Chapter 284 -20

As the first school quarter neared an end, snow was falling over Ricort. Training for the intercollegiate matches was nearing its final preparations. Several students had been disciplined for using Marci to write their papers. [Old Ways] rose to level fifteen with no actions. At the same time, Harmony pushed [Secure Seal] to level seven by chasing down associates to practice on. The half-step potion in Hazeldown was close to completion, but would have to wait until she got back.

Xera, as excited as she had been about Aunt Cezna leaving, stressed about learning all her new skills.  Tun-Knee found a bakery willing to make and sell his crunchy food creation. Alex improved his stability by leaps and bounds with the physical training. Tasha floated around helping others, but spooked the moment Harmony hinted about working on any issues she was having. Adric ran through women except for the regular, who was Becca. Von Trell showed up annoyed with just enough time to tell Harmony he was looking forward to seeing how far she could go in the tournament.

Small things, big things, the grind of schoolwork intermixed with training, until the day came, well past the middle of the night, when Harmony found herself in a small room with Headmaster Crottish, handing her the stone tablet that would take her away.  The late hour of the event was due to this being a world tournament where every participant would be whisked away at the same time.

It was anemic for a celebration.  Roughly two dozen people milled about the room. Her team was there to show support; most of them looked exhausted from their finals and training.  Only Tun-Knee looked bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; the tiger admitted he was not quite nocturnal but preferred the dark.  Alex was so tired he shifted into a bear accidentally to snore before being prodded awake by Tasha, who was barely staying awake herself while floating listlessly.  Xera was cheating, using one of her skills, despite her red-rimmed eyes.

Crottish didn’t so much as stifle a yawn but covered one up as he handed over the tablet and began speaking. “Every winter, we send our su-primus to face the Tournament of Future Worthy. Never have we had one so early past their first evolution, our first golden keyholder, and of such great lineage.”

Had he bought into the rumors too?

Crottish continued. “Harmony White, revivalist, eraser, you carry the hope of our school on your shoulders.  You and those connected to you will be flung to a neutral plane. While we won’t be able to watch your matches, every day you will fight a new opponent as you place higher and higher in the tournament, and when you return, your glory will return with you. As you meet new rivals, don’t let old acquaintances be forgotten. Ten… Nine…”

The countdown was one thing the crowd woke up enough to contribute to. Adric and Hyacinth stood at her side, expecting to be blipped away too. What role they would play was still a mystery. Dress code and weapons were at a minimum; apparently they would be provided if you had a skill that required one.

“Eight… seven… six…” the crowd chanted.

It was a little exciting. To be able to act without social expectations. To not hide who she was, what she was. The blood-red sickle in her hand pulsed with the countdown.

“Five… Four… Three…”

It wanted violence, and that was allowed by the rules of the tournament. To the death, where no death was fatal, was immensely appealing.  How often did one get to act without the risk of true death? That opportunity probably caused many early eliminations as people acted too risky, but how many had been through what she had already?

“Two… One!”  Harmony smiled as she blinked out.

The empty room she appeared in was as bare as Randy described, containing a bed, a plate with food, and a robe to change into, with her host waiting.  She expected the nudity, but at least the tournament didn’t seal her. Hyacinth and Adric would be waiting nearby, but this greeting was just for her. Night snapped into place rather than grabbing the robe; it represented protection and safety. Not being able to wear the armor outside of the dungeon came with a slight feeling of exposure on The Academy campus. Because of that, Night was woefully underused and under-practiced with, getting hungrier each day, as even the stolen armor from dead guards in Oorty’s Tomb no longer satisfied it enough. Perhaps feeding it the unusual fibers would be good if the robe was still here once she got back from visiting her pet and familiar?  

The host was in the shape of a man with gray skin and gray hair. Randy warned her not to be fooled into thinking they were human, beastkin, or any creature from their world. She didn’t see how she could be fooled. Every host she’d met would look the same, bland and unreadable. Except…  His soul was different. Wildly so. It was like there was a small, large-headed man inside the body; that was the shape of the soul container inside the flesh, and it was all green?

“Oh, you can see me. Sorry, I’m a dum-dum, so embarrassing."  

An extra layer of shielding closed off her soul sight. She was half tempted to chew fate to see if true sight would cut through it.

“Two of those connected to you were too rooted to your home plane; sorry for any damage that might have been incurred.” The host continued.

Hyacinth! Adric! The lingering anticipation of freedom to do violence had her taking two quick steps towards the man, and when resistance appeared, Harmony pushed forward with her domain for another step, bringing her within striking distance. “Damage? If they’re harmed in any…”

“To the structures on your plane, the beings weren’t harmed. It merely means we were only able to bring six with you. Quite the collection. You’ll see your support crew after the required meetings.”

She checked [Familiar Bond] and her primal bond with Adric; neither showed distress. Six? “Meetings?”

“Yes, you’ve been selected. It’s a great honor. Roles in a greater story.”    

This was not the simple hello, welcome to the tournament, before heading off to see her bonded and then to bed to sleep until the morning fight that Randy had described.

“A great honor. Any information for me on it?” Harmony asked the gray-skinned host.

“Twenty factions vie for power as the rounds slowly eliminate members. Thirteen rounds until the Tournament of Future Worthy is completed. Here, your support will have their roles, and you will have missions.”

