said. "You're in. I'm sure you'll put up a good fight."
"Thanks." I nodded to them.
As I began to walk away someone else walked up to the attendant, I didn't get a good glimpse of them though.
"Aster." Their quiet voice said, it was a guy.
"Demonstrate... your power." The attendant sounded confused.
A few moments passed.
"Oh my... what the hell? Hold on a sec-" The attendant fell to the floor coughing.
I turned around, everyone was staring with me. The attendant was gasping for and air and clenching their stomach. Aster was engulfed in a black and pale blue fog, so was the attendant. The fog disappeared as the attendant slowly recovered. They let out another desperate cough.
"I guess that means I get to participate." Aster crouched next to them.
I continued to walk away, I caught glimpse of someone in massive armor that appeared to be made of purple rocks.
"Be a afraid small fry!" They slammed one of their fists into their other hand.
"Which one should I be more afraid of, Aster or this jerk?" I thought to myself.
As I walked away back the hotel I was staying at I cut through a market place and saw a familiar face.
"Karen?" I asked the women picking fruit from a stand.
"Who..?" They sounded nervous as they looked way from me, it was her.
"Karen, what're you doing here?"
"Shopping..? What're you doing?"
"Just making my way back from registering at the Enchanted Sword Contest. I have to ask you though, are you following me?"
She chuckled.
"No."
"Don't lie to me I've seen you in the past four towns."
She quickly turned around and looked at me in the eye. Karen still had her brown hair that looked kind of blonde in the sun and those icy eyes.
"I have been following you." She looked ashamed of herself.
"But why?"
"As you know, my house isn't exactly the calmest place. My mom and dad keep fighting so I decided to leave, and when I heard you were going to travel the lands I just started to follow you. Maybe somewhere along the way you would've gotten a house and I could've moved in somewhere close. I just don't want to be somewhere where I don't know anyone." There was distress in her voice.
I let out a sigh as I remembered how Karen's father would treat her, there'd always be yelling. Sometimes he'd threaten to hurt her, her mother would usually step in and take a few punches.
"I guess I'll let her travel with me, to keep her from going back there." I thought to myself.
Karen began to look away slowly.
"You can travel with me, I guess." I scratched my head as I looked down at her.
"Really!? Thanks Theo!" She wrapped her arms around me, I turned to the side to hide my reddish cheeks. "Ouch!"
Karen stepped back and examined her hand, her palm had been cut by the axe on my back. She examined it for a moment.
"Isn't that your fathers axe?" She asked.
"Yeah." I answered.
"Theodore! Of the Swinging Axe!" Someone called from behind me.
I turned around, it was someone I didn't recognize. They stood about six feet high and had a greying hair with some scars on their face.
"Do I... know you?" I asked.
"Not really, I stood a person behind you in the line for the competition though. The names Kirk Wolfenhart." Kirk put his hand out for a shake.
"Nice to meet you Kirk." I shook his hand firmly and noticed a sword sheath near his waist. A strange mask hung from its grip.
"Oh hello miss!" Kirk noticed Karen.
"Hi!" She waved, Kirk got closer to me.
"You're a lucky man, Theodore." He whispered, I ignored him.
"Anyways, not to be rude or anything but what exactly did you call me for?" I asked.
"Well you're invited to a little get-together I'll be having later at sunset at my house. Its right over there." He pointed to a large house a couple hundred feet away. "Everyone who made it into the competition is going, and of course they can bring guests." Kirk nodded at Karen.
"Alright, I'll be there!" I smiled, it had been a while since I had enjoyed a party.
"We'll!" Karen corrected me.
"Good to hear. See you then!" Kirk returned the smile and wandered off.
"So where are you staying in this town?" Karen asked me.
"At the Grand Sword Hotel." I answered.
"Oh alright, I'm not too far from there. I'll go get ready and meet you at the party!" Karen exclaimed as went to our rooms.
"I think its time for a haircut." I examined myself in mirror, my hair was beyond shoulder length. "Maybe Karen will cut it."
As I tied my hair up I noticed something on the axe. I turned around and walked towards it, picked it up and took it closer to the glowing crystals that lined the mirror. There was very little dried blood on the axes massive blade, Karen's.
"Hopefully this doesn't happen again." I scratched it off and set the axe down again.
I slipped into some fresh clothes and left the room for the party.
On my way to Kirk's house I saw some of the other contestants making their way over there too. Karen was waiting outside of the house, she was wearing a flowery dress, her right palm was bandaged.
"Why'd you wait for me?" I asked.
"I didn't want to make it seem like I was going in alone." She chuckled.
"Fair enough, well lets head inside." I gestured for her to go inside.
As she walked in I saw a huge figure in the corner of my eye.
"Hey small fry!" It was the man in the rocky armor. He was bald and had tan skin, he had the type of grin that made you question if you could trust the one smiling.
"Hey... um..." I stretched my arm out for a shake.
"Just call me Tank, that's what all my friends call me." He nearly crushed my hand in his.
I examined my hand before walking inside.
"Hey you guys." Kirk greeted us. "Take a seat, the food came out a little earlier than expected."
All the contestants and some of their friends were seated a long wooden table. I took a seat next to Karen, there were plates with covers in front of each of us.
"Charles." Kirk called.
"Yes, sir." An elderly man appeared and collected all the covers, revealing our dishes.
"Ladies and gentleman what you have before you is grilled tani'wha tentacles on a bed of rice with some greens on the side." Kirk said proudly. "Enjoy!"
I stabbed a tentacles with my fork and bit a piece off.
"So Tank, why'd you enter the competition?" I started some conversation.
"Yes, why did you?" Kirk asked.
"I guess you can say its kind of a challenge." He answered.
"Oh? Did the Brotherhood of the Enchanted Mail place this challenge on you?" Kirk asked.
"The Brotherhood?" Karen asked.
"The Brotherhood of the Enchanted Mail is a kind of 'club' where everyone has a piece of enchanted armor. The whole point of it is to show people you can win a fight without an enchanted weapon. I am a member of the Brotherhood, and also the one Curtis challenged to enter the competition." Aster answered.
