Luminara's sun shield attempted to imitate the gradual transition of day and night, a daily phenomenon on every other planet in the Celestium. However, here on Vechnost, the sun never moves from its place in the sky. In Luminara, it consistently casts shadows as if it's three hours past high noon. The artificial dimming of the sky assists planetary visitors in maintaining their natural circadian rhythms. Thus, what felt like dawn was merely the sun shield gradually allowing more light to filter through.
At that moment, the trio from Solaris was awakened from their nightly slumber. Goji jumped out of bed and hurriedly put on his ceremonial martial arts gi. He was wrapping gauze around his knuckles and wrists when Naroki yawned and rolled out of bed. Naroki shook his head at Goji's enthusiasm; neither was scheduled to fight today. It allowed him to sleep in, relax, and skip his usual morning chores. Such days were rare, and Naroki intended to take full advantage of them.
While Goji restlessly practiced his punches and kicks, Naroki reverently donned his ceremonial gi and patiently sharpened his katana with a whetstone. The familiar rhythm and pitch of the grinding noise from Naroki's whetstone strokes was calming and meditative for him. He synchronized his breathing with his long, deliberate strokes.
Sumitsu entered the room where the boys carried out their morning routines after she had groomed herself. Even though they had lived together all their lives, she appreciated her privacy and the mystery of never letting her boys see her out of shape. Her long, golden hair required more brushing to look like that than she would ever admit.
The three of them continued their morning routine until a diminutive elf messenger appeared to inform them of their pending schedule. They gathered their things and headed to the Colosseum with several other Solaran Templars.
When they arrived, the Colosseum was already teeming with spectators. Creatures from across the Celestium filled the stands, and the crowd's roar was deafening. Everyone there was filled with excitement and anticipation for the event.
Although she was invited to sit in the Skybox with the other Avatars, Sumitsu chose to join Naroki and Goji in the front row. Naroki occasionally glanced at Sumitsu, clearly aware that something was wrong. Meanwhile, Goji bounced in his seat, oblivious to how his excitement affected those around him.
A small child with wild orange hair, resembling Goji, approached the trio while carrying a tray filled with various muffins. She appeared to be around ten years old, but her seriousness suggested she might have been older. The tray had a strap around her neck to keep it steady, leaving her hands free. She was a vendor and called out, "Muffins! Muffins for good luck!"
Goji's stomach rumbled loudly at the mention of food. In all his excitement, he had forgotten to grab something to eat.
"Do they really enhance luck?" Naroki asked with mock skepticism, wanting to toy with the vendor a bit.
"Yes," the girl replied without hesitation. "Guaranteed lucky."
Goji's stomach growled again. He didn't care if the muffins were lucky; he was hungry. He eyed the variety of muffins with great interest.
Finding humor in the situation, Sumitsu said, "Go ahead and get some. I'm sure it would be unlucky if we didn't."
The three of them selected different flavored muffins from the vendor's selection, made their payment, and sat down to eat. They were all delighted by how moist and flavorful the muffins were—there wasn't a bad choice in the batch. That vendor certainly knew her stuff.
Goji savored his chocolate chunk muffin, while Naroki ate his honey almond muffin with concern for every morsel. Sumitsu's lemon poppyseed muffin disappeared incrementally; she ate so politely that it was a wonder how she managed to finish it.
None of them acknowledged the vendor girl after the transaction. It felt awkward to linger with her, especially since she'd want to focus on vending her muffins to the rest of the spectators.
The Colosseum consisted of several stories of boxes and bleachers built around a central arena. Today, the arena showcased a circular combat stage. The rules of this ancient tournament remained constant and straightforward: get your opponent to stop fighting, either by ring-out, submission, knockout, or fatality. The gods always blessed all the combatants to be resurrected and restored between bouts.
A solitary figure stood at the center of the stage. Dressed in the splendid rainbow robes of a Tournament Official, Kyou the elf addressed the audience with poise and authority. The crowd fell silent almost instantly.
"Greetings, everyone, and welcome to Luminara of Vechnost. Many of you have traveled a great distance to be here, and we are honored to host you. The Tournament of Templars has a long and rich history filled with tales of triumph and heartache. It has been my honor to be listed among the many champions crowned in these halls. It continues to be my privilege to serve as Mistress of Ceremonies and Honorary Judge for this tournament.
"Before we begin, let us start with a moment of silence." Every attendee, including Goji, prayed to their god in the manner suited for their sects. The Templars in attendance could witness multi-colored lights emanating from the crowd and coalescing in the Avatars' skybox.
The moment of silence concluded with a brilliant white beam of light shooting across the planet's curvature toward the center of the desert. The crowd—those few who could perceive the absence of indigo in the white light—unified in shouting praise for the divine.
Kyou continued her speech. "Thank you all for your faith and prayers. You are as much a part of this Tournament as the Templar competitors here. Never forget that."
Naroki listened wholeheartedly, emotionally invested in every word uttered by the champion Kyou.
