A white clone sat amongst a group of humans flanked on both sides by the demihuman siblings, Rail'ak and Grun'am. He shuddered from time to time, but contained himself while watching the duel in the arena below. His normally stand-offish nature, for once, was hard to maintain as he watched the violence unfold below him.

He'd been quiet since his silent manifestation from the shadows, a successful escape from the terrifying domain in the Between, where the once clear sky now raged with storm clouds filled with thunder and lightning while wind blew the leaves of the large oak in the middle of a chaotic meadow.

The humans beside him hadn't said a word to each other either. Instead, they watched the boy fighting down below with varied expressions. It was obvious they had mixed reactions about what they were seeing. What those reactions were, however, remained a mystery.

'This can't be easy to watch,' the clone thought to himself, 'To see someone they once thought to be so kind unleash his rage upon another so harshly.'

He certainly couldn't stand to watch all the violence happening. It was beyond what he thought Alaric was capable of. Then again, that didn't sound right to him. Alaric was very capable of such violence. The question of whether he'd ever resort to it was an entirely different matter. One he once believed he understood fully.

Scarlett clicked her tongue, "How selfish can Alaric be?!"

The clone froze, 'Huh…'

LionHeart sighed, "Selfish is an understatement."

"While the prince deserves every bit of what's coming to him, I worry that the High Sentinel will take offence," Lucy sighed.

"He brought this on himself," Kair'ak spoke from the other side, "If this goes well, then this will be the first disciplinary action the prince has endured since he was born."

A man in front of them turned back with a scowl on his face, "How could you speak so ill of the prince, Kair'ak? Weren't you best friends? What manner of friend would be so disloyal?"

Kair'ak snorted, "Tch! Friends? I have nothing to say to a zealot."

The conversation blurred into the background as the clone turned his attention back to the duel. 'They… agree with him?' he mused. Rather than frown at Alaric's actions, they approved. If anything, they wanted to aid him in this barbaric act of retaliation.

Sabre chuckled inside his mind, [ You're rather peculiar, white one. A friend was almost killed, and all you can think about is how ugly Alaric's vengeance must look, even after all that you reported on his past transgressions. ]

[ I merely ponder the solution to be found in violence. ] The clone answered. Created from Alaric's subconscious, it was easy to frown upon the kind of violence Alaric despised so much.

This situation was remarkably complicated, and yet it seemed Alaric had a solution. The Duel looked to be coming to an end when a devilish glint flashed across Alaric's face, hinting at a new phase of his plan. A game.

'This game looks interesting…' the clone leaned forward.

…………………

The prince's face was locked in a grimace of agony as he struggled to crawl away. The amphitheatre watched in horror, their murmurs coming to a complete standstill. A few of them had gone feral at the fact that the prince didn't know Tor'ak's name, only to be silenced by the bo staff's strike at the prince's leg, breaking the bone in the process.

It was also clear now that the prince's spine had taken damage, and he couldn't stand up anymore. Alaric stayed by Tor'ak's side, "Next question, prince. How did you meet Tor'ak?"

"What kind of question is that?" Rail'ak yelled out, "Tor'ak is a Stormrunner and fellow idealist. He's been a part of us longer than I can remember. We'll liberate the demiplane and take what the humans have ravaged."

Alaric looked Tor'ak in the eyes and watched as the man shook his head, a smirk blooming on his face, "Wrong answer."

Rail'ak's eyes went even wider with shock, and he pushed himself away regardless of the pain shooting through his body, "Wait… no, no, no, get away from me. I'll talk. Tor'ak… We met many years ago, before I studied alchemy with old Corv'ak."

A loud gasp ran through the crowd as they heard his second answer. Alaric could feel their emotions, meshing together as his 'Authority' connected him to the people sworn to him. He knew from their reactions, as well as the reaction of the man on the ground in front of him, that the prince had given yet another incorrect answer.

"That's incorrect."

A loud yell rang through the amphitheatre. The sound of his other leg breaking was heard before Alaric returned to Tor'ak's side. Tor'ak was fully awake by now, and sober enough to stand, the dizziness from having been kicked too many times having worn off. But after the first two questions, he didn't look motivated to stand at all. He looked… disappointed.