"Yeah, cause someone needs to knock you off your pedestal." Tank muttered under his breath.
"What if someone has an overpowering enchantment on their armor?" Karen asked. "Wouldn't that make the Brotherhood's message kind of pointless?"
"Then that person just doesn't get the bragging rights that comes with defeating someone without an enchanted weapon." Aster answered.
"Don't worry everyone! We still got plenty of drinks!" Kirk exclaimed, slightly drunken.
"Hurray!" Tank grinned.
I was sitting on a chair drinking some water, I looked up and saw Karen talking to someone
"So how's it feel being able to take on anyone?" Karen looked up at the woman in front of her, I think her name was Maria.
"Well I can't take on everyone." She chuckled.
"But you can fight can't you?" Karen asked. "I just can't believe it."
"Can't believe what? That I'm a woman?" Maria laughed. "I'd expect that from someone else, not a fellow female."
Karen looked a little disappointed as Maria walked away.
"Shouldn't have been acting weird like that." I thought to myself.
"Come on, Aster! Lets settle this right here right now!" Tank pulled a chair next to a table he was sitting at. "In an arm wrestling contest, if I win it'll prove that I'm stronger than you. If you win, ha! What am I saying, you won't!"
"We've been through this before, Curtis." Aster looked at him from a rocking chair he was sitting in not too far away.
"I don't give a crap, you little punk!" Tank became impatient.
"You're clearly drunk, I think its time you head home." Aster took a sip from his glass.
"C'mere!" Tank roared, the only person who appeared to actually be phased by his yell was Karen.
Aster made his way over to the table and sat down, he pulled the sleeve to his coat up to his bicep and set his elbow down.
"If you don't give me everything you have in the first few seconds, you will lose. So prepare yourself." Aster said.
"Ha!" Tank pulled his sleeve up to reveal his muscular arm that when compared to Aster's arm made it look like a tooth pick.
They put their hands together. Tank grinned at Aster who just stared back at him, for a moment it didn't look like anything was happening. But Tank's grin quickly disappeared, it look like he was putting a lot of force into his arm but Aster's just stood still.
"The hell!?" Tank growled. "Theodore come over here!"
I stood up and walked to the table.
"Try this." He looked up at me.
"Sure thing." I wasn't sure I'd even move Aster's arm.
We put our hands together and I started to push. I was surprised to see Aster's hand almost meet the table top, I looked up at Aster who looked pretty shocked. His pale blue eyes grew wide behind his straight black hair. Just as I was about to win, Aster's pale lips curled into a smile and in one motion he slammed the back of my hand into the other side of the table.
"What the..?" I looked up at him.
"Move outta my way weakling!" Someone pushed me out of the chair. "I'll take you on."
The man who took my spot was swiftly defeated by Aster in about a minute, he had put up a better fight than Tank and I but he was just delaying the inevitable. I just stared at Aster, still shocked, my mind was blown.
"How'd you do that?" Karen questioned with a smile.
"You see, its all about being much stronger than your opponent." Aster gave her a small smile. "So strong, they have no chance of beating you."
It was sunrise and I was just sitting outside of the back of the arena. The first day of the arena was here. I sat against the wall in dark metal armor wearing a pelt cape.
"I hope you're not hung over." Aster taunted Tank.
"Watch it, punk. I'm doing just fine. If you and I fight today I'll show you." Tank snapped back.
"You guys are already here?" Kirk appeared. "What time did you all wake up?"
"Early." We all said in unison.
"Last time I slept was a week ago!" The man who pushed me off the chair the night before walked towards us. He was wielded a large scythe and was wearing nothing but a shirt with an upturned collar and some pants. "Sleep is for the-"
"Weak?" Aster asked. "We'll see about that."
"That a challenge I smell!?" The man growled.
Aster stayed quiet.
"Answer me!" The man made a grab at Aster's neck, Tank slapped his hand away.
"If he's being quiet it means he doesn't think there's a point to talking you anymore! He does that quite a lot." Tank said.
"Whatever, I'll kick both your asses later." The man turned around, he bumped into someone. "Watch it, girl!"
"S-sorry!" I heard Karen's voice as she carefully stepped away from the man.
"Better be!" He swept his long black hair away from his eyes.
As I was about to stand up I heard someone else's armor clink. I looked to my right and saw Aster in small black armor, he had a sad expression on his face.
"That's no way to treat a woman." He scolded the man. "You, slap him."
"What!?" Karen gasped, the man looked down at her. "Why?"
"Because he was unkind to you, he must be punished."
"What if he-" Karen was onboard with retaliating but she still had doubt.
"I'll kill him if he does."
"Isn't that a little extreme, Aster?" I worried.
Aster simply glanced at me. Karen turned towards the man and slapped his arm as hard as she could, the man looked down at her with a shocked expression. He glanced at Aster who was tapping the end of his sword with his fingers. The man scoffed and walked away from us and leaned on the arena walls.
"That was... dramatic." Karen chuckled.
"Definitely." I told Karen. "Why'd you even come here?"
"I came to wish you good luck, you have to pay for tickets to get in the arena." Karen smiled at me.
"Thanks." I told her, she didn't seem to believe me. "No really, thanks."
"You can have my ticket." Aster's said with a quiet voice.
"Really!? Thank you!" Karen snatched the ticket out of his hand.
"Didn't take you as the giving type, Aster." I chuckled lightly.
"I doubt I'll need my ticket, its only for contestants who want to observe the competition." He explained.
"Ha! Are you saying we don't look like tough opponents?" Kirk asked.
Before he could answer the door to arena creaked open. The attendant popped his head out of the arena.
"Alright guys its show time, Theodore and Daniel you're up first!"
"Daniel? Who the hells that?" I thought, I looked to my right and saw him.
Daniel was a skinny man with short brown hair, he was wearing nothing but a shirt and some pants.
"No armor? No weapon either? What is this?" I thought. "No doubt he's got something up his sleeve, maybe I'm in over my head."
