Chapter 179: A Night Of Celebration

Night time! As night fell over Varghelm the Royal Square became filled with brightly lit arenas. Magic lanterns floated in the air, magical barriers protected the audience and beastfolk cheered. Standing next to Raizen, Tanaka watched as a group of Lion warriors prepared for their first fight.

"So, can outsiders take part?" Garric nodded. "A lot of the activities take place to celebrate all the Beastfolk Lands but most activities can be taken part in by visitors. We don’t limit the competitions to just us as long as everyone obeys the rules." Raveana had been listening.

"I’m in!" Tanaka looked at her. "Of course you are." She grinned. "I came all this way I’m not just going to sit there and watch everyone fight." Razer chuckled from behind them. "Don’t break their arena." "Just tell them to build a stronger one." Tanaka was already looking at her as she had signed up for the fight.

He sighed. Thankfully they had built multiple levels of protection magic around the arena.

---

Her first opponent was a Lion warrior named Branton. He was quite muscular with a mane of golden fur that went down to his shoulders. He entered the arena empty handed. Instead he used the traditional enhancement magic of the Lion Tribe. With golden mana flowing over his arms and torso he dropped into a fighting stance with a focused look on his face.

He had spent many years training for these fights. The referee raised his hand. "Begin!" Branton lunged forwards. His enhanced fist flew towards Raveana’s head but she ducked and landed a quick punch to his ribs. He stumbled but quickly recovered and threw a series of punches that sent Raveana running around the arena.

"Finally!" Raveana laughed. She activated her Battle Trance. With increased speed she ran forwards and dodged under his next attack before slamming her shoulder into his chest. He struggled to stay balanced and Raveana followed up with a sweeping kick that sent him flying across the sand.

Branton tried to get up. But Raveana was already there. He gave in. The referee called her the winner and the crowd cheered. Tanaka shook his head. "She could have finished that a lot quicker." Raizen looked at him. "She wanted to have fun." "Sounds familiar."

Raveana didn’t hear them as she was already fighting her next opponent.

---

The second Lion warrior lasted a little longer. He used an enhanced spear and fire magic to keep Raveana at bay. Every time he lunged forwards the spear flared with heat and she had to dodge. His footwork was disciplined and made it hard to close the distance. Raveana stopped laughing.

They fought evenly for several moments. The Lion warrior chanted as flames formed at the tip of his spear. "Flame of the golden pride, consume the path ahead. Burning Fang!" He lunged. Raveana charged. Her Titan Breaker activated.

She charged through the concentrated flames and hit the reinforced shaft of the spear. The weapon flew from his hands and she charged forwards. Before he could recover she hit him with a heavy punch to the chest. The Lion warrior fell to the floor.

The referee rushed forwards to check on him before declaring Raveana the winner. The crowd were even louder this time. Garrath Goldmane who was sitting near the arena let out a loud laugh. "That was amazing! Finally someone fought properly." Raveana held both her arms up in victory.

Tanaka could almost feel Eldrin getting a headache from across the continent. He decided not to send him any messages.

---

Eventually she faced a Bearfolk warrior and two wolf fighters. The Bearfolk was quite hard to move but after several attacks Raveana managed to make him go out of bounds. However the wolf fighters were a problem. No matter how strong she was they always managed to catch her off guard.

They moved in perfect sync and one managed to trip her up. Although she was determined she still lost. They managed to make her go out of bounds. She stared at them. They both bowed. "Thank you for the fight." Raveana stayed silent for a few seconds before grinning.

"That was fun! Another round!" Tanaka immediately spoke. "No." She looked at him. "Why not?" "Because you’re meant to be having fun at the festival." "But—" "No." She tutted and walked off muttering about stupid rulers. Raizen watched her leave.

"She’ll forget soon." Tanaka looked at him. "You’re confident." "She’ll find something else to fight." Hard to argue with that.

---

Whilst Raveana was fighting in the fighting arena Nira had found the Foxfolk’s spirit casting competition. Unlike normal spell casting competitions they had to summon spirits, form a bond with them and use them to help them complete a series of challenges. These included finding hidden objects, leading magical creatures through obstacles and controlling multiple summoned spirits.

After watching the first few competitors Nira signed up. Kaelith who had come with her looked delighted. "Are you sure you want to take part? This is what the Foxfolk are known for!" Nira smiled. "Exactly why I want to take part!" He raised his eyebrows.

She walked over to the sign up desk. Tanaka arrived just in time to see the first part of the competition start. Nira was standing in a circle with several floating crystals around her. Each crystal contained a different spirit signature. She had to find out which hidden spirit was linked to the object without touching it.

The Foxfolk competitor next to her started chanting. "Spirit of the hidden path, whisper through the veil. Show me the hidden essence." Several mana threads floated around the circle. Nira listened to the explanation and closed her eyes.

