Side Story : Odi Et Amo

Held once every 3 years, Elaria's tournament of glory invites all races, tribes, and groups to fight for its namesake. 

Since the tournament is done to celebrate the strength of the participants, killing is frowned upon. Accidents can happen and the fighters themselves are aware of this, the one involved in such an incident will face disqualification and prohibition from participating again.  

The crowd's exhilaration was at an all time high, Elaria's grand arena was packed to the brim. All 30, 000 spectators were tuned in to the two combatants clashing at the center. 

A naga, half-woman and half-snake, wielded a sword in each of her four arms. All four struck her opponents yet none was strong enough to cause damage. 

The dark elf grinned maliciously underneath her newly manifested armor. It had a regal design as it coated her entire body. It was firm but ephemeral since it was made out of shadows, hers however had a lighter tint of black. Her mother told her that once she's grown in power, so too will her armor and once it does - its hue will resemble the total darkness of the Underdark. 

Ellamir blocked one of the Naga's swords, yet the other three were free to strike her. If Ellamir wanted she didn't even need to block her opponent's sword, she only did so to liven the crowd. 

The Naga slithered away, her breathing was uneven, tired from all her sword swings that had no effect. 

Ellamir could feel it, the power that coursed through her veins was a gift from Lolth to the royal family, passed down every generation. Extracted from the blood of their Goddess, not only does it boast unmatched durability in protecting its user, the strength that it provided is immense - she could rip the Naga's arms one by one if she so desired.

Now desperate, the naga launched her final assault. What ticked the naga off was that she was clearly the better swordswoman, had it not been for her opponent's ability she would have sliced the dark elf into ribbons by now. 

Ellamir went for an overhead slash, the snake woman's agility allowed to evade quickly. Wasting no time, she wrapped her coils around Ellamir, reminiscent of how snakes would constrict their prey. 

*clang* *clang*

Sparks flew as the Naga's swords continually struck the immobile Ellamir, failing to leave even a dent. 

Ellamir cackled, rejoicing in the futility of her opponent's actions. "Hahaha! One thing that you should know about me is that I don't like getting hugged." The dark elf got out of the snake woman's hold with just one stretch of her arms, due to their proximity, she was able to grab her neck in a chokehold before she was able to slither away. 

Ellamir slammed the woman into the ground with such force that it rendered her instantly unconscious. 

Deactivating her shadow armor, her malicious smile didn't fade as she bathed in the crowd's cheers. 

+++

"She's kind of cute." Sitting in the front row, Antani complimented her opponent for tomorrow's grand finals. 

"Are you fucking serious?" Sitting right next to Antani was a 7 foot tall woman with blue skin,  possessing the beauty and the toned body of an Amazon warrior. 

"What? Don't look at me like I'm trying to get in bed with her or something." Antani only complimented the dark elf yet it earned her a glare from her half-sister, Alara.

"And you better not be. I expect you to make short work of her tomorrow."

"She's a total amateur with the sword, the only reason she got far was because of that armor of hers." There was no belittlement in Antani's tone, only her genuine observation. 

"Want to make a wager on how fast you can end it tomorrow?" Alara propositioned her sister. 

"Bet. Hmmm. Give me two minutes."

"Hah, good one! Now give me your real answer." Alara didn't believe that the 3rd strongest in their tribe would take two minutes to dispose of someone clumsy with the sword. The dark elf may have that shadow armor of hers but they have their own techniques that can match it - exceed it even. 

"I'm serious! I can do 20 seconds if I take her seriously but I'm not going to behead her in front of this crowd." 

Alara sneered, "You know, I can take her down in 3 seconds without harming her." 

"Sorry, we can't all be half-frost giants like you." Antani's mood soured. She rolled her eyes at her sister's smug facade.

"It's not about being a jotunn, I'm just more skilled than you." 

"More skilled my ass, whenever I would use a move that needs mana, you can pull it off with your strength alone!" Antani knew her sister was stronger, but she won't let her act like her heritage has nothing to do with it. 

"I won't listen to your excuses, finish it in a minute if you really want to prove me wrong." 

+++

Inside one of the Arena's lavish V.I.P. room where Ellamir is resting in her chair, Maesha just entered, greeting her sister with a homely smile.

"Sister, you did great out there. I can't wait until mother helps me in manifesting my own armor."

Ellamir remembered the torture she had to endure from the hands of her own mother.

Lolth, being the cruel mistress that she is, made the requirement for the shadow armor's activation to be pain and trauma. The most harrowing part of the ordeal was the glee on her mother's face as she was beaten, whipped, and stabbed mercilessly. 

"There's no need to rush, just hold that thought for now." Ellamir said with a forced smile, she was terrified at the thought of Maesha going through the same ordeal, but it was inevitable - she is dark elf royalty after all. The only consolation is that she too would be able to taste the same intoxicating power that it provided. 

The door burst open again, Ellamir stood to greet her mother with a hopeful demeanor, expecting an utterance of praise for her earlier performance. 

Queen Zorla stares at Ellamir with apparent frustration, "Must you always disappoint me?" 