"On this side we have Theodore of the Swinging Axe!" I heard the announcer yell.
I looked through the crowd, I saw Karen cheering. She was sitting next to Maria and Aster.
"So much for having no use for the ticket." I chuckled to myself.
"On the other side we have Daniel Lamberth!" The announcer pointed. "Fighters! Do not hit to kill but to incapacitate your opponent! You may begin!"
The crowd cheered one last time as I readied my weapon. I thought of charging in but I still had no idea what this guys plan was. I examined him closely and he did the same. Daniel fished for something beneath his white shirt.
"Since you're not doing anything, I start." He raised a silver necklace up.
He tightened his grip on the necklace, it began to glow a cyan color. A flash of light blinded everyone in the arena for a second, afterwards Daniel was fully armored in translucent cyan armor. I don't know how to describe it, it was like light you could feel, hard light. The dust on the arena floor was blown away by a gust of wind, Daniel took a step forward.
"The hell..?" I thought. "Is he part of that Brotherhood?"
"Ready or not!" Daniel yelled as he summoned a light flail.
I let out a small laugh, I readied my axe and it began to radiate that energy again, I swung it and a bolt of the black flames shot at Daniel. He swung his flail and knocked the bolt away from him then charged me. His flail went flying towards me, I grabbed its end with one arm and yanked him towards me, I readied to slam the butt of my axe into his head but he stopped the attack with his arm. Daniel wrapped some of the flails chains around his hand and gave me three hard punches to the face. I fell down, blood streaming from my nose, Daniel readied his mace for one final strike. Before he could slam the flail down on me I rolled away from him and quickly stood up. Then I saw my axe at his feet.
"This is bad..." I muttered.
"For you it is." Daniel chuckled. "Now lets see."
Daniel bent over to pick up my axe. He carried it in both of his hands.
"What this things power?" Daniel asked.
The axe burst into black flames that engulfed Daniel, I heard a thump as he dropped it.
"Now's my chance!" I thought. "While there's that wall of flames between us I can surprise him!"
I sprinted forward with my fist ready, I ran through the flames and saw Daniel still staggering, my fist went flying upward from underneath his chin. My fists began to slam onto Daniels helmet.
"I'm moving slower than usual, what gives?" I thought, in the corner of my eye I saw my axe still on the floor.
"Enough!" Daniel yelled, he returned some of the punches.
He managed to knock me back, blood dripped from my brow to my eye. I wiped it away quickly then looked up to see Daniel with a bow and arrow aimed at me.
"Surrender, Theodore." He looked down at me.
"No thanks!" I lunged towards my axe.
Daniel began to shoot at me as I picked up my axe. I ran around the circular arena, an arrow became lodged in the side of my arm.
"Damn it!" I strained to pull the arrow of light out of my arm.
Daniel didn't give up he just kept shooting, my axe spread its flame all over me. I had never taken this much of the axes power at once, the axe gave me a feeling of transcendence. The axe was entheogenic, that's why I never tried to take in too much power. I readied the axe and it built up a flame, I swung it once more and the bolt launched slammed into Daniels chest. At that moment I charged at him with so much speed when I stopped to punch him I slid on the dirt for a couple more seconds. Daniel was on the floor now, his bow had faded away, without a second thought I reached for his neck and ripped the necklace off. His armor began to fade away. I hovered the blade of the axe above his chest, more flames grew from the axe, more than ever before.
"Surrender." I moved the axe away from him.
"Heh, you really turned that around." Daniel gave a fake chuckle. "I surrender."
I reached my hand out to help him up.
"It appears Theodore is victorious!" The announcer yelled.
The crowd cheered, I looked over to Karen and her friends, she was cheering proudly. Maria was clapping and Aster seemed a little surprised but he was clapping as well.
"Up next we have Maria and Scythe!"
I stood outside of the arena leaning against the wall like I had earlier, my arm was bandaged. I heard footsteps approaching me.
"Hey." I heard Daniels voice.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Right now? The sky." He snickered. "Anyways can I have my chain back."
I still had his chain with me for some reason. I offered it to him.
"Here, sorry about that, something came over me."
"A murderous trance? Doesn't matter." He shrugged.
"Are you part of the Brotherhood?" I wondered about his armor.
"No? Why would you- oh its the armor. This armor is actually an heirloom, passed down from generation to generation in the Lamberth family." Daniel explained. "What about your axe?"
"This used to be my fathers axe before he passed away, just came here to compete and test its power. Turns out its pretty powerful." I chuckled to myself.
"Got that right." Daniel examined the axe.
"Why'd you come here to the arena?" I asked him.
"The answer to that is kind of complicated, and I don't think I should really be telling you." Daniel had a doubtful look in his eyes. "Do you know why this land is called The Sword's Sheath?"
"I've heard stories." I told him. "Two make some sense. The first being that a sword fell from the heavens and crashed into the land, it supposedly had the strongest enchantment known to man. The other story is about the first man to enchant a weapon. His enchantment, like the other one, was all-powerful. In his final days he hid the sword somewhere in the land."
"Both of those stories are false, but there is an enchanted sword somewhere in the land, and it is said to have the most powerful enchantment." Daniel nodded to me.
If Daniel knew that much, it must've meant he was going after the sword. I felt kind of bad for him, The Sheath was huge, I doubt he'd find it.
"Now tell me, have you ever heard of the monster who eats the strongest men and women?" Daniel asked.
"No, I haven't." I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.
"Well it exists, there's a monster out there. A family friend of mine proved it." Daniel sighed. "He noticed that all of the powerful warriors he had grown up with were disappearing. People began to make up stories that the Grim Reaper himself was taking the warriors, there was some sightings of a creature attacking them before their deaths. So Ricardo decided to grow stronger and lure out the beast, so one rainy night he decided to leave into the wilderness. He told us where he was heading but he warned 'no one follow me, I don't want any of you getting hurt, or worse.' When morning came we went searching for him, we found his leg lying in the wet and bloody mud. Scattered all over the ground were footprints that didn't belong to any known animal."