Instead of copying the chant she reached out to the spirits around her. Her mana reacted with them and she had a strong bond with them. They reacted easily and formed around her hand. A small light appeared above one of the crystals. The examiner looked at it.

"Correct." Kaelith smiled. "Interesting." Tanaka watched closely. Nira had always had a bond with spirits but this was showing her how other races use their magic. The Foxfolk had specific chants to give clear instructions. But Nira had a natural bond so could connect with them more easily.

Neither was better. But knowing how to combine them was the key.

---

The next challenge was much harder. Nira had to lead three summoned spirits through a maze of moving magical barriers. The Foxfolk competitor completed it quickly using precise timing with their chants to change the direction of the spirits. However Nira lost control of one of her spirits halfway through.

It floated out of the correct path and the examiner declared her attempt a fail. Kaelith crossed his arms. "Still want to take part?" Nira looked at the maze. "Yes!" She asked to have another go. This time she shortened her initial chant and let her mana flow. The spirits reacted more smoothly.

Instead of trying to control them she let them follow her bond. She got through the first two barriers. However at the last barrier a sudden burst of opposing mana threw her off. The smallest spirit started to float away. She quickly changed her chant.

"Spirits that listen to my voice, follow our path. Let our intentions flow as one." The spirit turned. All three got through the last barrier. The examiner nodded. "Success." Nira smiled. She had learnt something new and that was more important to her than winning.

However the last round gave her a chance to do both.

---

Her final opponent was a skilled spirit mage from the Foxfolk named Serelle. She had great control and was able to control several mana threads at once. She started by putting Nira’s spirits on the defensive. She then used a series of illusions to hide where the targets were.

Nira quickly adapted. She used the structure of the Foxfolk’s chants to create a stronger bond with her summoned spirits. She used their reactions to work out which targets were real. Although the illusions confused her vision, they couldn’t hide how the spirits reacted to the mana around them.

When Serelle tried to overwhelm her with multiple commands Nira created a wider bond with her summoned spirits. She then directed them through the gaps in Serelle’s formation. The final target lit up. She had won! The crowd cheered and even some of the Foxfolk instructors looked impressed.

Serelle bowed respectfully and congratulated her. She admitted that Nira’s bond with spirits had given her an advantage she hadn’t expected. Tanaka smiled. "She learnt a lot tonight." Kaelith who was standing next to him looked way too happy.

"She sure did." Tanaka looked at him. "Why do you sound like that?" "No reason." He smirked wider. Tanaka decided not to ask.

---

Unfortunately not all of the Eldoris competitors had a good time. Sora entered the magical shaping competition. He created an impressive blue creature that looked suspiciously like a small version of Tanaka. However he became so distracted by how amazing his creation looked that he didn’t realise it was larger than allowed.

He was disqualified. Sora was heartbroken. Tanaka tried not to laugh. Raizen also tried his luck in a short wind casting competition. He claimed that he failed last time because of the instructions. However his spell only moved a few leaves before falling apart. He received polite applause from the audience.

Tanaka laughed until Raizen threatened to carry him back to Eldoris upside down. Sylva spent most of the evening with the Rabbitfolk whilst Drakar had a friendly match with several Bearfolk craftsmen to learn new building techniques. Razer found a stall selling roasted meat with an unknown mix of herbs and claimed it was the best food he had had since the war.

Even Zephyr had his own competition. He took part in an aerial accuracy challenge where competitors had to direct magical rings through a moving course. He did well but lost to a Hawkfolk champion who managed to get through the final sequence the fastest. He took it well. Tanaka was proud of him.

Raveana complained about the wolves for another 20 minutes. Less surprising.

---

As the evening went on the festival became louder and brighter. The competitions started to turn into musical performances with dancing and magic. Different races showed off their traditions that had shaped their culture. The sky was lit up with harmless mana fireworks and spirit lanterns floated between the buildings. Musicians played under beautifully decorated arches.

Tanaka was walking around the festival with Nira, Kaelith and Lynessa nearby. For once no one was asking him to make a political decision. No one needed him to fight a king or protect a border. He could simply enjoy the company of those he cared about whilst watching the different races celebrate their achievements.

However his Mana Sense picked up on something unusual. Tanaka slowed his pace. Something was coming from outside of the bright streets. It was very faint and almost completely masked by all the magical signatures in Varghelm. But it felt deliberate. Something was watching.

He turned to look down the darker passage. There was someone at the end. Their eyes met for a brief moment. Then they vanished. Tanaka’s smile faded. The festival continued around him and the music covered any voices. No one else seemed to have noticed anything unusual and the celebrations showed no signs of stopping.

He looked down the passage again. Someone had been watching the rulers of Varghelm. And they had chosen the busiest night of the festival to do so. Tanaka quietly followed the fading trail with his Mana Sense. No matter what was going to happen he would be ready.