Goji picked at his ear with his pinky. He had no patience for the pomp and circumstance of ceremonies. He was there to fight. And fight he would. His attention was captured by the sudden appearance of the Dark Worlder in light-absorbing armor, stepping onto the stage next to Kyou.
"This is a momentous occasion. Centuries ago, the Twilight Wars split allegiances between the Light and Dark halves of Vechnost. The Twilight Zone, sandwiched between the Great Walls, has been forbidden territory ever since. A Dark Worlder has entered the competition for the first time since that bloody war long ago.
"It is my absolute privilege to introduce General Daraku of the Bloodfey Kingdom, Templar of the Daishinigami."
Sumitsu leaned back in her seat, resting her chin on her hand in thought. He was a templar for the Daishinigami, the Great Death God, the Prime Avatar over the Dark Side of Vechnost. It was unconventional for that Avatar to sponsor a Templar, to say the least. What kind of danger did he pose to her boys?
Goji leaned forward with a silly grin on his face. A Bloodfey General? Seriously? This was so exciting!
Naroki was unsure of what to think. The modern lore about the Dark Side of Vechnost came in snippets, leaving him uncertain about what to expect.
The armored knight placed his hands on either side of his helmet. A seam appeared between the helmet and the collar where none had existed before. He then lifted the helmet off. A collective gasp rose from the crowd. Daraku was a werewolf.
The direct sunlight on his furry wolf head had an immediate sizzling effect. Steam rose through the collar of Daraku's armor. He was burning in the daylight, yet he was also healing. He maintained a balance between sun damage and regeneration. This is why he was willing to brave the Light Side; his powers granted him the ability to survive here.
Sumitsu, who had previously seen through his helmet, gazed at his human face, which made the wolf head catch her off guard. She was impressed by his level of courage. Not only was he a warrior, but he was also a General. However, he was not the kind of General who hailed from nobility. This man worked his way up from the bottom rung and clawed his way to the head of his armies.
Daraku reattached his helmet, which sealed its seam once more. He respectfully bowed to Kyou, who bowed in return before he left the stage.
Tari and several of her fellow Hogaran peers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Daraku exit to one of the other portholes than the wing they waited in. Dressed their best, all the girls awaited their turn during the opening ceremonies to be introduced publicly to the Spectators, the Templars, and, of course, the Avatars whom they were here to serve.
Allisyn stood tall and imperiously. She was a beacon of propriety that filled the younger girls with a sense of belonging. Some of her juniors gave the other girls last-minute once-overs to make sure everything was in place. Tari had her notion on hand, just in case.
The pair shared a meaningful glance, which filled Allisyn with pride and Tari with confidence.
"Would the Hogaran Children please come to the stage?" Kyou called out.
With Allisyn in the lead, the girls from Hogar approached the center stage with uniform grace and poise. Their white dresses shone in the sunlight, and their holly wreaths upon their heads seemed to breathe with life. There was a sacredness that shone from within these girls.
Once they had filed in around Kyou to present themselves to the spectators, Kyou continued, "These young children have come here from Hogar at the request of Tokimi to perform a service for the Avatars and Templars. We are honored to have them here."
Tari looked around her in awe as every audience member stood and bowed to her and her fellow Hogarans. She could feel tears of overwhelming gratitude threaten to blur her vision.
In the Avatar skybox, Tokimi stood and smiled down upon them. Even Allisyn's mouth was agape at seeing their beloved Heavenly Mother in person.
"It is truly a miracle to have you, young ladies, here with us today," Kyou resumed her speech. "We have missed Hogar's presence at the past few tournaments. We pray this heralds hope for a fuller return of Hogar's legacy to future tournaments."
A unanimous and deafening cheer of enthusiasm erupted from all around the Colosseum. The girls were shooed away from the stage to ascend the many staircases to reach the skybox.
Sumitsu had previously committed the names and faces of each Hogaran girl during the Council of Avatars. Her eyes glowed a brilliant yellow as she examined the girls' spirit rings. Each one appeared like a mandala of the brightest indigo, and hints of the rest of the rainbow. These girls were supercharged with divine magical energy. There was a reason mortals shouldn't eat sunberries. If their patron deity thrived, they'd have spiritually exploded from the overdose. But knowing what Tokimi's rings looked like, this was truly a marvel.
Tari noticed Sumitsu's glowing eyes and froze. She was being watched, studied. She didn't like it. She also didn't know how she did what she did next. Her eyes glowed the same yellow color as Sumitsu's. She could see Sunitsu's golden spirit rings, five concentric circles of runic symbols and glyphs. She had no idea what she was looking at.
Then she noticed the boys. She didn't know who was who, but she could clearly see that they were significantly different from one another. One of them had faint rings, almost imperceptible. The other shone like a silhouette filled with stars.
Sumitsu turned off her avatar vision, and Tari's power vanished immediately. She wanted to reach out to Tari to explain and beg her to keep the secret, but Tari hurried away to catch up with her friends.
Goji and Naroki noticed the exchange between the indigo-haired Hogaran girl and their best friend. "What just happened?"Naroki asked.
"She… she copied me." Sumitsu stuttered, not believing her own words.