I still didn't believe him, a boogey man killing us warriors for no apparent reason. But the look in Daniels eyes when he mentioned the leg convinced me he was being truthful.
"So... why'd you compete here?" I asked again.
"I can't find the sword by myself, I don't think. So I decided to compete here to meet the strongest warrior in The Sheath, then I'd ask them to accompany me on my journey to find the sword. Then I could use the sword to lure the monster out and kill it. I'd be saving lives, maybe even yours, this has been my families goal for the past decade. Find the sword. Kill the beast." Daniel continued.
I wasn't sure if I'd win the competition but I decided to help Daniel out if I won.
"I'll help you find the sword. I doubt anyone else here would help you." I told him.
"Are you serious? Thank you, Theodore! You don't know how bad I wanted someone to help me!" Daniel stood up smiling.
"Don't get too excited, didn't you say you wanted the winner to help you?" I asked.
"Yes but I'm sure you'll win."
"Thanks, I guess. I have one question though, can a friend of mine tag along fort he journey?"
"Of course." Daniel nodded.
"Alright then." I stood up. "I'll see you around Daniel." I headed back to my room.
"I hope you're not hung over." Aster taunted Tank.
"Watch it, punk. I'm doing just fine. If you and I fight today I'll show you." Tank snapped back.
"You guys are already here?" Kirk appeared. "What time did you all wake up?"
"Early." We all said in unison.
"Last time I slept was a week ago!" The man who pushed me off the chair the night before walked towards us. He was wielded a large scythe and was wearing nothing but a shirt with an upturned collar and some pants. "Sleep is for the-"
"Weak?" Aster asked. "We'll see about that."
"That a challenge I smell!?" The man growled.
Aster stayed quiet.
"Answer me!" The man made a grab at Aster's neck, Tank slapped his hand away.
"If he's being quiet it means he doesn't think there's a point to talking you anymore! He does that quite a lot." Tank said.
"Whatever, I'll kick both your asses later." The man turned around, he bumped into someone. "Watch it, girl!"
"S-sorry!" I heard Karen's voice as she carefully stepped away from the man.
"Better be!" He swept his long black hair away from his eyes.
As I was about to stand up I heard someone else's armor clink. I looked to my right and saw Aster in small black armor, he had a sad expression on his face.
"That's no way to treat a woman." He scolded the man. "You, slap him."
"What!?" Karen gasped, the man looked down at her. "Why?"
"Because he was unkind to you, he must be punished."
"What if he-" Karen was onboard with retaliating but she still had doubt.
"I'll kill him if he does."
"Isn't that a little extreme, Aster?" I worried.
Aster simply glanced at me. Karen turned towards the man and slapped his arm as hard as she could, the man looked down at her with a shocked expression. He glanced at Aster who was tapping the end of his sword with his fingers. The man scoffed and walked away from us and leaned on the arena walls.
"That was... dramatic." Karen chuckled.
"Definitely." I told Karen. "Why'd you even come here?"
"I came to wish you good luck, you have to pay for tickets to get in the arena." Karen smiled at me.
"Thanks." I told her, she didn't seem to believe me. "No really, thanks."
"You can have my ticket." Aster's said with a quiet voice.
"Really!? Thank you!" Karen snatched the ticket out of his hand.
"Didn't take you as the giving type, Aster." I chuckled lightly.
"I doubt I'll need my ticket, its only for contestants who want to observe the competition." He explained.
"Ha! Are you saying we don't look like tough opponents?" Kirk asked.
Before he could answer the door to arena creaked open. The attendant popped his head out of the arena.
"Alright guys its show time, Theodore and Daniel you're up first!"
"Daniel? Who the hells that?" I thought, I looked to my right and saw him.
Daniel was a skinny man with short brown hair, he was wearing nothing but a shirt and some pants.
"No armor? No weapon either? What is this?" I thought. "No doubt he's got something up his sleeve, maybe I'm in over my head."
"On this side we have Theodore of the Swinging Axe!" I heard the announcer yell.
I looked through the crowd, I saw Karen cheering. She was sitting next to Maria and Aster.
"So much for having no use for the ticket." I chuckled to myself.
"On the other side we have Daniel Lamberth!" The announcer pointed. "Fighters! Do not hit to kill but to incapacitate your opponent! You may begin!"
The crowd cheered one last time as I readied my weapon. I thought of charging in but I still had no idea what this guys plan was. I examined him closely and he did the same. Daniel fished for something beneath his white shirt.
"Since you're not doing anything, I start." He raised a silver necklace up.
He tightened his grip on the necklace, it began to glow a cyan color. A flash of light blinded everyone in the arena for a second, afterwards Daniel was fully armored in translucent cyan armor. I don't know how to describe it, it was like light you could feel, hard light. The dust on the arena floor was blown away by a gust of wind, Daniel took a step forward.
"The hell..?" I thought. "Is he part of that Brotherhood?"
"Ready or not!" Daniel yelled as he summoned a light flail.
I let out a small laugh, I readied my axe and it began to radiate that energy again, I swung it and a bolt of the black flames shot at Daniel. He swung his flail and knocked the bolt away from him then charged me. His flail went flying towards me, I grabbed its end with one arm and yanked him towards me, I readied to slam the butt of my axe into his head but he stopped the attack with his arm. Daniel wrapped some of the flails chains around his hand and gave me three hard punches to the face. I fell down, blood streaming from my nose, Daniel readied his mace for one final strike. Before he could slam the flail down on me I rolled away from him and quickly stood up. Then I saw my axe at his feet.
"This is bad..." I muttered.
"For you it is." Daniel chuckled. "Now lets see."
Daniel bent over to pick up my axe. He carried it in both of his hands.
"What this things power?" Daniel asked.
The axe burst into black flames that engulfed Daniel, I heard a thump as he dropped it.
"Now's my chance!" I thought. "While there's that wall of flames between us I can surprise him!"
