Chapter 160: Prelude To The Tournament Of Power

Oberon woke the next morning, with his body a bit heavy and sluggish.

He blinked slowly about three times before his vision cleared substantially for him to realise he was within his bedchamber.

His wife, Ayan, sat on the edge of the bed, with her hands folded in her lap. She had this worried look in face

Standing to the side of the bed, was Thamoryn who held her staff.

Oberon shifted, and his gaze immediately went to his right arm. The first thing he noticed was the absence of pain.

“You’re awake,” Ayan said quietly.

Oberon replied with a grunt, “I’m fine.”

“How long was I out?” Oberon asked now directing his question to the Grand Magus

“Eight hours,” Thamoryn said. “You were poisoned. It took time to purge it from your system.”

Oberon sighed. It definitely did not feel good that magic like that was able to keep him down for that long.

“You’ve been fully healed,” Thamoryn continued. “The last traces of the poison are gone.

Ayan’s lips pressed into a thin line. “You were nearly killed, Oberon.”

“I’m alive. That’s what matters.” he said, then slowly sat up.

Ayan opened her mouth to say more, but Oberon’s attention had already shifted to Thamoryn.

“Those imbeciles who tried to kill me, have you identify who they are?” he asked.

Thamoryn stepped closer. “Yes Your Grace, They were elves.”

Oberon muttered, “Arnarra. This is definitely her doing”

“Most likely,” Thamoryn said.

Oberon scoffed. “She can’t let go of her dead lover.”

“Unfortunately,” Thamoryn continued, “the elves are dead. We can’t get anything out of them that says for certain this was Arnarra’s doing.”

Oberon’s eyes narrowed a bit as he expressed a concern. “What shocks me more is how they got into the palace. We have guards. Mages. How did they slip through?”

Thamoryn reached into her coat and pulled out a small object wrapped in cloth. She unwrapped it carefully, revealing a small stone talisman inscribed with strange symbols.

“This was on one of the bodies,” she said. “The inscriptions translate to ’Invisibility.’”

“Invisibility?” Oberon repeated, as if to be certain what he heard.

“Not in the truest sense,” Thamoryn clarified. “The talisman was imbued with magic that prevented others from perceiving the wearer. Even if they were standing right in front of you, your mind wouldn’t register them.”

Oberon stared at the talisman. “So they walked in. Right past everyone.”

“Yes,” Thamoryn said. “But most talismans don’t last long. The effect had worn off at some point”

Oberon exhaled slowly as he thought into the whole thing.

“I’ve informed the captains of the assassination attempt,” Thamoryn said. “They know you’re alive and well. I was just about to inform them that we’ll be canceling today’s tournament while we investigate further into this.”

Ayan nodded. “That’s wise. You need time to recover.”

“No,” Oberon said firmly.

Both women looked at him.

“The tournament proceeds as planned”Oberon stated again with certainty.

“Oberon,” Ayan said carefully, “you were nearly killed last night.”

“You’ve said that before, and I am telling you that i am okay Ayan. There’s a reason there’s Healing Magic” Oberon said. “Now more than ever, I need to show strength. And if truly this is Arnarra’s way of declaring war, then I also need to see the strength of the new mages. Especially those from Dragonhold, whom I am to rule.”

He met Thamoryn’s gaze. “The tournament will proceed. As planned.”

Thamoryn then nodded slowly. “As you command, Your Grace.”

————

The next morning, Members of Ravens Grave were already dressed in their uniforms and were seated in their corners within the main room.

Today was the third day of the Grand Magic Games. The Tournament of Power. And they were all waiting on the Captain to come into the room.

The door to Katherine’s chambers then opened, and she stepped out with Piers and Kayden following behind her.

She had just finished speaking with Kayden privately.

Kayden had this solemn look on his face as he walked past the others and took his seat in the corner beside Innis. He stayed quiet.

Katherine had now moved to the center of the room.

“Alright, listen up,” she said. “Before we talk about the tournament, there’s something you all need to know.”

The room quieted.

