Strife Of The Eclipse

The Coliseum

Dududduum! Dururum! BADUM!! BADUM! Battle anthemic music is being played in the coliseum. 

The drums are being hit with so much passion it burns the heart of the audience, it was much louder now that only a grid separated Aiden from the arena. The beating of the drums hammered into their heart, bloodlust and savageness sounds plunging them into some kind of tribal and hypnotic trance on the basement..

For Aiden, the rhythmic and heavy sound of the drums helped him calm his mind and remain a vigilant and focused state. He had learned to suppress the urge to go berserk as time and time again he failed to control his primal instinct every time he entered the coliseum.  

“Vexira, my patron. Bless me as i am going to vanquish the foes once again so i can return to your embraces, milady” Aiden prayed silently.

There was a time when he was practicing his Extrasensory Perception and reflexes, his mentor Falkrontol beat the drums in the practice area and incite his bloodlust greatly that he went berserk for a whole month and when he regain his senses, he fall into weakened state for half a year full. For others, this reminded them of how close they were to home and their effort in pain and in vain.

Pssssssssssssssssssshhhhhhhht! Pisssssrrrrr….

Alerted by the released sound of suppressed water and putrid smell, Aiden turned around to find a shaky recruit peeing himself and almost slumped down. He was looking straight ahead blankly as if nothing was happening, but his tensed face, sweats, and body language indicated how terrified he was. 

The young recruit was the only one who lost his temper at the moment like this, but no one joked about him under the given circumstances as they know they are once like him. The respect that everyone gave to each other as a combatant is truly shown here.  This is a high level arena with high level respect to each other. For the first timer, it might be frightening at first to enter the coliseum. But not for Aiden and the others. At a minimum, they have entered the arena almost a thousand times. Aiden counts internally, it has been one thousand and seven hundred times he tasted death and defeat in the arena.

There is no death in the arena but the feelings of death still exist. Every Titanoire combatants knows this. In the Arena, the feeling of death is multiplied by a hundred times. Each hit, stabs, slices, cuts or pierces is etched in the soul like a tattoo. If you are “dead” in the arena, your body will resurrect again as new as before when the battle at the coliseum ended, but your soul will be marked. And if your soul body is full of the runic scars, you are cripled permanently and be erased or the people of Titanoire named as True Death.  

True Death itself is not an instant death but a process of death by body, spirit and soul. Each one is more terrifying than before. A 1000 bodily punishment is easier to endure than 1 spirit punishment. 1000 spirit punishment also is bearable than 1 soul punishment. and at True Death, one will face 1000 body punishment, 1000 spirit punishment and 10000 soul punishment at the Hall of Severance. The moment your soul is fully marked, your body will instantly be sucked in. Even the Angels, Demons and Fallen Gods are no exception. 

On his thousand attempts, after he failed, Aiden checked his soul condition at the Soul Overseer Temple and found that half of his soul body was already filled with runic battle scars. From there, Aiden stops combating in the arena and spends time training the Titanoire art of Assassin. 

Falkrontol, his mentor, later gave him the Mark of Atelerix in his left wrist,  which is a constellation made up of ten stars, the constellation roughly resembles the shape of a shield. It can be seen most prominently just above the Eastern horizon just after the spring equinox. In ancient society of Titan, this constellation was seen as the representation of the god of loyalty, which is how it received the name still used today among Titanoires.

Aiden then checks his status display for the last time.

—-----------

Name : Aiden Dawnwhisper

Level : 100

Origin : Sylgarth

Race : Sylvari

Affiliated : Dawn ? -  House of Atelerix

Patron God : Vexira

Job : Equinox Hunter, Memory of the stars

Active skill : Backstab, Slipstream strike, Slice and dice, Atelerix slash, Decoy, Windsong Fury (Equipment set skill)

Passive skill : Signet’s Memory, Shadowhide, Advance Dagger Mastery, Dawn Awakening

Equipment : 

Headband : Windsong of the Endless stars

Armor : Windsong of Darkness

Gloves : Windsong of Silence

Boots : Windsong of Shadows

Cloak :  Windsong of Night

Rings : Fury of the Dragon, Agony of the exiled.

Necklace : Eternal Life

Earrings : Earings of Loyalty

Weapon : Phantom Dream - Heirloom of Shadow Strikes (Dagger), Moon Rodd - Executioner Of The Lasting Night (Technomagic Rifle)

Constellation : Atelerix - Shield of Loyalty

___________________

I’m Ready! Aiden murmured. Indifferent to everyone's fate, Aiden stretched his head towards the gate to try to catch a glimpse of the audience which was the Tens of Thousand people of Titanoire. He also became one, when he withdrew from the arena.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! "A powerful bass voice echoed around them. The voice was so powerful that it sounded as if it were using a megaphone. Aiden suspected the Overseer Lodge was right above them with the other affiliated clans and respected house.

"The blood of these brave warriors has been spilled! Some have scarred at the hands of their foes while others have been filled with glory at the sheer might of their weapons and magic today! But all of these duels were nothing more than an amusement compared to what the combatants are offering you till now! "

BOOOM!! BOOOM!! BOOM!! BADUM! BADUM! BADUM! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The resounding sound of the drums backed up the speaker's sound, creating a festive and intriguing atmosphere that captured the attention of her audience. Apart from the drums, the Coliseum was completely silent as the audiences were giving their respect except for a few guards that whispered here and there signaling the safety of the audiences.

