Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Metal

Chapter 7 The Tournament Begins

 After a while of traveling, Brook couldn't help but doze off to sleep. What he thought would be a short nap turned into a conversation with Khenari, the goddess he wasn't too particularly fond of but still 'served' in a sense. "How are you speaking to me right now? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping in a tree?" Brook asked her. "That's not how you're supposed to treat your superiors but I'll let it slide. If you can believe it or not, I'm actually in a refreshing mood. Your acquaintance, Ella, was able to rejuvenate me. Your trident should have a boost in power now." Khenari told him. Brook looked a little upset. "She's not an acquaintance, she's my friend." Brook told her. "I'm giving you good news boy. You're so ungrateful." Khenari rolled her eyes at him. "Well I am glad that the trident got a boost in power and all that, I still wouldn't mind if you kept sleeping in that tree for a little longer. I still haven't forgiven you for what you did." Brook's comment made Khenari sigh. "You're lucky I'm not Elgria. She wouldn't have any patience for someone like you. Goodbye." Just like that, Brook woke up from his nap.

When Brook opened his eyes, he was treated to the sound of a bustling town and when he peeked outside of the caravan wagon he was in, he was treated with the sight of countless onlookers forming rows on each side of them. "I guess we're pretty popular huh." Brook said. "Well yeah. With this many ancient weapon wielders and royalty in one place, I guess we would be." Crystal said. "Morning sleepyhead." Sol teased Brook. "I had a conversation with Khenari. She said Ella was able to rejuvenate her." Brook told them. "That's great! I hope this means she'll be able to save Yvonne." Sol said. Lilac was a little confused. "What? My sister rejuvenated Khenari?" Lilac looked at both Crystal and Sol, hoping for an explanation. "I'm sorry we forgot to tell you. Ella just recently discovered she can manipulate more forms of life aside from just plants. She was able to heal Khenari and was planning to gain her aid to save Yvonne from the Kingdom of Wood." Crystal explained.

"I don't like the sound of my sister heading for the Kingdom of Wood." Lilac's voice grew with concern. "Don't worry. She's being taken care of by your father. They don't plan on going if they can't get help from some divine intervention. They'll be fine." Sol said to Lilac. "Besides... they're also worried about you because of your position as a knight. Just remember we all walk our own path." Crystal and Sol's words were enough to ease Lilac for a bit. "So since we're in Ironmelt, do you think we're going to get a chance for any sightseeing?" Sol asked, changing the subject to try and keep everything light. "Sol, we're here for work." Crystal reminded him. "Oh this is Ironmelt? I guess we should be heading for the coliseum right now." Brook said. "We should be grateful they decided to wait for us before starting the tournament. From what I heard, they were going to give us special seating accompanied by a few guards. Lilac, you can be one of our guards if you wish." Crystal said. "Thank you." Lilac said to her. "So that's why the streets are so full of people. It's not just us they were waiting on but this tournament should be a big event." Brook said. "It's too bad the previous wielder had to die because of it though. But it's just their tradition I suppose." Lilac said to him.

The wagons were eventually brought to a halt and the sound of the crowd was somehow a lot easier to hear now. "Make way! Make way! Back up!" Orc soldiers tried everything they could to push back the onlookers when they got too close. An orc was coming in to check on the wagons one by one. When the orc eventually got to their wagon, he immediately gestured to them to follow, wasting no time. "Come on. We can only do so much holding them back." The orc told them. As they were being escorted out of the wagon, they were able to see the crowd much more easily. It was like a sea of orcs that stretched on for quite a while. Sol was about awe struck before his sister had to push him along and keep moving. Once inside an exclusive coliseum corridor that was sealed up, they were met up with Aria and Drakiel. "Hey guys! Did you see all the people out there?!" Aria said ecstatically. "How could we not?" Brook answered her. "I know that sounded dumb but look, it's amazing to see how big this tournament is to these people." Aria stated. "She's not wrong. This also may as well be the first time they've seen this many important people from other kingdoms watch one of these events as well." Crystal added. An orc stepped in and got their attention. "WELCOME! Please follow me for an event you'll never forget!" The soldier did his absolute best of a first impression as his voice boomed and echoed across the corridor. They proceeded to follow the soldier accompanied with a few of their own. After climbing up some steps, they neared the top of the coliseum.