The Oathsworn

by Liandra Jake

  "Clancer Tomhile is the close combat expert! He's capable of snapping trees with a single combo of his one-two-KO style!" Clancer began to shadowbox, throwing slow punches for the crowd. Casandre slapped smacked his shoulder to make him stop. "Casandre Howl, a proverbial wild card ready to be the second captain and has skills that'll make you 'howl'!"

  Corenden pivoted forwards, pushing the announcer back with his feet. Casandre's fist stopped in open air. "WHOA Whoa!" The announcer exclaimed as he stumbled back. Corenden was balanced on top of Casandre's arm, eye-to-eye and hand-to-fist with the irritated woman.

  "Now now! Save that spunk for later!" The two slowly backed off. The announcer continued with his introductions, unfazed by Casandre. "Ceaser Vechaz is the standing medic and long range support! While no expert marksman, he's fast and clever; a dangerous combination for anyone coming after him!" The announcer took a few steps backward. "You have until I leave the stage to arrange yourselves."

  He turned slowly, before sprinting towards his erected tower. Wesken's group backed up and spread out. The only change to Nem's team was Hunter and Panzer turning to cover Nem's sides and Corenden flying higher. "GO!" The announcer exclaimed as he crossed the threshold of the field.

  Nem's team moved. Corenden flew straight up, putting his back to the sun. Hunter, Nem, and Panzer all ran forward; Hunter and Panzer breaking off to create a pincer movement, crossing paths behind Nem. Nem ran straight forward, drawing his blade and cutting a line of Orenth into the ground. Clancer and Casandre had to switch sides to fit Wesken's plan: Clancer was to distract Panzer, and Casandre was to dominate the inexperienced Hunter as quickly as she could.

  Once Nem was directly in front of Wesken, he quickly veered off to his right and created a wall of Orenth in front of the humanoid wolf. The moment the Moon Orenth erupted from the ground, Corenden dived at Ceaser. As Corenden's sword bounced off Ceaser's reinforced riot gear with a spark of neon, Nem leapt through his still-exploding Orenth to cut a sharp line around Wesken's other side, separating the wolf from Clancer, Panzer, and Nem.

  Wesken cursed as he hurried around Nem's barrier. He arrived in time to see Clancer fly and tumble from a punch by Panzer. The force the woman put behind it was enough to make Nem pause. "C-Clancer's out!" The announcer exclaimed. "That woman packs quite a punch!" Panzer looked over to Nem, jerking her head in Wesken's direction. Nem did a slow turn. With the sound of grit under his heels, Nem advanced slowly towards Wesken.

  Wesken swung out a specially crafted cannon. The basic shape of the cannon resembled a glorified vase with a long neck. Two handles were attached to separate connecting rods that could rotate around the base of the gun until they returned to the barrel. A short, skinny butt was fitted to the back, make from a spongy rubber. No trigger stood out.

  A muffled laugh from Arend caught Kronth's attention. Kronth sighed. "Go ahead. I know you've done work for Silver Napalm already." "Hold on, you should see how it works first." Arend replied.

  With a grunt, Wesken lodged the barrel between his boot and the ground. Wesken strained as he pulled up on both handles, until they snapped into place directly behind the base of the cannon. He immediately swapped hands and pushed them down the rest of the way around. They jerked into contact with the barrel.

  "Seems a little slow…" "Watch closely Kronth~!" Arend sang. Wesken took an awkward crouched position, his right leg stretched out behind him and his left knee propping up the cannon. Keeping the incredulous Nem in his sights, Wesken jerked the butt of the gun into his shoulder.

  In a blast of starfire, a cone of Nova-based fire exploded from the barrel of the cannon. Nem and Panzer both dived out of the way as fast as they could. The impressive cone dissipated well before it reached the audience. Wesken was pushed back ten feet from where he started, his wide boots gouging deep trenches into the ground. He looked up to see a melted triangle twenty feet only long, but spread more than thirty feet to both sides.

