John dashed to the side but the flame dragons followed, homing in on his presence. What were these things? Was there any way to counter them? He dodged to the left and the right, striking the flaming dragons with his sword. Two dragons sputtered and disintegrated. He narrowly dodged another two, and got hit by one on his back. He felt the heat through his armor. His purple tinted visor closed of its own accord before the fire could hit his face. John continued dodging and running, doing somersaults in the air, swift sprints and rolls as he frantically searched for a way out of the bombardment.

The dragon cannons were much less impressive without aura powering them as they had been during the time they fired upon the giant millipede. John thanked his lucky stars. If they had been at full power he’d have been completely charred by now, armor or no armor. A few more dragon blasts hit him, but they were nearing the end of their power and didn’t hurt him much. The secret was to outrun them, and if John was one thing he was fast. Edrach seemed like an elf possessed, running after John and firing dragon after dragon at him without pause. His cannon turned red from the heat. What was his problem? This went far beyond a simple dislike for his race.

John activated his perceiver aura circuit, and noticed little wisps of light flitting around the field and then congregating around the formation of the dragon keepers. Cannon blasts fired at the wisps but none met their target. The dragon keepers began to concentrate their fire, forgetting about John. All except Edrach. He broke formation running towards John, his cannon useless for a time as it vented heat. A laser blue bayonet extended out from his cannon’s barrel. Finally, thought John, a fight he could win. If it was a melee John had much more confidence. At close combat John was deadly. He had been practicing it almost from the moment he was born.

John noticed out of the corner of his eye, the arbiters phasing in where the wisps of aura stood, their glaives in one hand, blasters in the other. “Do you see me now?” mocked Karamen loudly as he fired a shot point blank at a miserable dragon keeper’s head. The dragon keeper screamed as his armor lost color. Other arbiters phased in, their blasters and glaives moving in an intricate dance among the dragon keepers. John could no longer use the perceiver circuit. He’d used it for twenty seconds already and his head felt like it was going to split apart. That was ten seconds more than just a few hours ago. He was improving quickly.

“Haha!” John could hear Karamen’s voice carry above the din of battle, “Behind you, little fire lizard. Turn, turn, turn, while I strike you down.” Why did Karamen have to mock his opponents? It would just estrange the dragon keepers from the arbiters.

John had no more time to watch the ensuing battle. Edrach was almost upon him, his face filled with fury.

“Die human,” Edrach roared, charging at John, his bayonet point gleaming. John narrowly avoided the bayonet, his body crashing backwards as it collided with Edrach. This would not be easy. Edrach was an elite soldier after all, one of the best dragon keepers in the elven race. Everyone aboard the Swift Retribution was the best of the best. John felt that he had overestimated himself. His speed and agility were of little use when faced against overwhelming strength. If only he could infuse his sword with aura, but that was against the rules. John’s aura sword would have been able to unleash some heavy damage on Edrach, and his reach wouldn’t be a problem.

John’s aura circuits whirled within his body as he tried to increase his speed even more. John reacted with instinct. He rolled away as Edrach tried to kick him. Edrach jumped after him, but was repelled with a slice of John’s sword. The air whizzed as the sword sliced through it, moving so quickly that sparks could be seen wherever the sword edge moved. Unfortunately the weapon made no contact with Edrach, missing him by inches.

John slowly immersed himself into a surreal state, fully in control of the rhythm of battle. He felt as though time had stopped. He had never felt this way, even in his toughest holocube duels. John decided to call this state ‘hyperawareness.’ He could analyze the situation within milliseconds, perceiving the tiniest details to make rapid judgments. From Edrach’s slightest move of his fingers to the change in direction of his toes, John saw it all. Now, it was John who dictated the tempo, Edrach defending himself with the barrel of the overheated dragon cannon as best he could. John’s state of mind eventually collapsed and he was on the receiving end of Edrach’s blows and thrusts once again.

Edrach then jumped back a few steps. “Die human. Die! Die! Die!” Edrach’s cannon had finally cooled down. It launched one flame dragon after another at John. The distance was so close that there was no hope of dodging. John’s armor turned white and immobile, but Edrach kept firing. He could feel the blazing heat cook his skin. If this continued he would die.

“Stop,” John shouted. “You mad man. You’ll kill me.” He tried frantically to activate the armor but couldn’t figure it out.

The next second, a red armored figure appeared between John and Edrach.

“Cease this madness,” Karamen stood in the middle. “The contest is done, it is won. Edrach, lay down your weapon.” The flame dragons broke on contact with Karamen’s rotating glaive. The tip of Karamen’s glaive tickled Edrach’s breastplate. John looked around him. The only color left on the field was red. The arbiters had won in an overwhelming manner. Edrach threw down his dragon cannon and walked away. “Shed your anger and wear new skin. Rage will bring you no peace,” Karamen shouted after him.

After the arbiters had gathered together John looked accusingly at Karamen, “I didn’t think you’d really use me as bait. You wanted to mess with Edrach’s head from the start.” Psychological warfare. Hmph!

“I didn’t think Edrach would react this badly. You did a wicked thing, Karamen,” Tiluniel joined in the conservation. “Look at him.” Edrach was sitting in the corner of the training hall all alone, his head bowed down in dejection. He had given way to his inner demons and only now realized it.

Karamen shook his head, “I, Karamen, only participate in the noblest of endeavors. A warrior must maintain a cool head at all times or risk putting his comrades in danger’s path. I did it for his own good.”

“Why does he hate humans so much?” John asked.

“His parents and partner were captured and sold into slavery by humans. They perished during the siege of Aroth,” answered Tiluniel.

“You used me,” John stared accusingly at Karamen. “Friends don’t do this to one another.” Friend! John had never even dreamed of having a friend when he was stuck on his lonely planet.

“Didn’t you want to join the contest?” Karamen asked. “Don’t deny that this experience didn’t excite every single part of your body.”

“I did have fun,” John conceded, “but you shouldn’t have done what you did.” The contest had been exciting. John could feel his legs shake as adrenaline left his system.

“You too, Wild Child? Everyone is against me today,” Karamen sighed, “The tides of public opinion often cast away the geniuses of this age.”

“So narcissistic,” said Tiluniel. “Karamen, behave yourself from now on.”

“I can but try,” Karamen looked at the floor forlornly.

John went back to his chambers and went to bed. It was hard to stay mad at Karamen, and John’s head pounded from overusing the perceiver circuit. He’d managed to maintain the perceiver circuit for twenty whole seconds during the contest. Sor Al had instructed him to maintain it for five minutes. John wondered if he’d ever be able to achieve that target. She thought too much of him. Always pushing. Always expecting him to reach for the sky. John sighed. These were thoughts for another day. John closed his eyes and soon fell to sleep.