[Center][h1]Prologue: Friendly Competition[/h1][/Center]

The sun was rising, the sky gold and crimson beyond the mist that rested over the city. Only a slight chill in the air could be felt with not a bit of wind as the guild slowly gathered in the open area behind the main structure. It was open, leaving plenty of room for sparring, relaxing, and all kinds of activities. Around it on either side were tall stone walls, the walls of the neighboring buildings. And on the far side of the flat clearing from the guild hall itself was water, a large sort of pond that was the centerpiece of the city. Yeah... the guild even had their own fishing spot in their back yard. 

A sparring arena had been set up marked by a circle of flags that gave a wide open area for clear movement. A tournament was set to begin soon that a few of the guild's stronger members had signed up for. The first round was going to begin soon, those that gathered only had to wait for the rest of the lot to show up, and then for the guild master to announce who the first two combatants would be. 

Artura herself was fully armored, as she almost always was. Showing off that white and gold armor that not a soul in the guild didn't know the strength of. She sat in a throne like chair which while it looked fancy and imposing, it was more for the purpose of giving her a good view of the makeshift arena clear from the chatter of the other members so she could focus on judging the skills of her guild members. 

Now this tournament didn't mean anything. A hundred gold coins was on the line but, aside from bragging rights nothing else would be earned. There was no title or special rights, and certainly this wasn't going to count towards their Adventuring Status. After all, the rule that limited what quests a guild member could take on had only just recently been implimented, and because of this everyone was recorded as a "Rank 1 Adventurer". Even Artura herself was only rank 1. She didn't intend to impart rules on her guild that she would not follow herself, and so she would climb through the ranks just as they would. 

Still it was events like this that brought the guild together in some friendly competition, and reminded them of each other's power. When they faced each other in combat, they would be able to see first hand that they could count on each other's strength, when it matched, or outmatched their own. 

Before long, Artura called out. [color=red]"Kaito, Grey. You two seem ready enough. The two of you are up first. Get started whenever ready. In the ring, please..."[/color] The guild had a bit of a history of fights happening all over the hall, friendly or otherwise. She would prefer if any fights today were kept to the arena, even if it was just a section of the ground circled by flags.