A game within a game. Harmony liked it better when the expectation was to kick things as hard as she could until someone lost. At least Hyacinth wouldn’t be bored; he could sleep for a day or two at most before needing to hunt. This didn’t change the plans to stretch her skills. Noncombat skills needed polish too: a little fear, awe, and dominance.  None of this mattered, as she wouldn’t see these opponents again; it could still be the perfect place to practice.

“Take me to my faction.”

The host raised a hand and snapped their fingers.

The new spacious room was covered in shadows. Lights lit up ten hanging banners, red on black. Several other competitors walked around; long shadows covered their faces, unnaturally masking them. Several more popped into existence until the number matched the number of banners, each watch stitched with a scene and a word or two.  Erasure, Broken Hearts, Overgrown, Drowned, Burned, Famine, Cursed, Forgotten, Crushed.

“Welcome, dooms; destruction lies at your feet, paths break in your wake, others' losses are your victory!-- Mingle.”  A voice boomed

The order to mingle kind of took the air out of the big proclamation. Harmony didn’t need to guess which banner she was. Of all the bleeding groups she could have gotten picked for? Why not the puppies and kittens faction?

“Has anyone done this before or knows the details?” Harmony called out to the crowd, taking initiative

Four raised their shadowed hands.  Getting closer didn’t lessen the obscurity. All very dramatic and annoying. But this gave her a place to start out with.

A man's voice came out of one. “This is my second year doing this. I was in the stalker faction last year; nice to get one of the big three this time. As a stalker, we’d have to tag our targets in the village without being noticed. Our support could take over areas not occupied by other factions if we held it long enough.”

“Big three?” A girl asked.

“Dooms, Saviors, Elite.” Answered the man.

No, it’s “Dooms, Captains, Rulers.” A third attempt to correct.

“Okay, so, no consensus on the powerful factions. Ignore rating them. What is the point of mingling, and what is up with the shadows?”  Harmony asked.

“We’ll have to find each other in the village, and we can pretend to be part of the other factions, I think. Stalkers got extra points if they could fool someone into thinking they were a member. I’m not sure what dooms need to do. We’ll have to survive our first match to get the answer, but they pair the strongest with the weakest, so it shouldn’t be an issue.”

“If our goal is to find the other dooms, shouldn’t we share information?” Harmony pressed.

“I wonder that too, but we must be hidden for a reason, so perhaps wait for our marching orders, as much as I'd love to meet you all in person.” The boy who said this had a voice like honey, and it reached deep into Harmony that she had to press her emotions into her heart so as not to attempt killing the boy.

“Watch who you use that on, Cupid. I may not be able to stop myself from hurting you if you try your sweet words on me.”  Harmony told him with a voice free of feeling, but not the desire to kill. She did not need to black out again with murderous rage. It was probably lucky this cupid was a man.

“Drowned sailors, are we all forbidden classes?" a girl yelped.

That started the group grumbling. “There were rumors.” Someone said.

Harmony felt a headache coming on. If they could see each other's faces, this would be less of an issue. [Keen Investigative Awareness] was grasping at shadows. Rot it all; if this was about not holding back, might as well start here.

[Shadowed Graves] spread out, empowered for a stronger fear effect, a little bit of freezing and a lot of pleasing reverence. Her authority was cut off from those who believed in her, but she still had power to draw on.   “We’ll bide until we meet again. If this game wants anonymity, we can say which doom we are, and save names for when it is needed. I am erasure. “ Harmony answered with authority.

“Drowned.” Answered the girl who cursed about sailors.

“Broken Hearts.” Responded the cupid.

Each listed the banner they represented.

“I think that counts as mingling. I’m ready to talk to my support, so any clue on how to get out of here?” Harmony asked.

Snap. That wish to leave removed Harmony from the meeting of dooms to a new room with too many familiar faces.  The host’s apology had her worried enough; despite feeling they were okay through her bonds, it was a relief to see Adric and Hyacinth alive and well. The others, though, felt more like an inconvenience than support.

Xera Chase jumped in surprise. “Harmony, what are you wearing?”

Bea deeply curtsied. “Savior White, I am honored to serve you.” The pale lady answered.

Maxwell Bitterly cursed. “Harm, I was in a very important meeting. The Heir Consort can’t just go missing. Please send me back.”

Tasha floated there; not even the perfect image she displayed could hide the worry on her face.

Chronostsis was already buying Harmony time to think. She didn’t have bonds with most of these people. The description did say connections, so it had to be more flexible than the Ascendant Games.  [Two Against the End] was a strong link, even if mostly one-sided. Maxwell was her singular sworn agent of change, with the ability to summon her.  Bea, it’s not like she’d made that undead, but the amount of restructuring and the way the dead woman treated her, it was like she had.  But Tasha? All of this complicated everything. How could she let loose and be the deadly necromancer she wanted to be? Night was already out of her box of secrets. She’d debated telling Xera after the quickening what she was linked to, and if the defender was stuck here, she’d have time to process the truth away from nosy family staff members, making it the perfect place to do so.  It’s not like Xera could do anything about it after learning except keep her secret.  The shooter was a problem, an unknown, a bloody mystery.

Harmony stared down the redhead. “Them, I understand. But I have no idea why you are here. Tasha, you have some explaining to do.”

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