The First BlackSand Tournament
Round I, Duel II
Chaos Mage Miyo of the Wood
“There are rumors around Sacred Flames’ sightings on the Salt Sea shore” Basil of the Berg mentioned, as Miyo was reviewing a map of the Runiverse. “A couple of associates of mine also confirmed the rumors and mentioned BlackSand as a potential lead” he continued.
Wizard #8711 was only partially listening. That cringe Basil was just as good as an empty cup of ale, “but sometimes he does surprise me” Miyo admitted. “So you are saying that we might find a Sacred Flame there? Are you positive? I can’t even find a place called BlackSand on this map”
“So it appears, my Queen” Basil replied almost in adulation; “…and you say this BlackSand city is supposed to be here?” she continued pointing to a spot in the map north of the Red Wizard Capital. “I can confirm, Miyo; it is only a three-day horse ride from here.”
“That also means we could make it in time for the BlackSand tournament” Artificer Damien of the Mist shouted bursting into the tent were Miyo and Basil were meeting. He was waving around a letter he claimed was an official invitation to a legendary tournament. “A tournament?” Miyo replied, getting slightly more interested as she learned more about this BlackSand place. “All right, that’s enough clues to make this short trip worth it. Basil go find more information on the Sacred Flames and Artificer ready the horses and, while at it, fill me in on this tournament. A fun fight can only make our stay there a little more pleasant.”
Three days later, Miyo and the Miyo’s Boys passed the wooden gates of BlackSand. Miyo was surprised by how run down the place looked, with only a few shops open for business. The streets were also covered in dark sand. Somehow that remined her of the years she spent working in cinnabar mines: air filled with dust and smoke that would itch your eyes and nose. Those memories made her angry. She was getting so upset that small fire balls just snapped out of thin air from her clenched fists. “I hate…” she started saying but then got distracted as what looked like another wizard galloping past them on a black horse. “Ah what are they here for???” Miyo shouted “Basil go chase them and find out everything you can. We can’t afford to lose a Sacred Flame to another wizard.” “And you, Artificer go sign me up for this tournament and find us an inn for the night”
The morning after Miyo made her way to the tournament ground, wearing her usual black leather outfit. She had just learned she would fight in the second duel of the day right after the opening one. “This is annoying, I needed to dedicate some time to the Sacred Flames this morning” she snapped as soon as Artificer informed her. “My apologies, boss. But the council organizing the tournament seemed very keen to have you fight as soon as they learned who you are.” “And why would you tell them?!” she dismissed him, annoyed.
As Miyo approached the fighting area, she heard cheers and claps from what seemed like a few tens of people, followed by a loud voice “…..may your name be remembered as the first champion of a BlackSand fight.”
“Hear, hear” the same voice continued shortly after “It is now time for our second duel. Please welcome Chaos Mage Miyo of the Wood and Chaos Mage Tabitha of the Morning Star. May the best fighter win!”
“Another Chaos wizard? And a Morning Star? This is starting to be interesting,” Miyo smiled, fist clenched and ready to fight as she made her entrance into the sandy arena.
Chaos Mage Tabitha of the Morning Star
“Fire…” Wizard #1716 was thinking as she gently handled a large magic flame around her fingers. She loved to play with it. To feel its heat. To admire its beauty. To own its power. At a snap of her fingers the flame went off. The room fell into darkness. It was late night.
Tabitha was a vampire. And not just that. She came from one of the longest-standing and most powerful vampire families in the Runiverse: the Morning Star. Little was known about their origin, but their power and influence was respected across lands. Few amongst the wizard community didn’t know about her or her sister Hedge Wizard Lucinda of the Road.
She typically didn't travel as far West as she did this time. But an odd request had come to her from a long-loved friend. “Come to BlackSand, I need you.” She rehearsed the words sent to her by Archmagus Crowley of the Reach. Not a word more. But Tabitha knew how these things worked and not to expect Crowley to put much else in writing. He wouldn’t risk losing anything to unwanted eyes. They had their fun playing politics years before and to this day Crowley continued to be invested in that power game. “I wonder what he is up to now.”
Tabitha was familiar with BlackSand. She had studied the history of the fallen Imperium. “A trip to the city that once was is always welcome” she smiled. She also had a theory that required further exploring: “fire magic is stronger in BlackSand”. Historian had believed for ages that natural elements such as volcanos could enhance wizards’ magical capabilities. But she wanted to bring that theory one step further: “what about all that black sand?” she considered “it could be the perfect conduit for fire magic at minimum effort.”