"As you know, war  and blood lust rages far to every land in the universe. " The Grand Overseer resumed the suspense and mystery of the day. " In these dark, snow-covered lands  of the north reside the warrior people barely able to speak their own names but their prowess is undoubtful.

 It is our responsibility and duty to show them the way of the warrior and knowledge to the whole universe! To bring them the knowledge and glory of our illustrious Army Makhetes! It is the duty of every Makhetesian to prove our worth by facing them! For such is our nature!" But One Person, today once again aimed to become the champion, wishing to return to his homeland using the power of our very own Portal of Destiny granted only to the Very best of the best among our ranks.

With each sentence, the orator's tone rose in intensity with the clear intention of exalting the crowd. This was not his first public performance. The audience cheered loudly at the mention of Portal of Destiny as they know the significance it brings to their heart's desire. Everyone aimed to go home from Titanoire. 

Not that it is bad in Titanoire, but it is where heroes, villains, warriors and world travelers are trained together to become the greatest, but what is the use of reaching the peak but you can’t go back to your homeland? Everything became naught.

"Alas! These Vertelixes proved to be more formidable opponents than anything we've ever known before... Their physique is robust and their ferocity unparalleled. The first battles ended in bitter defeat! and that was last year's main event. The Overseer continues his rant.

But that was without the reinforcements of our warrior of the Houses! As soon as King of the sky, Alexander Aetais and Magnadux Ekhmas attacked with their invincible clan members, the Vertelixes were immediately repulsed.

"What I propose to you today is to relive this legendary battle where Magnadux Ekhmas brought these hordes of savage warriors to their knees! "

The overexcited shouts of the audience resounded right after the presenter's words. The show they had come to see was finally about to begin. When the crowd calmed down again, the voice shouted out once more.

" Let the combatants in! "

Dururum… DURURUM… DUDUDURURURUMMM!! Majestic beats started sounding once again.

The metal grid separating them from the arena suddenly began to squeak, then a rattling of gears activated as the grid was slowly raised. Teng…teng…teng..teng…teng teng…

When the only obstacle separating them from the arena was gone, Aiden stepped decisively into the arena, fully geared in Windsong Leather Garb.

A light rain began to fall on him as he entered the large sandy field. “This rain, this is bad, it will hinder my movement and agility” Aidan walks forward, feeling the ground beneath his soles. He looked up and saw a cluster of black clouds, the blue light of a flash of lightning streaking across the sky from time to time. Then lowering his eyes slightly, he scanned the stages in search of the noble houses.

 He had no trouble finding them. He then gave the Atelerix salute toward his House, raising his right hand with the palm towards his face, two fingers fully stretched, one finger half clenched and the other two fully clenched is a gesture that is used as the salute of Atelerix House.  And the House members, salute her back with respect and blessings.

As he knows, the coliseum is only used for battles every 200 days but the battle will last for a month, on normal days, it is a market, school, training ground or even a brothel if someone pays the bill to the houses. But when it is used as a battleground or trial ground. the land changes, like it is craving for sacrifices… this is one of the reasons why the coliseum is highly respected among warriors of Titanoire.

The coliseum is littered with blood, destruction and wounded fighters. Red, brown and khaki are the new colors of what was once a hectic field, which has now become the stage of a terrible battle.

The air which would normally be packed with a wide array of city sounds is now a barrage of sounds of explosions, war cries and the screams of the wounded, enough to destroy whatever courage is left in the survivors.

An army and a rebellion might fight each other because of a betrayal, but the victor is obvious. The dead of the losing side are scattered across the coliseum and the faces of the fighters are grim with anguish and horror, they want to give up, but somehow keep fighting.

With the thought of victory in their minds the winning side fights even harder and with more tenacity. Some have succumbed to terror and are hiding or running away from the fight, while others can only think of home and what they left behind.

The toll on both nature and humanity is unimaginable. It's clear metal, rubble and bodies have taken the place of schools, gardens and monuments. But one thing for sure, the fight is an honorable one in the eyes of every Titanoire. Never fight for winning or achievement because the land will not aid you, but fight to return home, that is the greatest glory that every Titanoire is being taught when they first came to the world.

As Aiden stands in the center of the coliseum with other combatants, A group of savages are being released. These vertelixes entered the arena and started to pick up weapons. 

Aiden and his ranks are surrounded by them in a 50 vs 300 situation not including the late joiner of the vertelixes. 

Aiden takes out his Moon Rodd and aims forward between his peers.

As the High Overseer says “ Let Death bring you Severance and Atonement “ marks the start of the battle, a silent sound was heard… and couples of loud cracking and popping continuously followed after…

Psssst….. Crack…..trurururruut…pop ...pop ...pop…pop ...pop…..pop…pop ...pop..pop…..pop… 

10 piercing headshots started the battle… as the audience loudly cheered!

Woooooooooaaaaaah!!.....