"Would you like to ask the next question?" Alaric offered.

Tor'ak shook his head, "I've heard enough."

So, Alaric turned back to Rail'ak, who'd made it to the edge of the golden cage at this point. His wings emerged from his back, but flapping them only caused him more pain, so he stayed there propped up in a sitting position. "You sent one of your followers to spy on me."

"You're talking about Par'al," Rail'ak growled, "He betrayed me."

"Oh, we'll see who did the betraying in just a minute," Alaric chuckled, "Par'al has a sister. What's her name?"

"What?" Rail'ak's face grew pale.

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"I'll even give you a hint," Alaric responded, "She's one of the Spinmasters trained by Morn'ak—quite talented, too. Par'al brings her material from the valley whenever she runs out. What's her name?"

"You don't expect me to know the names of everyone in this demiplane. There are thousands of us here," he breathed. More gasps rang through the crowd. The tension grew palpable, and many grew unable to watch.

"Silence is failure, prince," Alaric responded, approaching him once more.

Rail'ak's eyes grew wide as saucers, and he inched away, "No… This is not how the Duel of Wind works."

"Oh, you can end this game by yielding," Alaric responded.

"Never… Not a human!" Rail'ak yelled, unknowingly playing into Alaric's hand, "Mirel'ak. That's her name."

Alaric smiled, "That's correct."

His bo staff rose and fell on Tor'ak's shoulder, breaking the arm from its socket. Tor'ak rolled onto his good side and groaned. With a roar, he pushed the arm back into its socket, sweat beading his forehead as he gritted his teeth in pain. A deranged grin broke over Rail'ak's face, "See! I know my people."

"Do you now?" Alaric responded, keeping his eyes on Tor'ak. The demihuman had chosen to fight for Rail'ak during this duel, but that didn't change how much he hated causing him pain. He was a victim in all this.

The man met Alaric's gaze and shook his head. "Don't blame yourself for this, Protector," Tor'ak growled, "We all know what you're trying to show us. He could have yielded before that bo staff fell on my shoulder."

"You're right, but it doesn't change the fact that you're in pain," Alaric responded, his eyes flashing a fiercer shade of neon green, "Do you have a question you'd like to ask your prince, Tor'ak?"

This time, Tor'ak nodded, "At first, I didn't, but now, I do."

He struggled to his feet, holding his arm with a wince. Limping forward, he painstakingly made his way to the prince. His slow, deliberate steps seemed to draw winces from the crowd as they realised the extent of his injuries, yet Rail'ak wouldn't give up the fight.

He locked eyes with the prince, then started, "Fifteen years ago, during the Year of Darkness, there was a surge of demons from all sides of the Barren Mountains. The Tower of Seekers took on the Western rift and the ravine to the North. The Naiad Rayana handled the South with help from a few of our own, but the East remained bare. They came from the desert, black as night, and hungry for blood. You led us in battle, and we fought under your command. That was the day most of us thought you a wise leader, because you stood against them, not waiting for your father's counsel. You were a man of action, and that was all we could see. How many of our own died that day?"

Alaric knew this story, a part of the story anyway.

Fifteen years ago, in the Year of the Black Sun, an avalanche of demons had attacked the Barren Mountains, spilling in from all sides, and the demihumans of the demiplane had been dispatched to fight against the horde.

With many of them in the Steel and Stone Ranks, a battle like this should have been a breeze, and yet, it had been anything but.

The demons washed over their forces, overwhelming them in strength and numbers. A battle to defend the Barren Mountains had turned into a battle for survival, and fifty-four demihumans had lost their lives while many more had drawn close to the doors of death.

Rail'ak had fought admirably before his father showed up to turn the tide of the battle. It was also said that the prince had acted too rashly and launched the battle against the demons without a clear plan.

This was also the event that drove a rift between the people of the demiplane, putting some under the prince while alienating those who were against him.