“Last night,” Katherine continued, “there was an assassination attempt on the King’s life.”

There were Gasps and murmurs from the mages in the room.

“He was attacked in the throne room by assassins,” Katherine said. “But he fought them off. Killed two of them. He’s been healed and is in good health.”

The room erupted into whispers, and some mages looked cheerful that nothing happened to their King.

Aiden, having overheard the conversation in Katherine’s chambers earlier with his enhanced hearing, said nothing. He simply watched Kayden for a moment from across the room.

Kayden’s face remained still. But his hands were clenched into fists.

Katherine let the news settle, then clapped her hands together.

“The tournament is still happening today,” she said. “So we need to focus. I’ll be choosing our representatives but before that…”

She turned towards Innis, “we need some information concerning these mages of the other guilds from Dragonhold”

Innis nodded, understanding that of course it was only normal to have some early heads up about the other mages from the different guilds.

Katherine motioned for her to stand and proceed with giving them any information that may be of worth.

“Most of the really strong mages from the other guilds have been made guild captains already. Although there was this one mage who was the rightest fit for Captain but chose not to”

“Who is this?” Katherine asked, seemingly intrigued

“Elian. Arcane ranked mage of Grey Demons. I’m unsure what his true magic is, most people are. Its just one assumption or the other. But the most common one is that, his magic makes the environment his to control.”

“Hm..” Katherine muttered as he listened.

“Oh, And yes, he has also mastered the Mystic Field.”

This was what sent the guild back into murmurs, and a few with surprised expressions.

“That’s practically like facing a Guild Captain” Piers said, with obvious worry on his face.

Innis nodded in agreement.

“Yet they placed a Ban on Big Brother Aiden” Oliver sneered, expressing his discontent.

Aiden smiled slightly at that but said nothing more.

Katherine was silent for a moment, then asked further. “There are none others that are somewhat notable?”

Innis gave it a thought for a short while, then went on to mention a few more names she could remember; Maren of the Silver Pegasus. Akaza of the Tainted Bears. Ilyna Of the Starry Maidens. Pip of Red Orcas

For each one she could remember, she described their magic, calling out their names or explaining what she had seen them do.

Katherine let out a quiet sigh after hearing it all. From everyone Innis had mentioned, it was clear they possessed either powerful or highly complex magic.

She also had to deal with the fact that they still had Talen and Ambrose from fractured stars to worry about. There was also Crimson Dawn’s Yvette, another really powerful mage.

“What’s with the look captain?” Kayden raised his voice. “I hope you do not think us weak against the other guild?”

Katherine smiled and shook her head. “Not at all Prince Kayden.”

The worry wasn’t about weakness. Ofcourse she had faith in the strength of her guild.

Her worry was with magic dynamics, and trying to decide what mage from her guild would be best suited against the mages from the other guilds.

Then the captain turned to scan the rest of the guild

“First,” she said, “Kayden, you’re up”

Kayden simply nodded, expecting nothing less.

“Laela, Arianna. You’ll both be part of those representing the guild today” Katherine informed.

“Yes, Captain” They both said, almost in unison.

“Innis, you too”

“Yes Captain” Innis replied

“And finally you, Elena” Katherine said, now staring at the petite girl.

Elena’s eyes widened slightly, “but captain…” she began, in that timid voice of hers. “My magic is not strong enough”

Katherine walked over towards Elena and placed her hand gently on her cheek, “Elena, one of the few mages, gifted at the usage of Supplementary magic. Also, don’t think I haven’t seen the hardwork you’ve put over the last month trying to learn even more spells. Have some faith in yourself. I certainly do”

Elena nodded, “Yes, Captain”

Aiden smiled as he watched the Captain and Elena. Because some of those spells, he had taught Elena himself, so he had a measure of faith in her current abilities.

Then Katherine turned and looked at the rest of them, “Today, Ravens Grave has only one objective, And that is to win!. Is that understood?!”

“Yes Captain!”

Later on that day, everyone stepped out of their guilds and headed out towards the place of the third and last event of the Grand Guild Games.

The Tournament of Power

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep