Legacy Of Altherion

Nathan, Mr Gremzor, Logan and Dormain sat in the front row of seats in the upper tier of an expansive arena, packed to capacity. They barely managed to secure seating before it was announced that tickets for the event was sold out.

Over forty thousand spectators erupted into cheer as a balcony detached from the fourth tier of seats and floated towards the centre of the arena.

Hovering high above the ground, a gentleman wearing an elaborate yet elegant purple robe approached the marble rail. A small silver orb like object floated beside him as he prepared to speak. The crowd grew silent in anticipation.

"Greetings my fellow Altherians, I would like to welcome you all to the final day for the Tier Five Malenta Reiti-Kalem.” His crisp voice resounded around the arena.

“The five individuals who will be competing this day have proven their grit and resolve over the past gruelling days, and as such have earned the right to challenge for promotion within their Tier. As per our long standing tradition, the final contest will be conducted under a last Malenta standing rule. All five combatants will face each other simultaneously, it will be all the spoils to the victor. In the name of the Supreme Order of Nava, I, Elder Zhaan hereby sanction the final contest to commence!" he said.

Following his announcement, the audience erupted once more, stomping and cheering infectiously for the start of the much anticipated match.

"So that man is one of the elders in the Supreme Order of Nava?" Logan said as he watched the balcony float back towards its initial position.

‘He looks so young...’

"That would be correct." Mr Gremzor said.

"How many of them are there?"

"The Supreme Order of Nava is comprised of nine elders."

Logan nodded. "I have another question, it's regarding the term Malenta, what exactly does that mean?"

Mr Gremzor turned to him. "Do you remember your question with regards to Eleon Arts?"

Logan nodded.

"As I stated before, only a Lumus is able to achieve it. I will not go into too much detail with regards to Lumus abilities, however, know that it is one distinction of an Altherian, and Malenta is the other. The two distinctions are separate by nature, one cannot be both. The separation is due to the ability, or rather, the inability to harness a particular source of energy, namely, Primah and Eleon.”

‘Is Eleon like mana perhaps? They said Eleon Arts is similar to magic. Then, what is Primah? Could it possibly be?...’

“Judging by your reaction it appears that you have some comprehension regarding the two energy sources.”

“Well, I have an idea but I’d rather not assume.”

Mr Gremzor chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“As you may have surmised, Lumus harness Eleon to perform Eleon Arts, and Malenta harness Primah. There are many differences and limitations between the two, however, the main distinction is their origin. To put it simply, Primah is produced within the body of a Malenta, whereas Eleon exists all around us.”

“Forgive my ignorance, but, if Eleon exists everywhere, why can’t Malenta use it too?”

“In a similar manner that Lumus lack the ability to produce Primah, Malenta lack the ability to absorb Eleon.”

“I understand. So, based on what you’ve mentioned regarding Eleon Arts, I assume that a Malenta’s abilities revolve around body enhancement?”

“That is one aspect, yes. Malenta are capable of precise manipulation of both conscious as well as subconscious aspects of their body.”

Logan’s eyes widened. ‘It goes that deep?’

“This makes me curious to know if I’m a Malenta like you and Nathan...”

“We shall discover that in due course. And, before you ask, Dormain is a Lumus." Mr Gremzor said.

Logan glanced at Dormain, he shrugged and turned back towards the ring.

"Is the primary focus of a Malenta's role combat oriented?"

Mr Gremzor shook his head. "Not entirely, however, it is a core factor."

"I see, hence the combat tournament to test their skills."

At that moment an announcement echoed around the arena.

[Malenta and Lumus of all ages, please welcome our combatants into the arena!]

Deafening cheers and applause followed the announcement. One after the other, the combatants entered the arena to the roar of the crowd, the introduction of each participant included their name as well as their their ranked position.

[Harod Bolin, Tier Five-Rank 4] [Kaine Soiz, Tier Five-Rank 5] [Fiere Lanbri, Tier Five-Rank 5] [Dolham Malti, Tier Five-Rank 4] [Alixus Stalhart, Tier Five-Rank 4]

The concrete square-shaped ring encompassed nearly eighty percent of the arena floor.

