Exactly at 3:00, every television in the building turned on, and every eye went to the most convenient one. The screen showed the logo of the God Warrior’s Tournament with a short jingle.
At the front of the room a young man stood. Probably in his mid-twenties, dressed smartly in a dark gray suit and tie with a white shirt. His well-trimmed short black hair and glasses with rectangular frames, resting near the end of his nose, completed the scholarly look. He brought a microphone to his mouth and pointed at the people in the room. “Citizens of Dragon Village, welcome to the two hundred thirty-seventh quadrennial God Warriors’ Tournament!”
Much cheering ensued.
The man smiled. “I’m David Vartouhi, and I’ll be your guide for the new few weeks, as sixty-four dedicated combatants bash heads for this year’s grand prize. I’m sure you all know it by now, but for the sake of completeness, the winner of this tournament will receive…” He thrust his other hand forward, showing off a silver ring with three sparkling white diamonds in a triangular pattern. “The Ring of Dreams! A pretty trinket, yes, but what makes this the God Warriors’ prize?” He grinned mock-maliciously. “The magic inherent in these gems grants three wishes!”
He pulled the ring back. “What kind of wishes, you ask? Well, anything really! Want riches? You got it. Want to trade in your face for one that doesn’t scare children? That too! A weapon that finally befits your skill? Fine! Hey, you could even wish to replace one of the Nine’s advisors, but don’t say it out loud unless you’re looking for an unfortunate accident right before your match.” He winked.
Dirk spoke up through the laughter in the rest of the room. “He’s not kidding.”
“And don’t think of jumping me, this is just a powerless imitation of the real thing. I mean who would let someone like me hold onto the real thing?” He winked. “And speaking of the Big Nine, the have a couple of rules to follow as long as you’re in Dragon Village. These are in your envelopes of course, but we all know no one reads those.”
“I do,” Canopus muttered.
“So first and foremost let’s not forget all of those obvious laws. No stealing, vandalism, or stuff like that. We may all come from different ruling bodies, but common courtesy is always in style.
“Next! Absolutely no combat outside set arenas. Fight with your words, not your fist, axe, lightning bolt, or magic eternal salamander form. Besides, last long enough and we’ll give you the power to get back at anybody who looked at you the wrong way, aye?
“Also, you’re not allowed to leave the village until you’re either eliminated or the tournament ends. Everything you could possibly need is here so there’s little reason to need to leave and the last thing we need is someone missing a match because they are MIA.
“As for the tournament itself, this is a triple-elimination tournament. Three strikes and you’re out. The ladders for the first six rounds are set up and will be made publicly available after tomorrow’s matches; once we’ve already given you the shock of not knowing your opponent beforehand. What about after those six rounds? Well then we’ll have a special surprise for the remaining twenty-two fighters.
“And for general safety we’ve disallowed killing in this tournament. If you kill someone, you get eliminated and we’ll just bring whoever you killed back so they can laugh at your sorry backside as you cart your luggage away. Complaints can be addressed to Sukizo, but shouldn’t.”
