by Brent Tyman
“Maybe one day,” I said, smiling. “You two are my family, now. I feel more complete than ever.”
That clearly had been the right thing to say, as both women squeezed my arms and snuggled in a little bit closer, seemingly pleased.
Stephania glanced over to give me a curious look, before turning towards the stage.
So, a tournament would decide who got to rule in Tringall?
The three nations really had some… interesting people leading them, but also some of the most beautiful women as their daughters and heirs.
Whatever happened, I would stay by their side.
No matter what.
14
Clarissa’s father led the rest of the assembly, with the headmaster mostly filling in any blanks. Since the headmaster was part of the city state council, I wondered how they felt about the whole idea. From how the headmaster tread carefully with his words and the lack of enthusiasm in his voice, it was clear he wasn’t thrilled with how things were going.
It made sense, in a way. Tringall was just a small city, surrounded by three behemoth nations on all sides. They likely had to dance around a fair bit to play nice with all three, or they risked having to deal with folks like Juliana’s father.
If I hadn’t met the women who would be directly affected by this, I wouldn’t even have paid attention to whoever ruled Tringall, as long as I continued to have access to the Dungeon.
I took in every detail about this tournament, as this affected both Juliana and Clarissa, and indirectly, our future together. Who knew that I’d get myself mixed up with the heirs of two competing nations?
As how the tournament would work became clearer, I was even more relieved to have Aurielle on my side. Having another Tank in the party, other than myself, would be a great help with whatever came our way.
Especially since I wanted to learn magic, which would no doubt make my damage pretty much trash, at least initially.
The tournament would be broken up into multiple stages. It seemed the intent was for groups of five to compete against each other. That lined up with how Juliana’s retinue worked, as there were ordinarily five of them, including Juliana herself.
The first stage would be timed trials in the Dungeon, where groups representing all three nations—they even were permitting groups from the adventurer’s guild to participate—would compete to qualify for the tournament.
The second stage would decide which groups of five would represent each nation. At the end of this stage, there would be less than twenty teams participating, maximum. There seemed to be little detail about what this second stage might consist of, but it could be more Dungeon trials or something else.
The final stage would be a fight in the Tringall Arena, which I didn’t even know existed. Here, the overall winner would be decided, and the winning nation would simply swoop in and take control of Tringall, just like that. The sour look on the headmaster’s face demonstrated his doubts that things would work themselves out so neatly. Clearly, many of the students were dubious about all sides accepting defeat graciously, too.
For what it was worth, Clarissa’s father seemed ecstatic about the idea.
The tournament would begin in just a few days. Any and all participants needed to form and sign up with their groups before it started. I wondered if there would be individual or team prizes, in addition to the grand prize for the winning nation.
Surely, they’d throw in a rare piece of loot or something for the competitors themselves?
The headmaster ended the assembly once Clarissa’s father started to drone on about how Hoganna was most likely to win. He promised they’d post a full list of rules on the Academy Boards by tomorrow, which I planned on checking out.
We all left the assembly hall together. I was surprised to see that even Stephania came out with us.
“I can’t believe my father would agree to this… this… farce!” Juliana hissed. “What a horrible turn of events.”
“I am unsure about how this city functions,” Aurielle began. “But would not this transition of power anger the two nations that do not win this tournament?”
“Oh, it most definitely will,” Stephania said. “My father would not tolerate the loss of Tringall to either of the other nations. He will do anything and everything he can to win.”
It was nice to know the stakes were so high for everyone.
“I must go meet him to discuss this tournament,” she said, then turned to my blonde companion with a smirk. “And if you want that artifact, Clarissa… you could always ask my father for it back.”
“Ugh,” Clarissa groaned. “This isn’t over.”
Stephania let out a brief chuckle at that and turned to stare at me, one more time.
“It will be interesting to see you in action during the tournament, if you choose to join a team, Alex. Perhaps…”
“My Lady!”
The group of blue uniformed students she’d dismissed before suddenly appeared and surrounded Stephania.
“Oh well, until next time,” she said as she turned away with her retinue.
“Hmm,” Juliana said. “Stephania seemed far more… reasonable than I’ve seen her be before.”
“She’s no doubt become enamored with our handsome Alex,” Clarissa said. “He has that effect on women, you know.”
“Haha, I don’t think I did anything to make you say that,” I laughed. “I take it that the two of you want to participate in this tournament, right?”
“I couldn’t care, really,” Clarissa said, waving a hand. “My father can do whatever he likes, but I refuse to let him drag me into his schemes.”
An idea seemed to form in her head, and she grinned rather wickedly. “We could always sign up, win the tournament, and declare no nation the ruler of Tringall. That would certainly throw my father’s plan into chaos.”
“I am pretty sure that would most likely exacerbate hostilities, instead of easing them,” Juliana muttered.
Clarissa simply shrugged.
“What about you Juliana?” I turned to the gorgeous brunette. “Are you going to fight for your father?”
