“No,” Vir said. “This is fine.” In fact, it was better. The night was his friend. Shadows abounded, allowing unrestricted use of Dance.
“Excellent. Then, Initiate, leave this booth and someone will guide you to the arena.”
Vir did as he was told, leaving the Jatu carcass on the table for the Executor to clean up. If the veiled figure minded, he didn’t show it.
A veiled woman showed him down the hall to the courtyard with the leafless tree from before. Now that Vir looked more closely, it wasn’t a courtyard at all, but a stadium with stone benches placed all around the central pit.
Many Magic Lamps illuminated the area, and in the middle of the packed dirt arena floor stood two men.
One wore full black brigandine cuirass, gauntlets, and greaves. A full helm covered his face. In one hand, he gripped a large oval shield that covered everything from his chest to his knees, and in the other, he gripped a steel talwar. An arming sword rode on his hip. The weapon’s decorations reminded Vir of the knights’ talwars.
He wasn’t able to lift a finger against the invaders in Brij. This time’s gonna be different, he thought, eyeing the warrior.
The other man looked to be in his forties. A heavyset, clean-shaven warrior whose tanned, scarred face reminded Vir of a mejai battlefield. He was clad in a brown robe that reached to his knees.
One look at the man and Vir knew he was Riyan’s kindred spirit.
From the way he stood in his parade rest, to his powerful pecs, biceps, and calves which all rippled with muscle, to his utterly emotionless expression, Vir guessed the man to be the Kin’jal proctor.
“You must be the new Initiate,” the warrior said, his voice coming muffled through his helm.
“I am. Are you my opponent?”
“Indeed. Your actions during the first half of the exam have already qualified you for membership into the Brotherhood, as Initiate. I am simply here to help gauge your Balar Ranking. The gentleman by my side is an anointed Kin’jal Balarian examiner. He will bestow an official rank upon you, after judging your performance.”
The Kin’jal man nodded. Vir wondered whether the Kin’jal stoic warrior stereotype was true after all. Prana Vision told him the man was an Apex Talent wielder, strong with Earth Affinity magic. The only thing out of character was his Greater Life Affinity—the man was a Life mejai, and a better one than Riyan, based on his affinity. Which meant the sum of his affinities was higher than Riyan’s.
Makes sense they’d have a healer standing by, Vir thought. Injuries were likely common for bouts such as these.
“If I do well, can I skip past Initiate to become an Acolyte?”
“Ambitious!” the unnamed warrior boomed. “Good! But not so fast. Your rank is based on your contributions to the Brotherhood, as well as your ability to reliably complete tasks. Merely placing high on this exam is no substitute for those. However! Should you attain a high Balar Rank, Executors may see fit to give you more demanding missions.”
“And those would help me rise quicker?”
“Indeed. They also pay out more coin. Now, are you ready?” the warrior said, leveling his poleax at Vir from twenty paces away.
Vir confirmed his strategy again. Hiding his true abilities would only hinder his progress. He wouldn’t hold anything back. He’d go all out to attain the highest rank he possibly could. Would he be able to break the Balar 30 that Riyan had predicted?
He couldn’t wait to find out.
“Let’s begin.”
73BALAR RANK EXAM
“There will be two parts to this test,” the warrior said as he took up his position ten paces away from Vir. “First, we shall duel without the use of our Talents, magic, or any other special abilities.”
“And the second round’s a free for all?” Vir guessed.
“Exactly,” the warrior replied. “In both rounds, we’ll fight to incapacitation or surrender. Life-threatening wounds and fatal wounds strictly forbidden. Are there any questions?”
Vir shook his head. “No questions, but I’d like to shake your hand before we start. I mean, if you’re amenable. As a gesture of good will.”
“Oho! We’ve got an honorable one, do we? As you wish,” the warrior said, removing his gauntlet and approaching Vir. He kept his helmet on. The man hadn’t even offered his name.
The Brotherhood wasn’t joking about their dedication to secrecy…
Vir similarly removed his black half-finger cutoffs, and shook the man’s hand, taking a very good look at him with Prana Vision.
The man’s armor interfered somewhat with his ability, but unlike the princess, his opponent lacked magically enchanted armor. The colors were slightly dimmer, and Vir had to be closer to learn what affinities the man had, but it wasn’t impossible.
Strong Earth prana, but diluted with a smattering of other trace affinities. Not a mejai, then, Vir thought. He’s got Talents, and some strong ones, too.
The denser someone’s prana was, the more brightly it shone to Vir’s senses. With his armor, it should have appeared less bright, which cued Vir as to the man’s true strength.
“Alright then, here’s to a good fight,” the warrior said, retaking his position. He pointed to the racks of weapons at the edge of the arena. “You are free to use any of the weapons we have here, or you may use your own. I’ll be using this talwar and shield.”
“I’m good,” Vir replied. “I’ve got my katar, chakris, and chakrams.”
“A katar and chakrams, eh? Interesting choice. So be it.”
Riyan had Vir train with a variety of weapons, both on the obstacle course and in duels, but Vir had never been as proficient in those as he was with the katar.
Despite it being a poor choice against poleaxes and other weapons with reach, katars simply came naturally to him. Besides, he’d learned that longer weapons fared poorly once inside their ideal range. His style was all about speed and mobility, and katars fit that ethos perfectly.
“Fight!” barked the Kin’jali proctor, backing away to give the combatants room.
Neither Vir nor his opponent made any sudden moves. If Talents had been allowed, Vir would’ve closed the distance in an instant with Leap to gain the element of surprise. Without them, he had to be more careful.
The two enemies circled around the arena, keeping ten paces between them, their eyes seeking any small twitch that might give away an impending attack.
Vir used the time to gauge his opponent. The shield posed an issue for his weapons. He’d need Empower to break through that defense, and even if Talents were allowed, he’d only mastered that ability in his legs.
Which means I’ll have to slip around him. If I can take his back and then bring the fight to the ground, I’ll have the advantage.
The warrior made the first move. Seamlessly switching from caution to aggression, he charged Vir, opening with an overhand talwar strike.
Vir dodged the blade—barely.
He’s fast!
With the armor and his build, Vir hadn’t expected such mobility.
Even so, it wasn’t anything Vir couldn’t match. He moved like water, flowing around the bigger man.
The man fell into a flurry of strikes, tactically using his shield to prevent Vir from exploiting any opening, keeping him on the defensive.
Realizing he’d lose if he let the pressure continue, Vir leveraged his agility to balance the scales, ducking and dodging around the man. His opponent wasn’t quite as skilled as Riyan, but he wielded an advantage that negated those weaknesses: his shield, and the skills to go with it.