For once, Alaric didn't smirk. If anything, hearing the dark story saddened him. His clone had got the story from a few bereaved families, and each recount had been worse than the last.

This was one of the darkest parts in the history of the demiplane. He'd already thought of many questions to ask Rail'ak, but he was still torn on how cruel it would be to dig up a section of their history this dark. The details he had were vague, and he couldn't boast about having accurate knowledge on this, so he'd steered clear.

Tor'ak, on the other hand, was intimately tied to this history, and without realising it, he'd driven Alaric's game further than he could have on his own.

The amphitheatre was so quiet that he could hear his own heart beating in his chest. He looked away from Rail'ak, only to see the expressions on countless faceless staring down at the gory arena. There were expressions of rage, shock, hurt, sadness, betrayal, disgust, disappointment and everything in between, all aimed at the prince.

If there was one thing they agreed on, it was that they wanted to hear the prince's answer.

"I…" Rail'ak's voice broke.

Perhaps there had been a time when he knew these names. An event as dark as that was bound to be etched into the hearts of anyone who'd been there, especially the one who'd led the charge, but Rail'ak had allowed himself to forget, driven by the intoxicating allure of the power he wielded… of the loyalty his followers showed him.

"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it," Alaric's voice echoed through the amphitheatre, "Ungv'ak keeps this place safe and rejects your idea of conquest, not out of weakness, but to protect you all. A good leader would never wish death upon his subjects."

To the rest of the demihumans watching, he said, "This is Rail'ak, the one who wishes to lead you."

No sooner had Alaric said this than the air shifted. The Storm Void spell developed a crack in it, and time slowed. Alaric ducked, just in time to avoid a deadly kick to the head. He leapt back and avoided another, just in the nick of time, too.

'Predictable,' he thought to himself as he bent backwards to allow the prince to launch right past him. Rail'ak tripped over himself and slammed into the golden cage, but he wasn't done. He came right back, missing Alaric by a hair each time, 'Reminds me of the time Darth wanted nothing more than to kill me.'

The prince missed a few more hits before landing a spinning kick to the boy's gut. It sent him rolling before a hand grabbed his face and slammed him into the golden cage. Alaric, despite his pain, tugged on Aslan's power and was gone in a flash, appearing on the opposite side of the arena.

Rail'ak's rage was palpable as he locked eyes with the human that had just escaped his grasp. He yelled, "What gives you the right to come here and judge me? You're an outsider!"

Alaric stumbled onto his feet and spat a worrisome amount of blood, 'Steel Ranks are so troublesome. Just how much more can he take? I broke both his legs.'

[ You should be worried about yourself. You can't be too far from your limit. ] Alia's voice echoed into his mind, [ If you won't let me fight, at least use whatever part of my power you can. At this rate, he will kill you. ]

When Rail'ak's next attack came, Alaric lost his hearing. Then he felt his feet leave the ground as he was sent sailing into the roof of the golden cage, denting it. He saw double, and he struggled to breathe. The next time he heard a sound, it was Tor'ak taking a beating from the prince after trying to stop him from beating up Alaric.

The boy staggered to his feet and allowed his guardian's power to fill him while runes surrounded his chest and attempted to heal him, "How much further will you fall before you see the way up?"

Tor'ak fell to the ground, unconscious, and Rail'ak turned to face Alaric, "I'm going to make you regret making a fool of me."

"You're only making a fool of yourself, Rail'ak," the High Sentinel's voice cut through the amphitheatre, "Look around." Rail'ak did as his father asked and recoiled at the expressions of his own kin. Some of them had picked up weapons and looked just about ready to run the prince through, "You've done enough."

"Why do you all look at me like that? You'd trust the words of an outsider?" Rail'ak yelled out, his voice booming across the amphitheatre with aether, "The words of a human you've known for a few days, over one of your own whom you've known for centuries!"

"Everything we heard…" the High Sentinel answered, "…came out of your mouth. It is clear to me now that you are not ready to take my place. Perhaps a few years in exile will give you some perspective. Return without the virtues of a leader, and I'll have no choice but to strip you of your title as my successor. Now yield. This Duel is over."

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