“I…” Juliana seemed conflicted. “I need to speak with him on this matter.”
“Let’s go together,” I said. “I can also bring up you know what, as well.”
“Ah… yes,” Juliana said, blushing scarlet. “Let’s go.”
“I can give my lovely new Clan member a tour of the Academy, in the meantime,” Clarissa said, looping a green clad arm around Aurielle’s armored one.
“Will Alex be safe?” Aurielle asked, casting me a worried glance.
Clarissa patted her arm. “This district has more guards than the south deserts has sand, I’m sure he will be fine.”
I was fairly certain that couldn’t be true, but Aurielle seemed more at ease, as Clarissa led her away.
“Alright,” I said, nodding to Juliana. “Where can we find your father?”
“I don’t believe you have seen his manor yet, have you?” Juliana asked.
I laughed. “I haven’t felt the need to go looking for it, no,” I admitted.
“Of course,” Juliana smiled back, “follow me.”
Juliana led me back along the route we had taken from the Academy’s gates. There were students everywhere, all talking about the tournament. Although some were discussing Aurielle’s backhand, which made me shake my head.
We left the Academy and continued down the street. There were manors everywhere, not unlike the one I had once escorted Clarissa back to. With how big the High District was, I wasn’t sure how long we would be wandering along the manicured, cobblestone streets before we came to this manor.
Luckily, Juliana’s father had his manor pretty close to the Academy.
A massive courtyard and fence surrounded the place, with a host of red armored guards stationed at a large wrought iron gate. I was surprised to see that the manor itself wasn’t painted red, although I could see through the many glass windows that dotted
its exterior, that the walls inside had been painted that color.
Maybe they hadn’t gotten around to painting the outside, yet.
The manor was three stories tall, and I marveled at the number of windows—which seemed to be a common theme for these types of buildings. Marble, it seemed, was extremely popular in the High District; the manor’s gleaming white walls drew my eye.
Unlike the Academy, the guards stationed at the front didn’t bother to stop Juliana as she led me past them. I’d half expected them to at least question who I was, but clearly, they thought it would be better if they ignored me.
The only thing they did was stand a bit straighter as we passed through the large gates.
“I wonder if my father will even hear our request,” Juliana mused, biting her lip in thought. “I fear he will reject our union.”
“You know, I’m glad you decided to go through with it, regardless of the outcome,” I said, smiling down into her brilliant emerald eyes. “Whatever happens, we will work things out.”
That seemed to ease her fears some. She flashed me a quick smile and gave me a peck on the cheek.
The doors to the manor opened on their own, and I wondered if they had some kind of automatic doors powered by magic. Unfortunately, it seemed there were servants who had opened them, instead. Their garb was a uniform of red and black, and they bowed deeply to my companion when she stopped just past the entrance.
“Where is my father?” Juliana asked.
“In the study, My Lady,” one of the female servants replied. “Would you care for some refreshments?”
“Not right now, but thank you,” Juliana said, setting off at a brisk pace and prompting me to follow.
As I had seen through the windows, red paint was the most prominent design choice inside the manor. At least all the furniture wasn’t red. While the nations here tended to stick to their section of the RGB color scheme, a little variety certainly went a long way.
“This place is pretty fancy,” I said, marveling at the decor. While the furniture wasn’t as gaudy as that in the Academy, where even the tables were made of gold, it was clearly top end and made a not-so-subtle statement of wealth. Several paintings adorned the walls, a number of them of the Sovereignty’s emblem, the jacked up red minotaur. The monster grew angrier yet more heroic in each painting as we travelled deeper into the manor.
“This manor is actually relatively new; the previous Sovereign, my grandfather, had a different place. This manor was given to our family by the city state council,” Juliana explained. “And when my father took up the mantle of Sovereign and Tringall’s importance became clear, he had it completely rebuilt to his liking.”
“Well, at least he kept the same style as the other manors,” I said.
“Indeed, although that was thanks to my mother intervening. If my father had his way, this building would be a fortress.”
I looked behind me to find the servants who had met us at the entrance were following us, although they kept their distance and then some.
“Uhh, do those folks want something from you or…” I asked, motioning behind us.
“The servants are always around, in case we need to summon them,” Juliana explained. “And here is the study.”
In front of us was a wide set of double doors that I was convinced had been custom ordered, made as they were from a naturally vibrant, red wood. If there was any imperfections on their immaculate exterior, I couldn’t spot one.
There were plenty of guards standing beside the doors, but again, they did nothing as Juliana simply pulled open the door to the study. They watched my every move as I stayed close by her side. One of them even tapped the hilt of his sword.
Jeez…
It didn’t help that their red lacquered armor made them blend into the walls, as well. The plate armor they wore was no joke; they were clearly ready for anything.
“My Sovereign, Juliana Vos Tasberg has arrived,” a guard announced into the open room. That was pretty much the only thing that was said as we entered.
Having already met the rather overbearing man, I expected Juliana’s father would have a rather pretentious and expensive-looking study. Maybe even display an exorbitant number of paintings of that grumpy minotaur beast, with a giant red desk that took up half the length of the room.
Instead, the study was surprisingly subdued, when it came to decor. It did have a large, but not massive, red desk, so I’d at least gotten that bit right. The desk was flanked by a sofa, a fireplace, a large bay window and that was pretty much it.
The room wasn’t nearly as large as I’d thought it would be, yet when I looked at the man sitting behind the red desk, he immediately seemed to tower over his surroundings.
Juliana’s father looked much as I remembered him. His gruff face still had a hint of stubble and he wore a fine red jerkin over a thick chainmail coat. I supposed he wanted to be ready for battle at any moment, without needing to get into his armor.
The man said nothing as Juliana stopped at the entrance. After taking a deep breath, she moved forward until she stood before the desk, her back so stiff and straight that she was nearly at attention. I straightened my shoulders and came to stand beside her.
There was silence for a long moment. I half wondered if Juliana expected me to do the talking.
“You’re back,” her father finally said, thoroughly engrossed in the parchment he was reading.
“Yes, father,” Juliana replied. “We return victorious from Valdura.”
He looked up and his eyes met mine, a small smirk on his lips.
“And I see you have brought Alex with you, as well.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Tell me, how does an unknown man from nowhere defeat a legendary Titan?”
The question caught both of us off guard.
Juliana sputtered a bit before wincing. “Who told you!”
“Did you not realize those soldiers I sent with you would immediately report directly to me upon your return?” He frowned. “Although I am displeased so many perished,” he grumbled. “Drunk as they were from their festivities in the barracks, they could not stop talking about how this Alex of yours had bested a Titan.”
Juliana’s father flipped over the parchment he had been reading and held it to my eyes.
All it had written on it, was the same paragraph repeated over and over, detailing strange statements. Some of the letters had more flair to their symbols, as if they had been written by a different hand, but I could understand it all the same.
“You will not be able to read this first script at all,” I said, reading the first line out loud.
Juliana’s father looked surprised at this and doubled checked the parchment he had just shown me.
“No, you can’t be from Tasberg, that would be preposterous. A shame this idea did not bear fruit,” he said, setting down the paper.
“Father, what are you talking about?” Juliana asked, her eyes turning dangerous.
“Beside me are a few weeks’ worth of reports,” he said, motioning to a rather large stack of parchments on the corner of his red desk. “I had quite a few servants and investigators check into this man, mostly to find out about his bloodline. We couldn’t find a single reference to his name anywhere. The only reference to an ‘Augere’ we could find was his registration at the adventurer’s guild.”
Juliana looked at me, and I could see curiosity welling up within her. In my head, the only thing I could think was that the jig was finally up. This probably was the one time where I actually would have to run away as fast as I could.
Although I wasn’t sure how I’d get past those red plated guards outside.
Jeez…
“Alex is from a small village. Not surprising that there would be no record of that,” Juliana replied, still not liking her father’s take on things.
“Perhaps, the common folk do frown upon record keeping, it seems. Whatever the case, my passing interest into your beau’s background has become a burning curiosity. I woul
d very much like to know more about your origins, Alex Augere.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you on that,” I replied, not letting this guy get the best of me. “My past is my own business. I don’t claim to have a fancy bloodline, if that is what you were wondering.”
He sat in silence for a moment, his hands interlocked over his desk. The longer the silence went on, the more I felt like the crickets who should have been chirping had long bolted away from this place.
“A pity,” he finally said, looking at the stack of reports he had mentioned earlier. “You may keep your secrets for now, but know that if you harm my daughter…”
He parted his hands and raised one briefly towards the stack of parchments. In one smooth burst of flame, the parchments rapidly turned to ash.
This meeting was clearly going well…
His overbearing attitude was only just starting to grate on my nerves, but when I looked over at Juliana, I found she was well beyond perturbed.
That dark aura I had noticed previously during her early interactions with Clarissa, had reared its head. This time, however, it was far stronger than I had ever seen it before. The room dimmed in its wake and I watched as the flames her father had created winked out in its presence.
“Father,” she snapped, her voice nearly a hiss. “Alex is mine and I am his. I won’t tolerate another of your baseless accusations.”
Juliana’s father, for his part, looked appropriately shocked by his daughter’s transformation. Though for some reason, this seemed to please rather than upset the man.
I laid a hand on Juliana’s shoulder and as if I’d flicked a switch, she leaned into my touch and that aura disappeared, as if it had never been there to begin with.
“Fire in her blood,” her father whispered under his breath. At least that confirmed the aura wasn’t just something I’d imagined in my head.
“I consider Juliana family,” I said, deciding to be as straight up as I could and just tell him how I felt. “At this point, I can’t imagine my life without her by my side.”
No doubt he had heard everything about me, Juliana and Clarissa from the soldiers, as well. Convincing him to permit Juliana to join my Clan was going to be one heck of a hard sell, but I wasn’t about to give up.