I sprinted forward with my fist ready, I ran through the flames and saw Daniel still staggering, my fist went flying upward from underneath his chin. My fists began to slam onto Daniels helmet.
"I'm moving slower than usual, what gives?" I thought, in the corner of my eye I saw my axe still on the floor.
"Enough!" Daniel yelled, he returned some of the punches.
He managed to knock me back, blood dripped from my brow to my eye. I wiped it away quickly then looked up to see Daniel with a bow and arrow aimed at me.
"Surrender, Theodore." He looked down at me.
"No thanks!" I lunged towards my axe.
Daniel began to shoot at me as I picked up my axe. I ran around the circular arena, an arrow became lodged in the side of my arm.
"Damn it!" I strained to pull the arrow of light out of my arm.
Daniel didn't give up he just kept shooting, my axe spread its flame all over me. I had never taken this much of the axes power at once, the axe gave me a feeling of transcendence. The axe was entheogenic, that's why I never tried to take in too much power. I readied the axe and it built up a flame, I swung it once more and the bolt launched slammed into Daniels chest. At that moment I charged at him with so much speed when I stopped to punch him I slid on the dirt for a couple more seconds. Daniel was on the floor now, his bow had faded away, without a second thought I reached for his neck and ripped the necklace off. His armor began to fade away. I hovered the blade of the axe above his chest, more flames grew from the axe, more than ever before.
"Surrender." I moved the axe away from him.
"Heh, you really turned that around." Daniel gave a fake chuckle. "I surrender."
I reached my hand out to help him up.
"It appears Theodore is victorious!" The announcer yelled.
The crowd cheered, I looked over to Karen and her friends, she was cheering proudly. Maria was clapping and Aster seemed a little surprised but he was clapping as well.
"Up next we have Maria and Scythe!"
I stood outside of the arena leaning against the wall like I had earlier, my arm was bandaged. I heard footsteps approaching me.
"Hey." I heard Daniels voice.
"What's up?" I asked.
"Right now? The sky." He snickered. "Anyways can I have my chain back."
I still had his chain with me for some reason. I offered it to him.
"Here, sorry about that, something came over me."
"A murderous trance? Doesn't matter." He shrugged.
"Are you part of the Brotherhood?" I wondered about his armor.
"No? Why would you- oh its the armor. This armor is actually an heirloom, passed down from generation to generation in the Lamberth family." Daniel explained. "What about your axe?"
"This used to be my fathers axe before he passed away, just came here to compete and test its power. Turns out its pretty powerful." I chuckled to myself.
"Got that right." Daniel examined the axe.
"Why'd you come here to the arena?" I asked him.
"The answer to that is kind of complicated, and I don't think I should really be telling you." Daniel had a doubtful look in his eyes. "Do you know why this land is called The Sword's Sheath?"
"I've heard stories." I told him. "Two make some sense. The first being that a sword fell from the heavens and crashed into the land, it supposedly had the strongest enchantment known to man. The other story is about the first man to enchant a weapon. His enchantment, like the other one, was all-powerful. In his final days he hid the sword somewhere in the land."
"Both of those stories are false, but there is an enchanted sword somewhere in the land, and it is said to have the most powerful enchantment." Daniel nodded to me.
If Daniel knew that much, it must've meant he was going after the sword. I felt kind of bad for him, The Sheath was huge, I doubt he'd find it.
"Now tell me, have you ever heard of the monster who eats the strongest men and women?" Daniel asked.
"No, I haven't." I couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.
"Well it exists, there's a monster out there. A family friend of mine proved it." Daniel sighed. "He noticed that all of the powerful warriors he had grown up with were disappearing. People began to make up stories that the Grim Reaper himself was taking the warriors, there was some sightings of a creature attacking them before their deaths. So Ricardo decided to grow stronger and lure out the beast, so one rainy night he decided to leave into the wilderness. He told us where he was heading but he warned 'no one follow me, I don't want any of you getting hurt, or worse.' When morning came we went searching for him, we found his leg lying in the wet and bloody mud. Scattered all over the ground were footprints that didn't belong to any known animal."
I still didn't believe him, a boogey man killing us warriors for no apparent reason. But the look in Daniels eyes when he mentioned the leg convinced me he was being truthful.
"So... why'd you compete here?" I asked again.
"I can't find the sword by myself, I don't think. So I decided to compete here to meet the strongest warrior in The Sheath, then I'd ask them to accompany me on my journey to find the sword. Then I could use the sword to lure the monster out and kill it. I'd be saving lives, maybe even yours, this has been my families goal for the past decade. Find the sword. Kill the beast." Daniel continued.
I wasn't sure if I'd win the competition but I decided to help Daniel out if I won.
"I'll help you find the sword. I doubt anyone else here would help you." I told him.
"Are you serious? Thank you, Theodore! You don't know how bad I wanted someone to help me!" Daniel stood up smiling.
"Don't get too excited, didn't you say you wanted the winner to help you?" I asked.
"Yes but I'm sure you'll win."
"Thanks, I guess. I have one question though, can a friend of mine tag along fort he journey?"
"Of course." Daniel nodded.
"Alright then." I stood up. "I'll see you around Daniel." I headed back to my room.
It was morning yet again, I stood outside of the arena with Aster and Tank. There were fewer contestants today.
"So you guys made it after all, ha!" Tank grinned at us. "You're a lot stronger than you look, Theodore."
I wielded a giant axe and was able to sprint in this heavy armor, of course I'm strong, I thought to myself. Aster glanced over to me and gave me an approving look. He didn't smile or anything, I just knew he had a sense of respect for me now after the first day. He turned around and began to walk to the other side of the arena.
"Aster? Where are you going?" Tank asked, there was bitterness in his voice. "What if we're fighting first?"
"Then the attendant will just have to find me in the crowd." He walked away casually.
"Ah so both of you made it!" A mans voice invaded our ears. "I'm kind of glad you guys made it, the others looked pretty weak anyways."
It was the man with the black hair again, giving us a creepy grin.
"Won't be glad when you and me fight, I can tell ya that much!" Tank challenged him, slamming his fists together.
"First contestants are up!" The attendant poked his head through the gate again. "Theodore and Scythe come on in."
I walked up to the door with the black haired man at my side, he was taller than me by at least a foot, and I was about six feet tall. He looked down at me, one of his eyes covered by a wide strand of hair.
"Good luck." He smiled.
"Whatever." I muttered.
The blade of my axe hovered a few inches above the ground as I held it, Scythe balanced himself on his large scythe.
Wonder where he got his name from, I thought to myself.
"So how long am I gonna have to wait for you to just surrender?" Scythe chuckled.
I ignored him as I thought of a way to beat him in one quick attack, cocky bastards like this one usually were crippled by their arrogance.
"Come on, man. Don't make me have to attack you, I'm sure the audience doesn't want a quick fight." He grew impatient.
My plan was ready. I rested the axe's blade on the dusty floor, sped towards Scythe, dust being collected at the front of my blade. As I approached Scythe I swung the blade forward, launching dust into his eyes.
"Damnit, cheap bastard!" Scythe bared his teeth as he stepped away from me, wiping his eyes.
I was about to end it with one slam into from the end of my axe into his torso, he'd be on the ground and at my mercy. But suddenly Scythe began to spin, his weapon ignited with purple flames, soon there was a large fire tornado in the center of the arena. The flames hit me once, I didn't ignite but instead I was launched into one of the arena walls.
"That's not fire..." I groaned. "Its some kind of energy..."
The energy vanished, Scythe emerged, struggling to stay on his feet.
"That's right..." Scythe groaned as he held his stomach.
He slouched over and coughed, then threw up on the arena floor. Many people in the arena expressed their disgust. I stumbled away from the wall I was launched into.
"You going to surrender?" I asked.
"Not to you!" Scythe groaned. "Ha! Dizziness is temporary, give it a second and I'll be ready to kick your
again."
Scythe stood up straight again, surprising me and most of the audience.
"Told ya, alright where were we." Scythe summoned another scythe made of purple energy.
My axe ignited itself as I readied for battle. Scythe swiped his weapons around and he approached me, a burst of speed brought him to my position in not even a second. I managed to block one of his attacks but as I scurried away one of his blades sliced the armor on the back of my hand. I examined the cut and was shocked to see that it left a cut on my skin.
"And that was from the metal one!" Scythe readied his weapons.
As I attempted to devise another plan, Scythe burst at me once again and slashed at my chest plate. His blade cut past about a centimeter of iron and cut my skin. I jumped away, the cut he left on me was nothing more than a gigantic paper cut, but the sting was unbearable. Scythe leapt forward with his knee pointed outward, with that hit I was knocked down on the floor. He raised his scythe and swung it forward, I was forced to grabbed the blade with my hand.
"Tell me you surrender, then I might stop." Scythe giggled maniacally.
I saw in the crowd Karen and Daniel looking down at me. Both of them were shocked and had extremely worried expressions. Aster remained calm, Tank was standing up with Kirk telling me to kick Scythe's.
"You can do it, buddy!" Kirk howled.
"Yeah! Get back up, small fry!" Tank demanded.
Daniel stood up and cheered me on as well, Karen stood up as well.
"Fight back!" She yelled.
Aster stood up next to her. Blood dripped down from the blade and onto my chest plate.
"I don't surrender!" I growled at Scythe.
The axe did something strange then, I burst into the black flames and I blasted Scythe off of me. I stood up and looked at him cower away.
"I'll need another weapon to make this fair..." I murmured.
A shapeless weapon of black flame appeared in my other hand. The energy was taking over again, I could tell. I held the axe in one hand, and the formless weapon in the other. Both were equally heavy, but I was using them like swords. I sent myself speeding forward, waving my weapons in front of me just as Scythe did.
"You're a lot tougher than you look kid, I'll give ya that much!" Scythe struggled to block my attacks. "Copying my technique was a good move, but in the end I just won't surrender! Not to you! Not to anyone!"
"Your attitude, you think you're the strongest don't you?" A menacing voice escaped my lips.
Scythe's eyes grew wide with fear, so did mine. That's not what I wanted to say, I wanted to tell him "neither will I" but that came out instead. Something else was talking, in the corner of my eyes I could see the black flames creeping up over my face. We locked our weapons together, he gritted his teeth while an involuntary smirk came over me.
"I am the strongest!" Scythe yelled back. "I'll prove it to you, I'll beat you and take down all of these other weaklings!"
"No, let me prove to you that you aren't the strongest!" The voice escaped my mouth again.
I slammed both of Scythe's weapons out of his hands with one swoop and kicked his chest, sending him stumbling to the ground. My axe blade hovered an inch away from his face.
"It was a good battle but its over now, just like you-surrender!" I took control of my voice again. "Just surrender!"
The black flames disappeared, my hand trembled as I moved my axe away from him. I sheathed my weapon again, and reached to help Scythe up.
"Damn..." He swiped my hand away. "It's happening again..."
Scythe struggled to get himself on his feet again, he swiftly left the arena after that.
"Good job taking down that cocky bastard, Theodore." Kirk served me a drink at his house, he had invited me and a few others over for dinner.
"Yes, I'm not sure how you managed to harden your energy into another weapon but it was most impressive, copying Scythe was a smart move." Aster nodded.
"Oh, Aster. Just say he did a good job, he didn't copy anyone!" Karen chuckled.
"Copying won't do you any good against me, small fry." Tank told me. "I am my own weapon!"
"He didn't even have to copy for me." Daniel joked.
"It'll probably be like that if me and him fight." Kirk said. "A fair fight, just the way I like them."
I looked around the room, we were the only contestants left. Tank, Aster, Kirk, and me. I had no idea what any of them did, I knew Aster poisoned people but that couldn't be his only power.
"I hope we fight tomorrow." Tank glanced at Aster.
"Eager to get your kicked?" Aster replied.
"Why you little-" Tank raised his fist.