  "WHATWHATWAAAAAGH!?" Wesken yelled. His head whipped around to face Arend, his helmet ripped off comically. "THIS is the difference between Nova & Fire and Nova & Nova!?" He gestured widely at the melted triangle and the silent crowd beyond. Arend' grin grew wider. "Told ya it packed a punch!" Wesken rolled his eyes and turned to Nem. "Run." Nem obliged. Panzer tailed Wesken as he chased after the retreating Nem, both avoiding the lines of Orenth Nem left behind him.

  Corenden was bearing down on Ceaser. The Pog lacked the serious strength to push him back, but Corenden had the advantage of speed and maneuverability. Ceaser had no real offense to match Corenden's sword, only a knife and a handgun. He tried to shoot Corenden, but his shots collided with the ground, the Shield protecting the crowd, or dissipated into the air.

  When Wesken fired his cannon, Corenden took the opportunity to poke through a gap in Ceaser's armor at his shoulder with a wooden shiv. His Shield lit up with neon, arcing across his chest and cracking the hardened film on Ceaser's armor. Ceaser immediately retaliated with a scattered barrage of shots from his handgun.

  Hunter and Casandre were staring each other down, uninterested in fighting. Casandre didn't want to fight someone she viewed as weak, and Hunter didn't want to chase her around the field trying to hit her. They clashed occasionally, but neither put forward the effort to overpower the other. Wesken's explosion caught their attention, and subsequently ended their complacency. "Weee shouldn't draw this out." Hunter said as he turned back to Casandre. She nodded with a sigh. "I guess so."

  Hunter's blade clashed with Casandre's. Her free arm was bracing the sword as Hunter pushed against her, his sword dripping neon flames. Both of their Shields sparked on contact with Hunter's Orenth. Casandre drew back, retreating in the direction of her remaining allies. Ceaser ran to meet her, managing to keep Corenden away with well-timed shots.

  "Well this sucks!" Ceaser said as he replaced the spent Korvan in his gun. "What did you expect?" Casandre asked as she deflected a wide slash from Hunter, continuing the movement to block an attack from Corenden. Ceaser leaned around her to shoot at Hunter. "Dragon's Den-" Casandre grunted as she shoved Corenden back, returning to Hunter. "Has never shown their strength until now. They were stuck with menial work, and have waited for a day like this."

  Nem flew out of nowhere, a pale glow surrounding him as he slid into a fighting stance and swung the trembling Moon's Sonata. Corenden hopped over it before it collided with Ceaser's chest. The Orenth wave that followed wrapped around him to consume Hunter and Casandre. Hunter was prepared with a wave of his own Orenth to push back with, boosted by the reactions with his and Casandre's Shields.

  Casandre could only bring up her arms as Nem's powerful Orenth came into contact with her Shield. Ceaser reacted quickly, pushing Nem's sword up with his forearm and pulling the stunned Casandre after him. He was happy he invested in Orenth resistant armor.

  Dragon's Den backed off as Wesken joined his team with his cannon at the ready. Panzer, a little scorched around the edges, joined her team as Ceaser and Casandre caught their breath. "That gun is a problem." Panzer said as she removed her sizzling shirt. "Panzer!" Nem exclaimed. "Relax boys." Panzer said as she adjusted her black training bra. "I wear layers. This isn't anything my students haven't seen me in." Kyrel whistled. Panzer gave him a casual salute.

  "About the gun," Hunter began. "I have an idea. I've been practicing an attack I'm sure will work against it." "You sure?" Corenden asked. "Dark has no effect on Nova, and Plasma creates a feedback loop with it. I've dealt with Nova Orenth before." Hunter flashed a smile. "Believe me, it'll work." Nem looked to Panzer. "You and I can take care of Panzer. If Hunter's plan works on Wesken, this will only be over when Ceaser is by himself. He knows the fight is lost when he's alone."

  "Game on then?" Hunter asked impatiently. Nem nodded. "Four point attack. Hunter forward, Panzer left, Corenden from above, and I'll take the right until we can separate Casandre from the others. The group broke their huddle. Across the field, Ceaser was attending to Casandre and Wesken, a
nd gave them a well-needed boost.

  While Dragon's Den was distracted, Wesken reloaded the pressure in his weapon and reset it by repeating the movement of the handles like before. He knew well the limits Arend had imposed, and followed them closely. They formed a line as Dragon's Den faced them; Ceaser in the back, Casandre in the middle, and Wesken on point.

