The Paragon - Sparrow and Dekker

The Paragon

A Paragon. Described as a person or thing regarded as a perfect example of a particular quality. That was the game. The death match. One person would become the champion. The Paragon to the nations. Out of the two teams, only one would remain.

Sparrow, a young girl of 20, was one of these people. She sat silently in the bunker as the seconds passed. She was alone, and had been for some time.

She wore her ranging tunic, a favourite of hers. It was a mix of greys and browns, with gold stitching lining the edges. On her belt, was a pouch. Unfortunately, it was empty. Normally, it would hold bait and a snare, but those items were not allowed in the Monolith.

She reached up and touched her oak-brown braided hair, which sat lazily over her shoulder. She then reached behind her head, and felt the feathers that held it all in place.

Next to her, rested her bow. A recurve, made especially for her. It was imbued with magic, allowing her to simply draw and fire, she had no need for arrows, as they would simply manifest. The bow itself was made of simple wood, with a few gold engravings along it.

As she looked at it, she reflected her time as a young girl when she would practice firing until her fingers bled. Then she would continue.

Suddenly, she remembered what she had been gifted before leaving her home. Her uncle, Greystone, had given her a new tunic, as well as a note. She took out the note and stared at it. The parchment had been wrapped nicely and tied together with a piece of bowstring, with a set of feathers that matched her hairpiece.

The note read, "Dearest niece - I am very proud of you, but you are still going to prison." She chuckled to herself and rolled the note up, and put it safely in her pouch.

In previous years, her uncle had imprisoned her countless times for illegal hunting and trade sabotage. Even though she had always preferred the hunt rather than the kill, her uncle would not allow it.

"Five minutes," a voice came from nowhere. The voice was a male one. It was also very deep and guttural. Sparrow rolled her eyes and stared at the wall. In five minutes, she would have to stand up, with her bow in her hand, else it be left behind, and be ready to be taken to the Monolith.

Sparrow had never seen the Monolith before. She heard it was a lush jungle atop a high mountain that kissed the heavens. Within the jungle, were three lanes. She would be fighting alongside four others within this jungle.

"With three minutes remaining, you will choose a deck of cards," the voice came back. "This deck of 35 to 40 cards will increase your power. Choose wisely, once in the Monolith, there is no going back."

Suddenly, five decks of cards and a table manifested in front of Sparrow. She jumped at the unexpected appearance. She stood slowly, bow in hand, and walked over to the table. On top of each deck was a written hologram.

Survivability.

Critical Damage.

Attack Speed.

Basic.

Power.

"You have two minutes." Sparrow looked at the decks and processed what each one might hold.

She narrowed her choice down to Power and Critical Damage. She held her hand out over Critical Damage, but shook her head and grabbed Power. She breathed a sigh of relief, and the four remaining decks disappeared.

The deck in her hand also disappeared after a few seconds, and suddenly, in her mind, she could see 39 cards. Each card had its own powers and upgrades.