"Who do you think will win, Karen?" Kirk asked her.
She looked at us all pensively for a second.
"No offense Kirk and Tank but I'm sure Theo will win!" She exclaimed. "My second choice is definitely Aster though, he might just be strong enough."
"Might be?" Aster glanced. "I challenge you all to an arm wrestling match."
"Your on!" Tank bellowed.
"I hope you're less drunk today." Aster smirked.
I sat on a chair not far from the guys challenging Aster, Tank came close to making Aster move his arm but gave up. He left the house to go get something.
"What's wrong?" Karen sat next to me.
"Something's wrong?" I asked her.
"You've just been quiet, I mean you've always been really quiet but today you haven't said much." She worried.
I let out a sigh, she was right I've always been quiet. I'm surprised we were even friends seeing how talkative Karen was. I guess if I could tell anyone about my problems it would be her.
"It's the axe. It makes me do weird things."
"Define weird."
"The energy, its like it has a mind of its own. When I use too much of its power, the only thing that matters is fighting. I start thinking of brutally murdering the opponents I face, it happened with Daniel and it happened today again with Scythe."
I looked up at Karen, she seemed shocked and worried but nodded her head.
"Go on."
"Today, the energy, it spoke. I'm not sure how but it like possessed me. I wasn't talking in my normal voice. Almost killed Scythe like this, you saw the blade hovering." I whispered.
"Wow... well..."
I expected her to run.
"Maybe you should just give the axe a break, stop using it. Or just its power."
I found it comforting that she wasn't afraid of me, after telling someone something like this I'd expect them to run.
"I'm back!" Tank opened the door. He was wearing a glove made of the purple rock on his armor. "Lets do this Aster!"
"Come then, prepare to lose." Aster replied.
They locked their hands together, Tank managed to push Aster pretty far. Aster looked up into Tank's wild eyes, watching Tank strain to try and push Aster down. They showed no signs of moving anytime soon.
"If you don't recover in the next minute I think Tank would win by default." Kirk crossed his arms.
"Alright then." Aster pushed Tanks arm to the other side of the table. "Now I win."
"Whatever man!" Tank walked away, you could almost see the anger steaming off of him.
"Let me try!" Karen chuckled.
"What!?" Kirk shouted.
"No! He's too powerful!" Daniel protested.
"If you want to go get your arm destroyed, I'd go for it." Tank snickered.
Karen looked back to me. I just shrugged at her. She locked her hand in Aster's and in no time flat, she pushed his arm to the other side of the table.
"Aster!" Karen pouted. "Are you even trying?"
"I am. You beat me." He gave her a warm smile.
He won't be that kind if I fight him, I thought to myself.
"So you guys made it after all, ha!" Tank grinned at us. "You're a lot stronger than you look, Theodore."
I wielded a giant axe and was able to sprint in this heavy armor, of course I'm strong, I thought to myself. Aster glanced over to me and gave me an approving look. He didn't smile or anything, I just knew he had a sense of respect for me now after the first day. He turned around and began to walk to the other side of the arena.
"Aster? Where are you going?" Tank asked, there was bitterness in his voice. "What if we're fighting first?"
"Then the attendant will just have to find me in the crowd." He walked away casually.
"Ah so both of you made it!" A mans voice invaded our ears. "I'm kind of glad you guys made it, the others looked pretty weak anyways."
It was the man with the black hair again, giving us a creepy grin.
"Won't be glad when you and me fight, I can tell ya that much!" Tank challenged him, slamming his fists together.
"First contestants are up!" The attendant poked his head through the gate again. "Theodore and Scythe come on in."
I walked up to the door with the black haired man at my side, he was taller than me by at least a foot, and I was about six feet tall. He looked down at me, one of his eyes covered by a wide strand of hair.
"Good luck." He smiled.
"Whatever." I muttered.
The blade of my axe hovered a few inches above the ground as I held it, Scythe balanced himself on his large scythe.
Wonder where he got his name from, I thought to myself.
"So how long am I gonna have to wait for you to just surrender?" Scythe chuckled.
I ignored him as I thought of a way to beat him in one quick attack, cocky bastards like this one usually were crippled by their arrogance.
"Come on, man. Don't make me have to attack you, I'm sure the audience doesn't want a quick fight." He grew impatient.
My plan was ready. I rested the axe's blade on the dusty floor, sped towards Scythe, dust being collected at the front of my blade. As I approached Scythe I swung the blade forward, launching dust into his eyes.
"Damnit, cheap bastard!" Scythe bared his teeth as he stepped away from me, wiping his eyes.
I was about to end it with one slam into from the end of my axe into his torso, he'd be on the ground and at my mercy. But suddenly Scythe began to spin, his weapon ignited with purple flames, soon there was a large fire tornado in the center of the arena. The flames hit me once, I didn't ignite but instead I was launched into one of the arena walls.
"That's not fire..." I groaned. "Its some kind of energy..."
The energy vanished, Scythe emerged, struggling to stay on his feet.
"That's right..." Scythe groaned as he held his stomach.
He slouched over and coughed, then threw up on the arena floor. Many people in the arena expressed their disgust. I stumbled away from the wall I was launched into.
"You going to surrender?" I asked.
"Not to you!" Scythe groaned. "Ha! Dizziness is temporary, give it a second and I'll be ready to kick your
again."Scythe stood up straight again, surprising me and most of the audience.
"Told ya, alright where were we." Scythe summoned another scythe made of purple energy.
My axe ignited itself as I readied for battle. Scythe swiped his weapons around and he approached me, a burst of speed brought him to my position in not even a second. I managed to block one of his attacks but as I scurried away one of his blades sliced the armor on the back of my hand. I examined the cut and was shocked to see that it left a cut on my skin.
"And that was from the metal one!" Scythe readied his weapons.
As I attempted to devise another plan, Scythe burst at me once again and slashed at my chest plate. His blade cut past about a centimeter of iron and cut my skin. I jumped away, the cut he left on me was nothing more than a gigantic paper cut, but the sting was unbearable. Scythe leapt forward with his knee pointed outward, with that hit I was knocked down on the floor. He raised his scythe and swung it forward, I was forced to grabbed the blade with my hand.