Four of the combatants chose a corner as a starting position, making it easier to keep an eye on the other competitors. The fifth participant, a blonde-haired man, headed for the centre of the ring the moment he stepped into the arena.

Unlike the rules for the preliminary rounds, a ring out did not mean disqualification, the only way to lose is to submit or be rendered unconscious.

"They're all Tier Five, but the ranks are shared by more than two people, how is that possible?" Logan said.

Mr Gremzor grinned. "Dormain, would you care to explain the power ranking system?"

He shrugged. “I will attempt to keep it as simple as possible, though, you do seem to grasp matters swiftly, none the less…" he said, turning to Logan.

"The system is comprised of two parts, a Stoma ranking presented as a Tier and an Ethu rating presented as a Rank. They are graded numerically on a scale of one to ten, in both cases, the lower the number one possesses, the greater their level of skill and ability. Stoma represents one's capacity, it usually takes a very long time to increase, which is only natural as it is one's innate ability. Whereas Ethu which represents one's level of skill, may increase steadily with rigorous and consistent training." he said.

Logan furrowed his brows. “I'm confused. You called Stoma a ranking, even though it's presented as a Tier, and Ethu is a rating but it's presented as a rank, how does that work?"

Dormain smiled. “I believe that your comprehension may be affected due to the constructs of El-ahzi, to put it simply, the terms ranking and rating may be used interchangeably."

Logan nodded and gestured for Dormain to continue.

"The Stoma value takes precedence as it identifies one's calibre as a Lumus or Malenta, therefore it is associated with one's status throughout society. Ethu is your level of skill to use your power therefore, it is a rating of efficiency. Hence it is possible for many Altherians to share the same ranking with another.” he said.

[Are the combatants prepared?]

[Begin!]

"Let us continue this at a later time, the match has begun." Dormain said.

In the ring, the blonde-haired combatant aimed a provocative smirk at his opponents, it seemed as though they decided to go after him first. Despite being surrounded by four very large and muscular fighters twice his size, he laughed heartily.

"You have made the correct decision to make me your desired target, however, correct and wise are two very different things." he said.

“Your arrogance will be your downfall Alixus.” one of his opponents said.

He smirked. “Such bold words for a weakling. Why don’t you show me.”

His four opponents shared a look and took a step forward simultaneously.

The next moment, Alixus charged towards Kaine who stood in the right corner facing him. He moved at lightning speed, to the untrained eye, it would appear as though he had vanished into thin air.

In a matter of seconds, he appeared below Kaine with his right leg extended, he drove his leg vigorously against Kaine's ankle causing him to fall sideways before he could react. Using the momentum of the leg sweep, Alixus rotated swiftly and kicked Kaine in the chest before he hit the ground. The force generated by his kick sent Kaine hurtling across the arena floor, colliding with the reinforced barricade erected below the audience seats.

His three remaining opponents attacked him simultaneously, despite their size, they moved at a blistering pace.

Harod swung his left arm wildly hoping to impact Alixus' face, however, Alixus easily brushed his arm aside and kicked him below the chin, sending him a few meters into the air.

Dolham and Fiere charged ferociously from behind and the left of him respectively, Alixus grasped one of Harod's ankles before he flew out of reach, spun one hundred and eighty degrees and hurled him towards Dolham at high speed. Dolham dodged the semi-conscious Harod, and allowed him to continue across the arena towards the barricade.

Unfortunately for him, Alixus predicted the direction in which he would dodge, Dolham's vision had been obscured by Harod, he failed to notice that Alixus moved to intercept him.

He moved directly into the path of Alixus' foot, which landed a thunderous kick to the side of his face. Dolham bounced and slid across the surface of the ring, and impacted the barricade mere seconds before Harod.

The arena rumbled fiercely as though a volcano was about to erupt, the ear- shattering roar of the crowd could be heard hundreds of meters outside of the arena.

Logan too stood up off his seat unable to contain his excitement.

"I-incredible!" he said.

"Indeed, it is most impressive." Dormain said.

The person who had the greatest disbelief at the sudden turn of events, Fiere, stood wide eyed and speechless.

He took a step back to gather his thoughts, the match had just begun, less than two minutes had passed and Alixus already turned it into a one on one match.

Chants of [ALIXUS] resounded throughout the arena, diminishing what little confidence Fiere had left.

Alixus stood with his back towards him, he mockingly waved for him to attack.

"This is how you like your opponents, is it not?" he said.

Angered by Alixus's remark and attitude, he charged forward with all his might. He swung his arms ferociously, but he failed to hit his opponent, Alixus simply swayed his head avoiding the high speed punches.

Fiere backed away out of breath, despite his best efforts, he had not been able to force Alixus to turn around. He blinked, suddenly a fist covered his entire line of sight, it was too late to react.

The match was decided with a vicious blow to the bridge of Fiere's nose, he ended up on the outside of the ring after bouncing off the barricade.

[Victor and Champion of the Tier Five Malenta Reiti-kalem…Alixus Stalhart!]

The announcement resounded throughout the arena, so too did the overwhelming praise and admiration for the champion of the tournament.

"What power...I can't believe how one sided that match was. They're all in the same Tier, and his opponents were far larger than he was, but they couldn't even touch him." Logan said.

Dormain grinned. "A Marvellous display. He may follow in Nyelekai's path after all.”

Logan glanced at Mr Gremzor and Nathan, the expression on their faces displayed a look of disinterest.

"You don't seem impressed." he said.

Nathan shrugged. "I'm not, and anything I say to elaborate will make me just like him." Nathan said.

"What do you mean?" Logan said.

"Arrogant and obnoxious." Mr Gremzor said.

Logan looked back and forth between the Gremzors and Alixus who indulged in crowd service by posing and waving to the audience.

"What am I missing?"

"You will witness it in the next contest." Mr Gremzor said.

"Next contest, there's another match after the final?

Mr Gremzor nodded. "Yes, the challenger match. Traditionally the champion faces a challenger of lower rank following a brief interval, depending on the injuries sustained during the final. As Alixus is unscathed, I am certain that he will decide to proceed immediately." Mr Gremzor said.

"In order to understand the nature of the challenger match, you would need to know a few details about the Reiti-Kalem and its purpose." Dormain said, interjecting before Logan could ask a question, he closed his mouth and nodded for Dormain to continue.

"The Reiti-kalem is designed to test the ability of Altherians, to determine whether they are viable for a promotion in rank. The first day involves the application of various aspects not related to combat, which then forms a base level prior to the combat portion. Participants accumulate scores throughout the competition, which is compared to a benchmark to determine promotion candidates.

At the end of the third day, the five highest scoring participants are selected to face each other in combat for a score multiplier, which may aid them in advancing by two or three ranks instead of just one." he said and paused awaiting confirmation that Logan comprehended the explanation.

"The participants who failed to reach the final may still gain promotion, depending on how well they scored during the competition. The challenger match exists as a way for one of the remaining five participants who scored in the top ten bracket, to similarly compete for a score multiplier.

The lower five, which historically tend to be lower ranked, compete in a match similar to the final, however, without public viewing. The winner of that match faces the champion in a one on one duel, however, they do not need to win the match, they are scored based on their performance during the fight. Therefore, depending on how well they handle themselves against the champion, they too may advance by at least two ranks." he said.

[We will now proceed with the challenger match. As agreed upon by the champion, the duel will commence immediately.]

[Please welcome the challenger, Johal Geldo Tier Five-Rank 6]

"Johal?" Nathan said.

"Do you know him?" Logan said.

Nathan nodded. "He is a friend."

Logan noticed concern in Nathan's expression, he wanted to ask the reason for his apprehension, but then he recalled the previous match.

[Are the combatants prepared?]

[Begin!]