It wasn't too burdensome for her to accommodate Crowley’s request. Her journey to BlackSand took her a few weeks. When she got to the city a couple of days earlier, Crowley had greeted her flamboyantly. “Crowley is an odd one.” That night the Archmagus had a long white bear covering almost half of his dark green tunic. Always wearing his red, pointy hat, symbol of his allegiance to the Red Wizards. “Welcome my dear Tabitha” he had loudly greeted her with a generous smile. “Come in, come in. There is much that needs discussing.”
Remembering that conversation from the darkness of her chamber felt odd. There was something Crowley wasn’t telling her. But, for now, her role was to fight in the BlackSand tournament in the morrow. And try to win. She didn’t mind playing along since Crowley had offered her something she couldn’t refuse.
So the morning after Tabitha made her way to the sandy fighting pit, ready for the duel. Crowley’s was sitting in the audience right next to Shaman Azazel. “A great historian” she quickly thought as she walked towards the middle of the small arena. To her surprise, in front of her stood a Chaos Mage: Chaos Mage Miyo of the Wood, Azazel called her. “Oh this is such a treat…” Tabatha whispered in excitement “let’s put this black sand to a test.”
Shaman Azazel of the Astral Plane
“Fire magic...” Azazel thought “...I wonder why Crowley insisted to pair these two mages so early on in the tournament…”
Both wizards in the arena looked stunning. Such mix of power, beauty, and strength. The crowd was hypnotized by them. Azazel knew of Tabitha “what a powerful mage…!” But oddly enough he had never heard of Miyo. “She is young, her story still far from being told and written in history books…”
As soon as the two mages met in the middle of the arena, Azazel initiated the fight thinking: “what a fight this will be!”
In a matter of seconds both Miyo and Tabitha invoked flames around their hands. The crowd started cheering and clapping, amused. Miyo started running towards her opponent, trying to take advantage of her skills in close combat. But Tabitha seemed more focused on keeping her distance and hurled a fireball towards Miyo. Miyo promptly dodged, but that attack interrupted her charge. Tabitha launched another fireball, this time smaller but faster. Miyo was almost caught by surprise by that second attack and had to wave her right arm to quickly build a flame wall to parry it. The crowd went wild! “That flame wall is quite an advanced defense spell!” Azazel gasped.
Tabitha smiled, looking at her opponent struggling to keep up. And she doubled down: “Fireih” she shouted and fired a sequence of five flaming bolts towards Miyo. Two bolts missed. Miyo fended off two more with similar magic. But the last one hit her right in the chest, violently hurling her to the floor.
The crowd gasped!
“Good fight….” Tabitha said as she moved towards her grounded opponent. But to everyone’s shock, Miyo quickly jumped back up “How…” Tabitha exclaimed in confusion. Miyo then brought her hands together and quickly whispered “Salamander’s Tongue!” A massive fireball erupted and hit Tabitha on her right shoulder. The aim wasn’t perfect, but the hit was heavy. Tabitha fell to the ground. Miyo took the opportunity to close the distance between them and run towards the opponent.
Tabitha just had enough time to stand up before Miyo attacked again: right jab, left hook, crescent kick. She hit Tabitha every time. Exasperated and hurt, Tabitha yelled, and a burst of fire exploded from her body enveloping Miyo. The crowd screamed in surprise as all that fire made the air hot and dry.
To the crowd and Tabitha’s surprise, Miyo was barely bruised by the attack. Tabitha tried to run back and put distance between them. But Miyo didn’t hesitate, invoked flames around her fists and started punching again. Right jab, left jab, right hook. She seemed unstoppable.
Tabitha fell to the ground. Seemingly confused, she reached out to grab some black sand “what is she trying to do…” Azazel thought. But before she could grab any sand, Miyo hurled a massive pyroblast that hit Tabitha right in her chest. The black sand on the ground caught on fire wrapping Tabitha in tall, scorching flames. Tabitha screamed.
Two wizards wearing white robes rushed to the pit. They invoked massive streams of water and managed to tame the fire. They then headed towards Tabitha, who laid unconscious on the ground.
“The fight is over!” Azazel rushed to declare. “Chaos Mage Miyo of the Wood is our second winner!”
