Talent

"Remarkable." A young man said as he leaned his arms against the wooden railing surrounding the ring. "Truely remarkable I must say, that was commendable performance, wouldnt you agree?" Dante said with a wide smile. Travesty raised an eyebrow as he regarded the man sitting beside him. Noticing the questioning look from his side, Dante smiled and outstretched his hand. "Dante De'Lyse, a pleasure."

Travesty took the man's hand and shook it, "Julian. How are you in these seats? They are reserved for a certain class of people." The younger man snorted as he reclined in the seat, "I dont think there are any Dragon Slayer's present, so if you dont tell, I wont." he finished with a wink.
Distaste for this man started to bubble up within Travesty as he continued to remark on the fight. Travesty however stopped listening as he saw Princess Dalia jump across the railing in an attempt to reach Syrth's side. "What's going on down there, isn't that Dalia?!" Dante said as his tone changed to that of confusion. Before he could stop himself, Travesty asked the question, "You're on first name terms with the royal family also?"

Dante grinned, failing to hear the tone behind it and simply tapped the side of his nose before he continued to watch the scene unfold below. Looking over his shoulder, Julian spotted Khance sitting in one of the higher seats available, his eyes set Dante. "He can probably hear him." Travesty muttered to himself as he turned his attention back to the ring. The crowd's voices picked up once again as Dalia rushed to her childhood friend's side. What happened next, caught even Khance's attention. A huge wall of ice shot up from the sand and enveloped Syrth's unconscious form. Dalia slammed against the Ice and guards rushed forward to protect her, fearing that this was an attack. A young woman jumped in front of the Ice wall and raised her hands defensively against anyone that approached. Lysha had tears streaming down her face as she looked behind her to see Syrth through the transparent wall. "I wont let any of you touch him! Especially you!" Lysha shouted, her gaze directed at the stunned Princess. Bolts of lightening shot from the sidelines and struck the Ice Mage, forcing her to her knees.

"Such acts are forbidden, you should be ashamed of yourself!" A red robed mage hissed as he ran onto the sands, his hands already using magic to dispel the huge wall. After a moment, a flash glanced against the wall and rebounded against the red robed mage. "What is that thing! Remove it at once before you are expelled from the academy!"
Lysha looked back over her shoulder to see if Syrth was okay, before she returned her defiant gaze to her elder. "Stay away from him!"

Khance whistled slowly as he watched the display below. Julian however was scratching his head, "Why is she stopping them from getting to him, all they want to do is heal him." Dante was stuck for words, but it was Khance that answered. "She probably loves him." Dante grinned at this, "So she's trying to stop them from healing him? I dont think I'd like someone to love me that much."
Khance smiled as he regarded Julian, "No, she's a smart girl. She knows that if he gets healed, he'll fight again. And this was only the semi-final, his next opponent could kill him."
Dante's voice was less confident this time, "Do you really think that he'd risk his life for something so trivial?"
Julian looked at him and had a strange thought, "You dont have anything you'd die for, do you?"
The young man laughed hesitantly and swept a hand through his untidy mop of black hair. "I dont think of such things, I have my life to live and dreams to embark on. Why would one such as myself, in the prime of his youth, think of such idiocies?"
Khance grinned, "You're a coward. Aren't you?"
Dante's voice broke this time, "I'm afraid that you know nothing about me, and the fact that you use such preposterous slander against me without any provocation just implies that it is you that is insecure about himself. I will not stay here and be insulted, good day." With that, the young man re-positioned his hat, put on his yellow cloak and turned to leave. As he stood there, he turned to look at Khance and Julian. Dante spoke in a quieter tone, his normal bravado gone as he regarded the two. "Maybe you'd be a better person if you added more fear to your own life, not everyone can be a Sky Pirate, Mr. Travesty."

"How do you know my name?" Julian asked in alarm, his hand reaching toward his sword. Khance gripped the Sky Pirate's hand and stared at the young man. "What's your last name, boy?"
Dante's expression didnt change as he turned away from the two men. "Let him go." Khance muttered as he watched the young man dissapear into the crowd of people. "How did he know my name?" Julian asked in a puzzled wonder. Khance grimaced, "He looks familiar, but he's not a threat... Doesnt look like he could grow a full beard yet."
The Sky Pirate smiled as he looked down to the Ice Dome where the young Ice mage still stood, albeit on bent knee.

"Please, let them heal him!" Dalia pleaded with Lysha, who just stared at her. "You're not good enough for him, you only noticed him when his blood covered these sands! How dare you ask me to let you at him. He's my friend, he's my responsibility. None of this would have happened if you had just talked to him. He was obsessed with you!" Lysha screamed at the Princess. None of the armed guards felt reassured enough to approach the young mage. Some of the veteran red-robed mages were studying the ice structure whilst the main elder stood in a rigid rage, demanding that Lysha address him at once. Before Lysha could launch into another outburst, the red robe mage threw a huge bolt of lightening at the ice structure. Before he could react, a soldier tackled him to the ground, both of them narrowly missing a larger bold of lightening that reflected against the icey surface.
"You're going to kill him by allowing him to bleed to death in there! You'll have achieved nothing by this stunt!" The elder screamed at her as he pulled at her cloak. Lysha pushed him away and stared at Dalia. "You dont deserve him, why was it always you!"

A mage approached the elder and whispered harshly in his ear, causing the elder's eyes to widen. "You're not serious, a time-lock?"
The captain of the guard swallowed his fear of the mage and cleared his throat, "Just what the hell is going on?" The red robed mage just looked around dumbly and repeated what he had just heard. "The girl, used a freeze tomb on the boy." The guard grimaced, "Can you explain that a little better please, how do we get rid of it?"
"In a simpler way, she manipulated time around his body and he's currently in a state of suspension... and we cant get rid of it until she deactivates it. Her spell is like a signature, only she can do it." The elder said in wonder. Before the guard could say anything in response, the mage continued. "She shouldnt be at that level yet, nobody at her age should be at that level."
The Captain gritted his teeth, "Just what are you talking about!"

The elder smiled weakly as he looked at the tomb from a new perspective. "Only one man has ever been able to make something of this level... his son is currently inside that tomb."
Lysha backed her body against the tomb and allowed her shoulders to sag as the tears streamed down her face. "You... dont deserve him. Why ... you?"
Dalia, having heard the words of the people around her, refused to leave. She waited there with the young mage for hours, even after everyone had left. When the girl stopped crying, Dalia spoke. "I was four years old, it was the first time I had ever met Syrth..."

Author's Note

meh