[i][h3]The Arena of Gurata[/h3][/i]
The night passed. Each person allied with the Sentinels spent it in different ways; some rested, some prepared, and a few licked at newly gained wounds. Once the eating, revelry, and fighting was over, the night passed in a merciful sort of quiet.

When the next day came, the Arena was even more crowded than before. The news about the Decision by Combat had travelled through the Homestead very quickly, and had even spread beyond to the nearby tribes. It brought in a new flood of Guratans, eager to see the brawl that would be happening at midday that would be deciding the direction their nation would be taking in the coming days. For the most part, the Guratans didn't seem to care what the result might be, strangely aloof to the whole matter. To them, it was just another day of Guratan politics, though the idea of going to a full-fledged war seemed to almost excite many of them.

The first half of the day passed by too quickly for some, too slowly for others. The Prince was lax on waking everyone up, so long as it would be on time. For the most part they gathered together and stayed together, eating and passing the time quietly conversing and creating minor plans. With no knowledge of just who Chief Seryosa had chosen to oppose them, the most they could really discuss was maximizing their various strengths.

At around eleven both Chief Kisarin and Chief Yihira came to them, and the Prince made sure that everyone was gathered together. As they moved through the hallways, making their way back down to the first floor, Kisarin gave them a rundown of the rules one last time, to make sure they were absolutely clear:

[b]"It's pretty straightforward, you know. Your eight versus her eight. I don't think you have to worry about Seryosa being on the other side, since she's the defender and it's almost taboo for a defending Chief to take part in one of these battles, but that means you really don't know what to expect from one another. Fight as hard as you can, but if an opponent yields then do not kill them. The same will go for any of you, in case it happens. Last side standing wins."[/b]

By the time he finished with the summary, they had reached a set of very large metal double doors, shut tightly. Yihira gave a nod towards them after she turned to face them all once more. [b]"That's where your eight will enter through when the times come. They'll be opened, so don't worry about it. Just enter and stand in a line parallel to the one that's formed by Seryosa's eight. I'll be the one to give the call to start, so it'll be absolutely clear when to begin. The rest of you, come with us; we'll lead you to some good seats saved for you."[/b] With that, she began to turn, though she blinked and stopped as she looked back to Cyril. [b]"Uh, Prince. Some of the men came across a... rather damaged room. You have any idea what happened there?"[/b]

[b]"No idea whatsoever!"[/b] the Wanderer squawked, moving to conceal himself behind Gortul once again, well bandaged over the cuts from the night before. He no longer had his scar covered, however.

[b]"No idea whatsoever."[/b] the Direwolf calmly said as he continued to smoke, unconcerned with the new sets of bruises that covered him.

Yihira briefly looked to the two in confusion, before looking back to the Prince. When Cyril just gave a slow sort of shrug, her eyebrow raised slightly in disbelief. However, she returned the shrug, saying, [b]"Eh, no major harm done. Come on, you lot."[/b] She waved her arm forward as she and Kisarin began to move once again, leading the rest of the group away. Various good-byes and gestures were given, the one that stood out the most probably being the one from Ayano, with how excitedly she said, [b]"Good luck everyone!!!"[/b]

The eight had to wait only a few minutes. Last minute preparations and adjustments were made, such as how Cyril adjusted the place of his blade at his side slightly, or how Christopher stretched and loosened up, often cracking his knuckles. When the doors opened they did so without warning but slowly, so they had plenty of time to look over and realize what was going on. As soon as they began to open the roar of the crowd could be heard instantly, casting away the silence. Back and forth Cyril looked to those still with him, before nodding slightly as he stepped forwards. [b]"Let's go, everyone."[/b]

Beyond the doors, they were actually able to see the purpose of the Arena for the first time. The floor was stone, both heavily damaged and repaired throughout. There were plenty of stains deeply sunk into the stone as well, and little imagination was required to tell where those stains had come from. The space for battle was a circle fifty yards in diameter, surrounded by walls that were twelve yards tall. Immediately above and just behind the walls the seating began, extending upwards and outwards to all the way to the very high open ceiling above. The stands were positively filled with Guratans, their cheering growing even louder as the combatants began to enter the arena. With two brief glances, Cyril saw how the rest of the group had been seated together to their left, closest to the battle area and that high up above in their own separate section were the three Chiefs. Across from them a set of metal doors similar to the ones they had entered through also swung open, Seryosa's eight entering.