  Dragon's Den moved once Hunter raced forward, his Beat Drive ticking and dripping with Plasma Orenth. Wesken brought up his weapon. Hunter continued his dash forward, closing the gap between him and Wesken. The moment Hunter stepped into range, Wesken fired. The wide explosion of Orenth gave Hunter little time.

  'Crisis Tempo!' Hunter thought to himself as he revved the Beat Drive well past its baseline. The layer of neon color on his blade doubled as the wave of Nova was upon him. Four words rang out across the field: "Plasma Rave; CAVITY SLASH!" A high-pitched hum pierced though the sound of the rowdy crowd. A wide vertical disk of Plasma cut though Wesken's attack, growing in size as it absorbed Orenth.

  Hunter hurried after it, his heart practically beating in time with the vibration of his blade. Hunter's disk slowed as Wesken took a second, desperate shot. Nem an Panzer were forced to take a wide path around the interacting Orenth or else risk overloading their Shields. 'C'mon Hunter…' Nem thought with a worried look. 'That shit'll hurt...'

  Hunter preformed another Cavity Slash to push back against Wesken's second shot. The two disks twisted together, but had very little effect as Wesken fired a third time, now rooted in the ground. In a move no-one could predict, Hunter followed up the exhausting downward swing with a smooth turn and transition into a third, back handed Cavity Slash. Neon and starfire mixed as Hunter's sword trailed through a rouge patch of Nova Orenth and spiraled out in a fourth Cavity Slash. The third and fourth joined the growing disk of Plasma Orenth in quick succession, the off-center spirals of Orenth gave the disk a wobble.

  Despite Hunter's Slip in control, Wesken couldn't keep up. Hunter's combined Cavity Slashes pushed back against the cloud of Nova Orenth, the twisting neon energy cutting its way through the dissipating starfire. Wesken was too exhausted from his weapons' recoil to recover in time to dodge Hunter's attacks. He was driven further into the ground by the sheer power of the twisting Orenth, his Shield overloading in a brilliant explosion of Plasma. Hunter fell back, too tired to move.

  Casandre's hasty retreat with Ceaser forced her into a tight pincer. Panzer and Nem held nothing back as they forced Casandre away from Ceaser. Corenden distracted the medic with wooden projectiles followed up with sword strikes. With both Panzer and Nem working against her, Casandre didn't last long. Nem pinned her down in a cage of Moon Orenth, allowing Panzer to take her out with a heavy fist. Ceaser immediately surrendered when he found himself fighting alone.

  "… The two Korvan are force tightly together, fueling the feedback loop right up to the trigger from a Korvan in the butt to fire it all out at high speed." Arend explained, showing Kronth some of the notes he used. "Wesken knows his place at the front of his team is changing with his age. That's why he wanted some sort of support weapon instead of something that requires a more physical touch." "That's something relaxed?" Kronth asked, pointing at the molten rock still cooling in the winter wind. Arend shrugged. "He still wanted it to be powerful."

  [X]

  King and Gliese found a wooded area a few dozen miles west of the Shichland ranch. A stream from the mountain fed into a lake at the foot of a large hill. Gliese watched King's digging with an amused smile. "You sure you don't want my help?" She asked. King continued to dig into the hill, continuing the shower of dirt behind him. "I told you I'm fine doing this. Why don't you go hunting or something?" "We just ate King. Don't you want to watch the Guild Tournament?"

  "I don't need to be there." King replied. "I already know who'll win." "I guess you've got a little 'team spirit' eh?" Gliese asked with a laugh as she poked King's side with a paw. "Har har. You're ever so clever my dear." "I'm funnier than you." Gliese said with a pout. "Am not!" "You tell glorified dad jokes King." Gliese said bluntly. "I…" King paused. He cursed quietly. "Damn." Gliese pushed against him. "Move and save the jokes for the kids. We can clean off the dirt in the lake later."