The hopeful look in Ellamir's face soon spiraled downward into pained confusion, "I-I don't understand, Mother…."

"What you should understand is that you should have disposed of that snake bitch much quicker. However, there is a way for you to redeem yourself." A wicked grin forms on Zorla's lips. 

"Tell me how mother, I'll see to it." The desire to please her mother was apparent in Ellamir.

"Take care of that Amazon sooner than you did the snake bitch." 

Ellamir grimaced. She had observed the Amazon in one of her fights, aside from her attractiveness, her skill in combat is leagues above the naga she fought from earlier. She was still confident that she could beat her but it might take some time. 

"Are you hesitating? If you can't then we might as well go back home right now. After all, you've already made a mockery of the shadow armor in front of thousands." Queen Zorla's words pierced right through Ellamir's chest. 

Brought shame? Her mother's words confused Ellamir even more. One thing that is clear is that her mother can be a bit unpredictable at times, she will have no qualms of pulling out from the tournament when victory is within their grasp. There is no other choice than to take the plunge. 

"No, Mother. The Amazon will fall as soon as the fight starts."

"Excellent! Fail me again and there will be…dire consequences. Kyahaha!" Queen Zorla stormed out of the room cackling.

Ellamir sat in her chair again, hanging her hand on her head. It took 3 minutes for Ellamir to dispose of the Naga, she had no clue on how she would handle the Amazon. 

"Didn't you tell me you wanted to have a word with the Amazon? We can go there now, I can accompany you." It was the first time her sister showed interest in someone, even that had to be ruined by her mother. 

When Ellamir saw how the Amazon fought, she felt an odd sensation in her chest. She didn't know why or where it would entail, all Ellamir knew was that she wanted to have a word with the Amazon after the tournament. Now all of it had been thrown out the window. Her entire train of thought centers on how she could beat the woman as fast as possible. 

"It doesn't matter anymore, leave me, Maesha." 

Abiding by her wish, Maesha decided to leave the room. Right as she was about to exit the door, she turned to face her sister, "Mother was wrong. Sorry I couldn't stand up for you. I wish you good luck for tomorrow, dear sister." 

Maesha left while Ellamir was still in a stump.

+++

End the fight as fast as possible. A sentiment that the two fighters facing off right now shared.

"BEGIN!" The lizard bard announced, his voice rumbled throughout Elaria's arena. 

In less than a second Ellamir donned her shadow armor, her curved sword poised to slash as she ran towards the Amazon. 

*clang*

Antani effortlessly blocked Ellamir's strike, sparks flew as their swords locked.

Her first strike was ineffective but she would try again and again and again in the short window of opportunity that she has. 

 Sparks flew and the clashing of metal continued. Antani was able to deflect each and every one of Ellamir's attacks. 

In the midst of battle Ellamir's thoughts were a mess, Confusion, Anger, Paranoia. How can the Amazon before her stand her powerful strikes? Ellamir refuses to believe that the gap in their skill is this huge. She shuddered to think of her mother's disappointed face as time progressed. 

*clang* *clang*

Antani's timer was fast approaching, her opponent had now become rabid, raining slashes from all directions, making the fight more difficult to end. 

If Antani could just cut the dark elf's sword then it would render the dark elf unable to fight. 

Antani channeled her mana into her sword as she fended Ellamir's attack. Once she had gathered enough, she struck the final blow, a diagonal slash. 

Ellamir saw the incoming slash, it connected with her sword. However, it didn't stop there.

Antani's sword cleaved through Ellamir's. The momentum of the Amazon's swing was too great.

It was as if time had slowed for them, heralding the moment that would forever change their lives. 

The tip of Antani's sword sliced through Ellamir's shadow armor, taking the dark elf's right eye as a casualty.

Antani Miscalculated, the amount of mana it took to slash through Ellamir's sword was the same amount needed to slash her newly formed shadow armor. 

Ellamir fumbled to the ground, blood flowing from her right eye as she writhed while  howling in agony, "Aaaaaaah!" 

Time elapsed : 1 minute 

+++

"Where are you taking my useless daughter?"

Zorla ambushed the dwarven tournament staff, carrying a despondent Ellamir on a stretcher through the stadium corridor. 

"To the infirmary madam, our healers can salvage her right eye." One of the dwarves replied.

"There will be no need for your meddling, let that eye of hers be a lesson." With a click of her fingers, two of Zorla's guards forcibly took Ellamir from the stretcher and dragged her by the shoulders. 

Paced behind Ellamir, Zorla yanked Ellamir's hair, "Kyahaha! I knew you would embarrass yourself, I know just the perfect punishment for a disgrace like you. I'll make sure to announce it front of the entire court so they would know how dumb you looked as you wriggled on the floor like a worm!"

+++

Her punishment? It was to be banned from being crowned queen. It didn't stop with that, she was also kicked out from the royal palace, deigned to live alone. 

Ellamir unwound her bandages, observing her right eye in front of a mirror.

Like her how her wound festered, so too did her hate for the Amazon. One day she will trample on her dignity the same way she did hers.

A sinister smile formed on Ellamir's lips as she began to apply a fresh set of bandages. 

One day.