Vir raised a brow. If not even Saunak had solved it, the mystery must run deep.
“All this to say, it’s one of the Naga’s best advantages in a fight. Get close to the opponent in your human form, then boom!” Cirayus snapped four fingers. “They’re suddenly a snake, and their tail’s all wrapped around you.” He made a corkscrew motion with his two left hands.
“That’s… pretty insidious,” Vir admitted.
“Aye. If only their kind felt like fighting more. They’d be quite a force. Alas, most of their kind are content to heal, not kill.”
Vir wanted to say, ‘And that’s a bad thing?’ but movement from the stage forced his attention back to the fight. Svar had finally made his move.
The giant leaped forth, swiping with his oversized straight-bladed sword. Tara dodged, but was forced to move away. The only issue was…
“She’s too slow.”
The issue wasn’t Tara’s speed, per se, but rather the distance she had to retreat to avoid Svar’s blows.
“Not just that,” Cirayus commented. “Every time she flees, her Corruption Field loses its potency. That ability is best when deployed over a static area. I can’t tell you how effective it is in the defense of a castle under attack.”
Vir had seen that firsthand when fleeing the Chitran army near Praya Parul. And there, his troops had been on the move, albeit slowly. Even there, the art of a single demon had held off an entire battalion of enemy troops—at least for a while.
Tara’s motions grew increasingly frantic, until she was forced to switch to her half-Naga form just to be able to flee the giant.
Still, not all was well for Svar, either. His skin had begun to sizzle.
“Everyone, take notice!” one of the commentators—Samik—boomed. “Can you tell? The prana in the air has been all but sucked dry by this Naga’s art! They must now channel the prana within the ground if they wish to use their arts.”
Vir frowned. It couldn’t be. Could it?
“Was this her strategy all along?” he asked, looking to his godfather.
But Cirayus hadn’t heard. He leaned forward, wearing an excited grin.
I’ll take that as a yes.
“This girl,” he said. “Better watch out, lad. She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“You speak as though she’s already won. How do you—”
Cirayus pointed with his two left index fingers.
The contestants were on the move. Svar ran, and so did Tara, but this time, she wasn’t trying to flee.
No, she ran directly at the giant.
“Is she insane?” Vir breathed, transfixed by what was surely the climax of this very interesting fight.
Ten paces. Five.
Svar swung. Tara dodged. And then the unthinkable happened.
Tara jumped onto the demon’s arm, then again, hurtling toward his face.
The giant brought a hand up, but not quick enough. Not nearly.
Tara gripped his face… And then the giant screamed. It was a scream of the purest, most abject agony. And it was amplified across the entire stadium.
The fight ended only seconds later, in total, utter silence. For a long while, not a soul cheered—not even the commentators. It was as if the stadium were paralyzed by the shock of Tara’s brutal move.
And then… the spell was broken, and the stadium erupted.
“Winnnnnnerrrrrr! Tarrraaaaaa of the Panaaaaaav!”
The Panav stands went absolutely hysterical, with the entire clan giving Tara a standing ovation of claps, shouts, hoots, and enthralled screams.
The rest of the stadium was more subdued, but Vir heard applause from nearly every camp in various degrees—chief among them being clan Baira.
“And what’s this?” Samik said. “It looks like Tara herself is administering healing to her opponent!”
“What an incredible display of good sportsmanship,” his counterpart, Nakin, said. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen the victor express such care for the loser. If this isn’t a sign of inter-clan cooperation, I don’t know what is.”
“You are absolutely correct, Nakin. This is an era of cooperation and harmony…”
Vir ignored the rest. “What utter drivel,” he muttered.
“Don’t be too harsh on them, lad,” Cirayus said with a shrug. “’Tis their job, after all.”
While true, Vir felt nothing but disgust at their performance. An era of cooperation and harmony? How could they spew such lies when his entire clan had been subjugated and driven to the brink of extinction? Vir felt the hatred building within him… and took a deep breath. These feelings would not free his people. They would not make him a good ruler. If anything, with the power he’d eventually command, they’d only cause ruin. Best to nip them in the bud.
Cirayus, perhaps noticing Vir’s plight, rested a large, comforting hand upon his shoulder.
Vir was about to shrug off his hand before Aida noticed when the commentators spoke again.
“What’s this? Well, well, folks. It looks like Tara’s not done yet! What is this Naga up to now?”
“It looks like she’s scanning the crowd, Nakin,” Samik said. “But for whom?”
Vir’s stomach sank. It couldn’t be. Could it?
Tara put a hand above her eyes to shield her eyes from the sun. She slowly turned, taking in each clan of the enormous stadium, and making a show of it. Shy, Tara was not.
And then she stopped.
“Well, folks. She seems to have found who she’s looking for. Who could it be? A lover, perhaps?”
“She is quite the bold one, Samik. I wouldn’t put it past someone like—Well, I’ll be! Ladies and gentlemen, she’s pointing! She’s pointing to someone very particular! But who could it be?”
Vir locked eyes with the Naga and clenched his jaw.
She was pointing at him.
“How bold! How delightfully brash! Everybody!” the commentator blared. “I do believe that Tara of Panav has just issued a challenge to her next opponent! The victor of the first round, who, against all odds, defeated the reigning champion. Yes, that’s right, everybody. Tara has just proclaimed her victory over Vaak of the Ash!”
Vir returned Tara’s gaze. And then, together, they both smiled. Though neither knew it, at that very moment, the same thought ran through both of their heads.
Smile while you can. Because you sure won’t be smiling after tomorrow.
102VIR VS TARA
“And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! The first official duel of the dayyyy!” Samik announced, which in turn prompted the whole arena to go wild.
As Vir waited alone in the staging area, he couldn’t help but worry. Not that he’d lose, but rather that his deception would be believable enough. It had to be, if he wished to catch his future opponents off guard.
“We’ll have to give it our best today, Shan,” Vir said, looking down at his trusty companion. “We’ve got no choice.”
The Ash Wolf barked. Vir wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it, but Shan’s response felt a bit less enthusiastic than he’d have expected.
Not a good sign if even Shan’s worried…
“Introducing our first combatant! Vaaaak—of Ash!”
“That’s our cue,” Vir muttered. “Let’s go.”
Though Vir had braced himself for the onslaught of booing, it was still quite the spectacle.
So many people, Vir thought. And they all hate me.
Personally, he didn’t care. The opinions of some no-name strangers were so low on his mind that he’d have forgotten all about it only minutes later. What struck him more was how so many could feel so strongly about someone they’d never met. So quick to judge, based on the handful of times they’d seen him.