  King shuffled to the side to let Gliese dig. With a faint aura of yellow, Gliese's paws tore into the earth faster than King ever did. With most of her weight balanced on her back legs, she wasn't encumbered by her crippled foreleg. "Do you think we should make cross beams?" King asked, looking at the forest around them. "We'd be the first Pendragons who would." Gliese replied. "If you really think we'd need them, I suggest contacting Arend' Pog friend, Iode. That way we won't waste lumber." King lay down on the hill, resting his head between his dirty paws. "I really think we should. We don't want a cave in on our pups."

  [X]

  The Guild Tournament was in full swing. Non-Guild onlookers were moved between the rival Syndicates who would otherwise start a riot. In the three matches against Silver Napalm, Dragon's Den won every one with little contest. The Dragon's Den team had their final match of the day against Horace;Damned. The winner would face Cobalt Soiden

  Horace;Damned's top team was as well-rounded as the Guild itself. Orion was the leader, with white speckled black hair, orange-brown eyes, and using a larger than average sword paired with a shield. He wore a dark blue chestplate with a matching gauntlet on his right arm. Orion's hefty one-handed sword was rigged with a thick disk centered on the spine of the blade to aid in the balance of the weapon through centripetal force. His weapon, while not basic, wasn't expensive and over-the-top; simply silver-blue metal shaped for a more defensive style. His shield absorbed impacts at the cost of Orion's Orenth, and could reflect Orenth in varying amounts based on Type.

  Carmine and Diego were the two powerhouses of the group. Carmine specialized in Orenth-based offences through interchangeable charges for his guns. Taking after his father, he designed and built his own guns. Diego ripped through his enemies' defenses with a well balanced chainsaw built by Arend. The two chains moved in opposite directions to prevent it from getting stuck.

  Targe "The Dynamo" had a supporting role, closely supported by Orion. The Changed man used Vacuum and Crystal based attacks whenever someone broke past Carmine and Diego. His body was covered in crystalline formations commonly mistaken for Korvan, but they were in fact enhanced receptors for Orenth that boosted his power and those who he chose to share his power with. Orion, Carmine, and Diego all had a piece of his crystal growths as pieces of jewelry that allowed the transfer of Targe's Orenth without visible effects. Orion had the largest piece, set into the back end of his shield.

  Targe kept track of their Orenth levels, and they protected him from direct combat. This team had made a sweep of their own through the best anyone else had to offer. Ice-Blue Aurora, Free's Gym, and Gentle Everlast all lost to Horace;Damned's top-notch team.

  Arend' mind worked tirelessly as he compared the two teams. FLHT, what he nicknamed Dragon's Den's team, didn't have support like Targe. They were a team of aggressive fighters who had nothing to fall back on. 'Not that they would fall back.' Arend thought. 'Both groups have full faith in each other, and kick-ass weapons to back it up.' Kronth nudged him. "You're grinning again. What do you know now?" "This is by far the closest match so far." Arend replied before sipping from a mug of warm cocoa.

  The two teams were in separate huddles, discussing plans to take on the other team. "We can't keep running around out there." Nem said. "We need a strategy." "Haven't we just been fighting to our strengths?" Corenden asked. "Why stop doing what works?" "It's not as simple as that anymore." Panzer replied. "Silver Napalm has excellent teamwork, but their members still operate on their own. These four have been sticking to a tight formation; their offences in the front, a defensive leader a few spaces behind, and their support right behind him."

  Corenden nodded. "I get that, yes, but I don't think it'll take much to break that down." "Care to explain?" Hunter asked. "I've seen these
guys in action, and I know they don't go on any Request without a single missing member." "Think about their Orenth preferences for a second." Corenden began. "What would be the best match ups? Targe is Crystal/Vacuum There's nothing we can do about Vacuum, but we have someone with two advantages: Panzer, with Nova/Metal."

  "I've never used my Orenth!" Panzer exclaimed. "How did you know?" Corenden smiled. "I'm a Monster, and I've already told you I've dealt with Nova Orenth before. Metal was only an easy step over from Earth." Nem looked over at Corenden with a worried look. "So you want to take on Orion?"

  "I should." Corenden replied. "Both you and Hunter have types that will only make him stronger, and since you don't have a second type to work with, and Hunter has little offense with his Dark Orenth, it'll be a long fight. I move faster than any of you, and can easily get past his shield and close enough to make his sword useless. Not to mention both Wood and Water have advantages on Light and Nova respectively."