Both sets of eight moved, forming lines parallel from one another. From left to right the order went Dalious, Drosil, Arvis, Vesta, Cyril, Lora, Chikako, and finally Christopher.

Across from Dalious stood a man of decent height and slight build. He had slightly shaggy black hair, and he wore various greys with bits of armor made from leather. He had different bags at his side and one slung over his shoulder, and he also carried two long daggers with him. He didn't seem to be a Guratan native, though he did seem rather aloof to the whole matter.

Across from Drosil was the scorpionfolk from the day before, Thuraya. Emerald eyes scanned everyone on the opposing side to begin with from beneath her near-pure-white hair that fell infront of her face slightly. She took another step forward and looked directly at Drosil and smirked. A look in her eyes that clearly stated 'don't think I'll go easy on you'. Left hand grasped at her sword a little tighter as she brought it up from against the ground and over her shoulder, tail curled upward slightly and turned so her right side was toward him, arm dangling lazily at her side.

Across from Arvis stood another young man like himself. Though he had somewhat tanned skin he didn't seem Guratan, wearing various shades of brown with light blonde hair of short length. He carried a spear freely in his hand, and he seemed to be nervously smiling as his eyes looked back and forth down the line of eight that stood with the Prince.

Across from Vesta stood a very tall and muscular man. Lightly tanned with dark brown hair, he was dressed in furs from the waist down, his torso and arms bare. This allowed one to see the various scars over his body, along with fresher bruises and healing cuts. Over his shoulder he carried a warhammer, and when he first saw Vesta he looked her over curiously before he blinked, eyebrows raising as he said, [b]"Well, I'll be damned."[/b]

Across from Cyril stood a strange man. He was just a little taller than the Prince, but he was very thin. He wore warm, covering clothes of tan shades, and he had short dark hair. The strangest thing about him though was how he had cloth carefully wrapped around his eyes, concealing them entirely. At his side he carried a thin, rapier-like blade.

Across from Lora stood a young woman. She had longer brown hair and brown eyes, wearing simple clothes of dark blue. She carried a bow in her hands and a quiver over her shoulder, and she smiled at Lora, paying attention to only her and no one else.

Across from Chikako stood another short woman. Standing at five foot nothing the woman stood with her back straight and her chin barely above level with staring green eyes. She was devoid of any kind of makeup though it was clear she was a woman by her figure alone. Though short, she was very clearly well endowed- even with a collar high crisp white shirt on and worn leather jacket with sleeves pushed up past her elbows. Tanned pants and rather impressive knee high boots only added to her figure. On her hips rested a series of pouches and hidden weaponry, like that of the knife holder on her left leg. The weight of her weapon on choice weighing on the small of her back- a collapsible bo staff. One made of metal and costing her a rather shiny penny. It may not be her main weapon of choice but she didn't feel shooting someone would be a 'fair' fight. Despite the rather basic weapons and the bland touch of attire was a rather curious bit of personality. A single vibrant pink flower was tucked into the tight bun of her tawny hair. Her gloved hands fell from their position crossed under her chest to resting gently at her sides, waiting for the sound to call and waiting to reach for a select weapon.

Across from Christopher stood a strange woman. She was fairly tall and had long green hair with very yellow eyes. She was almost deathly pale and wore blues and whites, including a pointed hat. All over her clothes were yellow symbols that mostly consisted of suns, moons, and stars. In one hand she held a long staff, the body of the staff dark with a bright crescent moon-shaped blade on one end of it, and a heavy looking metal ball on the other.

While the sixteen faced one another, cheering grew to a climax before it suddenly ceased as Yihira stood up above. With the silence the eight on Seryosa's side that weren't already holding their weapons began to draw them, so Cyril did the same as he drew his own blade. For a moment the silence continued, and then Yihira brought her arm up, before swinging it down-

[b]"Begin!"

"Let's go!"[/b] Cyril shouted, as he charged forwards.