He then quickly turned to face Crowley: “Hurry, go make sure Tabitha is ok.”
Entered by: 0x8717…A7A8
The First BlackSand Tournament
Round I, Duel III
Gadreel Creeper of the Moon
Warrior #6039 found comfort in the night. Hiding in the shadows. Creeping under the dim light of a full moon. That made for a solitary life. But he didn’t mind it. He preferred being one with darkness. Being free to carry out his destructive instincts.
Gadreel always wore his spiked helmet, fully covering his face and only letting a glimpse of his shadowy eyes through. Folks were easily scared by his sinister appearance. But most of all, they were intimidated by the loud chainsaw he carried with him. Sometimes held in his right hand, sometimes hung on his back, that chainsaw had seen hundreds of fights. Gadreel’s brutal strength meant he could easily handle it as it if was a light sword: with impressive speed and precision. Afterall, he was a Fronod fighter. A warrior trained in the distant Forgotten Lands.
And fighting he understood. That was the reason for his quick journey to BlackSand. A couple of days earlier he had heard about a tournament with gold prizes for winners. Not that he needed additional incentives when it came to ripping apart someone’s arms with his chainsaw, but a few gold coins wouldn’t hurt.
Gadreel reached a small hill from where he could get a good view of BlackSand. Cold wind was hissing through his helmet, carrying dust and sand. In front of him laid a vast plain covered by a thick layer of dark black sand. Scattered detriments of something Gadreel didn’t recognize glittered under the moonlight. On the left side he could admire the Salt Sea, its tall waves braking loudly against the black shores. On the right, the Mountains of Light were hugging the entire plain, casting an even darker shadow onto the dimly lit city.
He glanced approvingly at that view. That place almost felt like home: a dark, lonely place. Left alone to the mercy of nature.
Gadreel decided to camp there for the night. Under that beautiful moonlight. Cartillen, his loyal mutant turtle laid next to him, and they both fell asleep.
Loud stomping woke them up shortly after. The moon almost gone behind the horizon. The sun rising. Gadreel stood up, calmly. Nothing could really spook him. Yet, he was curious. The stomping continued in the distance. As he looked towards BlackSand he saw a group of several large beasts running towards the city. “Those are not horses…maybe ceratops?!” he asked Cartillen, not really expecting any answer. He had never seen ceratops from this close, but plenty could be found where Cartillen came from.
Awoken, Gadreel decided to march on the city to learn more about the tournament. As he reached the wooden city gates, he found several flyers pointing towards the fighting pit. Everything was dusty and covered in dark, thick sand. After a few minutes he reached the entrance of the fighting pit. Wooden bleachers and fences delimiting its perimeter. Once entered, he signed up for the tournament. The wizard taking down his name informed him to comeback in three days time for his fight.
What he saw when he returned to the arena three days later slightly surprised him. A fairly sizeable crowd was already in attendance, almost filling out all the available seats. The ground of the fighting area seemed extremely wet. A few wizards dressed in white were running around. Two of them were carrying someone out of the pit on a stretcher. “Interesting…”
He then heard a loud voice calling for his name from the bleachers, inviting him to the middle of the pit to start his fight. “Let’s do this” he yelled as he run towards the center of the arena.
Rogue Disintegrator of the Lost City
What brought Warrior #10277 to BlackSand was a mix of faith and duty. He was a warrior swore to the Sun God. The one true god spreading light, truth, and righteousness across lands. Rogue’s duty was to be the living proof of the Sun’s powers to the unfaithful. That was why he made his way to this almost-forgotten city. The Order of the Sun God had instructed its disciples to head to the darkest corners of the Runiverse and profess the Sun God’s truth.
As soon as Rogue heard of a tournament hosted in BlackSand he knew that was his opportunity to abide to the Order’s directive. “I’ll showcase the power of the Sun and convert any unfaithful on my path” he grunted proudly, stroking his golden sword.
Walking down the dusty streets of BlackSand, Rogue could not help but wonder how beautiful that place could become under the guidance of the Order of the Sun. A rich, glorious city led by the One Truth.
When he reached the wooden entrance of the tournament arena, a wizard wearing white garments and a blue hood was silently standing. “Is this the right place for the tournament?” Rogue asked with his bass voice. The wizard lifted his head and stared into Rogue’s eyes. After what felt like a couple of minutes, he finally reacted by simply rising his right thumb in approval. Confused, Rogue entered.
Sitting at a table not far from him there was another wizard wearing a long purple rogue. His face round, stony looking “Ah…” Rogue grunted “A corpse eater” he whispered, “a dark creature that walks in the shadows…”
The wizard lifted his head, staring at Rogue. “A Lost City warrior” he said, “what a pleasant surprise! Let me sign you up for our third duel. I look forward to witnessing the power of your sword and shield” he continued, waving his hand to dismiss Rogue. “Calm down…” Rogue thought to himself, his hatred for creatures like that boiling his blood “this is not the place; the time will come.”
His calling had always been fighting off creatures of the night such as goal, zombies, and vampires. Corpse eaters were on top of his list. But those were rare, powerful wizards that very rarely exposed themselves. “What brought him so out in the open?” he wondered as he left the arena to find an inn for the night.
A few days later it was time for his duel. That morning Rogue woke up early to fully conduct his Sun routines. He ended with the ritual prayers, invoking the Sun's blessings. “May your light fill me with courage, strength and righteousness. May your heat dissipate my fears. May your power embolden and guide my strikes. May your enemy face your wrath, against which all darkness fails.”
Basking under the sunlight, Rogue entered the fighting pit. His golden sword firmly held in the right hand. A Rune of Sun engrained on the shield in his left hand. Both sword and shield charged with the one true power of the Sun. He lowered the visor on his helmet. He was ready to fight.
Shaman Azazel of the Astral Plane
“A fight between darkness and light. A fight between Sun and Moon!” Azazel shouted to the crowd. “May the fight begin!”
The excitement of the crowd was growing with every duel, bringing more and more folks to the bleachers. Azazel was pleased. “This is working” he smiled.
The fight commenced. On one side of the arena Gadreel Creeper of the Moon was holding a large, loud chainsaw. On the other side, Rogue Disintegrator of the Lost City held his golden sword and shield.
As soon as Azazel initiated the duel, both warriors started charging towards each other, thirsty for violence. Gadreel was the first to swing. He raised his chainsaw high and hurled it downwards aiming at Rogue’s right shoulder. But Rogue raised his sword and parried easily. Gadreel retracted the roaring chainsaw and tried another hit, this time to the left of his opponent. But Rogue was fast and stopped the attack with his shield.
The two exchanged a few more hits, but always evading the enemy’s strike. The crowd kept holding their breath as the two warriors tirelessly continued their attacks.
Suddenly Rogue jumped to his right, gaining a few feet in distance from his opponent. He then crossed sword and shield in front of his chest. He shouted what sounded like a prayer and a beam of light erupted from the rune on his shield, targeting the opponent. The attack was so fast Gadreel had only enough time to lift his shield. The beam of light hit with extreme precision. Gadreel's shield started to melt, but that gave him a split second to throw it away and jump to his left. The beam kept bursting for a few seconds, flowing into the wood fences in the other end of the arena.
Rogue grunted in disappointment, but quickly repeated his prayer to invoke a second beam of light. But this time it was smaller and slower. Gadreel had time to evade it and charged back as Rogue was busy maintaining the beam’s flow. The move brought him back to fighting distance. He swung his chainsaw hard, aiming at Rogue’s left leg. Rogue rushed to regain a fighting stance, but had to quickly lower his shield to prevent damage. The chainsaw loudly hit the shield launching it off Rogue’s hand. The crowd gasped in surprise!
Rogue had to jump back before Gadreel could strike again. Shield-less, he was now only holding onto his golden sword. He pointed it straight to his opponent and with another prayer he called upon another light bean. This time faster. The beam rushed towards Gadreel and hit him on his left shoulder. Gadreel screamed in pain as his flesh started burning under the heat of the sun beam. But he didn’t desist. Gadreel charged again, this time running with his Chainsaw held high.
Before Rogue could reposition his sword, Gadreel stroke and hit Rogue right on his helmet. The hit was hard. Rogue’s visor scattered in pieces. Gadreel didn’t stop and swung the chainsaw again, this time piercing through his opponent armor right below the rib cage. Another hard hit. Rogue lost balance and screamed in pain. He then fell to his knees, and threw his sword to the ground, in a sign of surrender.
The crowd went wild as Azazel announced the end of another great fight: “Congratulations, Gadreel Creeper of the Moon. Darkness has prevailed today.”
Entered by: 0x8717…A7A8