"Tell me you surrender, then I might stop." Scythe giggled maniacally.
I saw in the crowd Karen and Daniel looking down at me. Both of them were shocked and had extremely worried expressions. Aster remained calm, Tank was standing up with Kirk telling me to kick Scythe's
."You can do it, buddy!" Kirk howled.
"Yeah! Get back up, small fry!" Tank demanded.
Daniel stood up and cheered me on as well, Karen stood up as well.
"Fight back!" She yelled.
Aster stood up next to her. Blood dripped down from the blade and onto my chest plate.
"I don't surrender!" I growled at Scythe.
The axe did something strange then, I burst into the black flames and I blasted Scythe off of me. I stood up and looked at him cower away.
"I'll need another weapon to make this fair..." I murmured.
A shapeless weapon of black flame appeared in my other hand. The energy was taking over again, I could tell. I held the axe in one hand, and the formless weapon in the other. Both were equally heavy, but I was using them like swords. I sent myself speeding forward, waving my weapons in front of me just as Scythe did.
"You're a lot tougher than you look kid, I'll give ya that much!" Scythe struggled to block my attacks. "Copying my technique was a good move, but in the end I just won't surrender! Not to you! Not to anyone!"
"Your attitude, you think you're the strongest don't you?" A menacing voice escaped my lips.
Scythe's eyes grew wide with fear, so did mine. That's not what I wanted to say, I wanted to tell him "neither will I" but that came out instead. Something else was talking, in the corner of my eyes I could see the black flames creeping up over my face. We locked our weapons together, he gritted his teeth while an involuntary smirk came over me.
"I am the strongest!" Scythe yelled back. "I'll prove it to you, I'll beat you and take down all of these other weaklings!"
"No, let me prove to you that you aren't the strongest!" The voice escaped my mouth again.
I slammed both of Scythe's weapons out of his hands with one swoop and kicked his chest, sending him stumbling to the ground. My axe blade hovered an inch away from his face.
"It was a good battle but its over now, just like you-surrender!" I took control of my voice again. "Just surrender!"
The black flames disappeared, my hand trembled as I moved my axe away from him. I sheathed my weapon again, and reached to help Scythe up.
"Damn..." He swiped my hand away. "It's happening again..."
Scythe struggled to get himself on his feet again, he swiftly left the arena after that.
"Good job taking down that cocky bastard, Theodore." Kirk served me a drink at his house, he had invited me and a few others over for dinner.
"Yes, I'm not sure how you managed to harden your energy into another weapon but it was most impressive, copying Scythe was a smart move." Aster nodded.
"Oh, Aster. Just say he did a good job, he didn't copy anyone!" Karen chuckled.
"Copying won't do you any good against me, small fry." Tank told me. "I am my own weapon!"
"He didn't even have to copy for me." Daniel joked.
"It'll probably be like that if me and him fight." Kirk said. "A fair fight, just the way I like them."
I looked around the room, we were the only contestants left. Tank, Aster, Kirk, and me. I had no idea what any of them did, I knew Aster poisoned people but that couldn't be his only power.
"I hope we fight tomorrow." Tank glanced at Aster.
"Eager to get your
kicked?" Aster replied."Why you little-" Tank raised his fist.
"Who do you think will win, Karen?" Kirk asked her.
She looked at us all pensively for a second.
"No offense Kirk and Tank but I'm sure Theo will win!" She exclaimed. "My second choice is definitely Aster though, he might just be strong enough."
"Might be?" Aster glanced. "I challenge you all to an arm wrestling match."
"Your on!" Tank bellowed.
"I hope you're less drunk today." Aster smirked.
I sat on a chair not far from the guys challenging Aster, Tank came close to making Aster move his arm but gave up. He left the house to go get something.
"What's wrong?" Karen sat next to me.
"Something's wrong?" I asked her.
"You've just been quiet, I mean you've always been really quiet but today you haven't said much." She worried.
I let out a sigh, she was right I've always been quiet. I'm surprised we were even friends seeing how talkative Karen was. I guess if I could tell anyone about my problems it would be her.
"It's the axe. It makes me do weird things."
"Define weird."
"The energy, its like it has a mind of its own. When I use too much of its power, the only thing that matters is fighting. I start thinking of brutally murdering the opponents I face, it happened with Daniel and it happened today again with Scythe."
I looked up at Karen, she seemed shocked and worried but nodded her head.
"Go on."
"Today, the energy, it spoke. I'm not sure how but it like possessed me. I wasn't talking in my normal voice. Almost killed Scythe like this, you saw the blade hovering." I whispered.
"Wow... well..."
I expected her to run.
"Maybe you should just give the axe a break, stop using it. Or just its power."
I found it comforting that she wasn't afraid of me, after telling someone something like this I'd expect them to run.
"I'm back!" Tank opened the door. He was wearing a glove made of the purple rock on his armor. "Lets do this Aster!"
"Come then, prepare to lose." Aster replied.
They locked their hands together, Tank managed to push Aster pretty far. Aster looked up into Tank's wild eyes, watching Tank strain to try and push Aster down. They showed no signs of moving anytime soon.
"If you don't recover in the next minute I think Tank would win by default." Kirk crossed his arms.
"Alright then." Aster pushed Tanks arm to the other side of the table. "Now I win."
"Whatever man!" Tank walked away, you could almost see the anger steaming off of him.
"Let me try!" Karen chuckled.
"What!?" Kirk shouted.
"No! He's too powerful!" Daniel protested.
"If you want to go get your arm destroyed, I'd go for it." Tank snickered.
Karen looked back to me. I just shrugged at her. She locked her hand in Aster's and in no time flat, she pushed his arm to the other side of the table.
"Aster!" Karen pouted. "Are you even trying?"
"I am. You beat me." He gave her a warm smile.
He won't be that kind if I fight him, I thought to myself.
Last edited:
