The Red Glaive

“Put a diamond mark on the prince to win.” Adelaide said confidently. If she knew who he was then the most the competitors knew too. In all her life, none of the royals had ever competed in the melee. With two Storm Knights in the melee, however, there was no way they would let him fall and they would both probably forfeit instead of taking the risk of hurting him.

Fides stared at her blankly. “He’s the one that gave my sister his token,” she said. It was different for mystery knights handing out tokens like that. Since they weren’t tied to an order it usually indicated interest. Here she was trying to get her sister in the pageant to gain his attention and approval. Absolutely nobody would question it if the prince himself claimed her sister as a boon.

“Gods, Adeladie!” she heard Aget shout. “How could you allow Videl to do this!” Aget held her hands over her mouth, worried as Videl narrowly managed to block an ice chunk that nearly decapitated him.

“He’ll be fine.” Adelaide said returning to her seat after sending Fides to place her bets. With both Videl and the prince outlasting half the competitors, she had already won three diamond chip coins.

Adelaide glanced at Seymour sitting in the viewing box directly across from her. Seymour Clay, leader of the First Order. His own knights had been taken out early, now he watched intently towards the tower were most of the action seemed to be headed towards.



Higher ground. He needed higher ground. It didn’t occur to him that his stature would make him a target. But it seemed like everyone around him wanted to be the one to take down the tallest in the arena. Videl had already knocked out four knights.

He only just had enough time to raise his arm as he ran. A gold geometric barrier exploded into existence mimicking the angle of his hand just as a block of ice crashed into it. He felt the jolt shake up his arm as if he had caught it himself. The ice chunk fell to the ground as Videl felt the magic fade. Another flask finished already.

Sensing someone behind him, Videl glanced behind. One of the mystery knights was charging at him. Videl raised his arm and took the blow right below the elbow. It was hard enough to dent his armor and drop him on his knees, but it was better than taking it in chest have his barrier shatter. The knight pulled down his sword, ready to pierce at his chest and shatter his barrier, when another opportunist knight struck him down from behind giving Videl enough time to scramble away.

He continued to run towards, crushing the last of his three flasks as he went in his gauntleted hand. The magic returned filling him with that protective warmth. Behind him, the second mystery knight had eliminated the one had attacked Videl but didn’t give chase. Videl needed higher ground, at least then he could see what was coming at him.

One of the Storm Knights was wrecking savage at the base of the tower, so Videl diverted and approached from the opposite side. There were weapon racks scattered near the base and on each tier of the tower. Spears, maces, and swords of all kinds, their sharp points towards the sky, seemed like a better choice than the sword Videl had. But Caius had warned him to not take anything those weapons were foreign. He knew his sword, it’s length and weight, just as he knew his own arm.

There were stairs and ladders in certain intervals on the tower, but Videl headed straight for the lift. The second he jumped into it, he felt it shoot upwards. The lift stopped with a sudden jolt, surprising the grey armored knight there. Videl leapt from the lift slashing his sword downwards shattering the knight’s heavily cracked barrier.

“No!” he screamed before he was dragged underground by the sages that lined the edges of the arena.

He had been the only one in that section of the tower. It allowed Videl to take a moment to scan the arena. Less than half the knights remained. The ground portion of the arena was cleared and the sages used their magic to move the walls the arena shrinking it. Slowly ushering everyone towards the tower. Videl breathed out, then cut the rope to the lift sending it crashing down. Then, pulled up the nearest ladder. That way, all those that had remained below would be forced to come up through the other side where the Storm Knight was still fighting despite his barrier being visible and heavily cracked.

Up. He had to go up where there was more fighting to be done. He didn’t want to be on the first tier when all the remaining knights tried to scramble up. Up, to the fighting, towards the second Storm Knight.



“How can your friend participate in something like this?” Elyon said unable to tear her eyes away. “He must be terrified.”

They had been at a comfortable distance before. But as more and more people settled on the bridge to watch, they had been squeezed together. Niko stood behind her, he had moved there when he spotted a man with a massive pot belly lean in and take a whiff of her hair. Thankfully, Elyon had not noticed, her eyes had been glued on the melee. But now Niko was so close to her, he leaned back whenever he felt the crowd push forward. After a while it became less noticeable.

“He’s actually doing very well.” Niko said watching Videl climb the tower. He had just surprised the Howell knight how had been lurking on the first tier of the tower, cutting people down as they climbed the ladders. Not exactly honorable for an up and coming knight. Niko smiled just thinking of the excuses Brecht would come up for his cousin’s poor performance.

So far, including the Howell knight, Videl had out a mystery knight, a Cartwright knight, and more spectacularly a Farstock knight - who were known to train with the Storm Knights of Durmenda - and a Hogring, both of which had teamed up against him at the very beginning of the melee. They had charged him in a pincer formation, a formation Caius had Niko and Telfer run with Videl over and over again. Videl had made quick work of them.

Videl now had made a strategic decision moving to the tower. He had bought himself more time, but sometimes lasting longer could prove dangerous. Of all the fatalities that had occurred in a melee all of them had come when there were 25 or fewer participants and the numbers now were dwindling. Most of the fatalities had come in years were flasks were allowed as they had been this year. Caius had advised Niko not to tell those facts to Ariel, or Adelaide, since they saw Videl as family and might not let I'm compete knowing that. He had also advised against telling Videl to calm his nerves.

Novak Talbain at the base of the tower would start moving up soon, before he was utterly overwhelmed the oncoming knights fleeing the shrinking of the arena. Up towards Videl. Videl would have to move up to avoid facing him one on one. But the closer he got to the top, the closer he got to Arnoul Talbain. Of Volund Talbain’s sons, Arnoul was known to be precise. He wasn’t a showman like Novak, flashing lighting at every opportunity. Arnoul always went for the kill.

Niko watched intently, seemingly forgetting about the most beautiful girl before him, as he started to grow nervous for Videl. If he fell now, he’d have had a great performance. If he fell to a Storm Knight immediately after engaging them, he’d be humiliated and undo his great performance from before.

Cecil Belmont suddenly rose up the tower on a lift to meet Arnoul. He didn’t have a single flask, only a sword and the enchanted whip his house was famous for. If anyone could take on a Storm Knight it would be a Belmont.

If Cecil somehow managed to handle Arnoul, and the other knights took down Novak, and if Videl was careful in who and how he fought, he actually stood a chance at winning the whole thing. After the Talbains and Cecil Belmont there were only three other fighters that could present a challenge. One in the gold armor of House Ultor who had been rather deadly with his mace and who still had a half a belt of flasks when everyone else’s had already depleted.

Second was the mystery knight who had been utterly unstoppable with a spear. Niko couldn’t quite piece the identity together, the closest he could imagine was maybe an Inferno Legion solider looking for some glory? They were known to be the best spearmen, but traditionally being Aeustian loyalists they refused to participate in anything organized by the King of Lux Aeterna. Maybe Einon Sarkain was actually bridging the divide in the people of Aestus. It would explain the third mystery knight.

A pyromancer. A powerful one at that. Powerful Pyromancers were unheard of. Most of the remaining paypomacners were executed and their bloodlines eradicated after the last rebellion of Aestus. The newer Aeustian pyromancers were significantly weaker now, and could only harness enough of the Beast’s power to conjure up sparks, or they had to work in large groups to make anything greater as they had done in parade.

If Aestus wanted to prove something with these clearly skilled knights, why enter them in the melee as mystery knights? Niko thought hard on the question but the only thing he could think of was that maybe, these two were competing without permission.

If that pyromancer was meant to be a secret then this knight had ruined it all. How many more pyromancers of this caliber did Aestus have? Why keep it a secret? Were they planning something again?. . . War?

“He’s going up!” Elyon said under her breath, her voice drowned the roar of the crowd, but Niko heard her, he had been fixated on her voice since that day in the shrine.

Niko tore his gaze away from the pyromancer knight. Back to Videl who was moving up the tower straight up towards Arnoul Talbain.

Niko held his breath. What was he doing?! Not towards Arnoul. His best bet would be to stay lower, wait for Novak to come up along with the other knights so they could all team up against Novak and let Cecil Belmont take out Arnoul. Videl still had one flask full of barrier. All he had to do was bide his time. . .



Telfer watched as the Storm Knight blazed a stream of lightning out towards the sky. The knight he was fighting at the top of the tower had somehow deflected it. Overall most of the knights fought fairly well, some where on par with Caius himself and that was saying something.

Where was he anyway? It was Telfer and the lady in the box that was meant for the four of them. He understood Niko not making it, him having to get his woman and all. But Caius?

It made it increasingly awkward to just sit there next to this lady and not know how to talk to her. She was wearing a gilded dress for fuck’s sake. If she was going to dress so fanciful maybe she should've just sat with her sisters.

“You should tell her.” Neith said from her spot at Telfer’s feet. Not saying a word, Telfer shook his head trying to be discrete. Neith had curled into a ball and nodded off almost as soon as they had arrived. She seemed more tired lately, now that she been away form her skull form for weeks and by his side constantly.

A cheer erupted from the crowd as a massive burst of flames narrowly missed some of the viewing boxes near the tower. Half the banners that decorated the boxes had caught fire and the sages worked to put it out. Telfer glanced back at the lady sitting beside him and she was. . . dozing off?

“Uh. .” Telfer thought aloud wondering if he should poke her or something.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she shot forward. For a brief second Telfer thought she was about to jump the railing into the arena, but she stopped scanning the crowd at the base of the tower instead. “Ars. . .” she said but stopped speaking when she noticed Telfer watching her. “I, uh, have to go.”

“Sure.” was all Telfer could say before she rushed out of her seat. She didn’t even wait for her servant to open the door as she took of at a break neck speed out of the box.



Videl had a plan. A stupid one, but a plan nonetheless and he needed the Silent Storm to do it. Videl charged up a set of stairs, turning left at the landing he ran into someone’s downward swing. The slash hit him straight on his shoulder, but deflected down by his pauldron to his chest. He thought for a second, that his barrier had shattered, but it held together across his chest like cracked glass.

The other knight - in violet armor - had opened himself from the swing and was much, much smaller than Videl. All it took was a single, powerful kick send this knight on his back. Videl was on top of him in a second and stabbed his sword down, shattering his barrier. The second Videl stepped away, he was dragged down into the tower by sage magic.

Videl paused leaning heavily onto the wall. He had rarely taken off his armor in the days leading up to the melee. He had learned to live in it. But after all the exertion of the melee, it was starting to weigh heavy on his body. He didn’t have much more in him.

Ahead of him a mystery knight was dueling a green armored knight when a a jet stream of fire exploded off the mystery knight’s hand. It shattered the knight’s barrier and blew him off the edge of the terrace. Videl didn’t know anyone still had any flasks. Videl pushed himself off the wall gathering Adelaide’s barrier magic in his hand ready for use as the mystery knight slowly stalked toward him like a predator.

Videl readied his sword, knowing full well that this might be it.

The knight didn’t charge, he slowly stalked forward then simply walked past Videl. His boots clanked against the stone floor of the tower as the mystery knight charged at two oncoming knights. He had seen Videl as too defeated already to challenge. Many orders frowned on that sort of thing.

Videl had to move, before that knight changed his mind and before his exhaustion completely took over. He stormed up the stairs, up the last two flights all the way to the top.

A large circular arena was at the very top. Arnoul Talbain and Cecil Belmont stood across from each other. Both of them had removed the helms despite the rules prohibiting it to avoid injury and both had nearly shattered barriers.

Across the top platform, the speared mystery knight appeared on the opposite side to Videl. Then, from the lift behind Cecil the knight who had spared Videl appeared.

Arnoul and Cecil noted the intruders to their one on one duel, then turned on them.