The backstage Initiate room had a pretty sweet set-up. 

Calling it merely a room was a misnomer, considering the open-plan space had three distinct sections. There was an area for people to get their practice on, featuring what looked like a high tech gym and sparring arena, though why anyone would want to give away their powers right before a fight was beyond me.

In another of the sections were a suit of medical bays that looked as if they could be reconfigured for basically any body type, though there didn't seem to be any medical staff present to actually render aid to anyone. Considering how powerful medical technology was in this universe, though, I wouldn't have been surprised if it were all automated. 

Finally, there was a viewing area. A row of the same bean bag chairs from the Initiate dorms were laid out in front of a wide window pane that looked down on the fighting arena. Clearly, the Initiate area was positioned in the same way that a VIP box in a sports stadium back on Earth was. It would allow anyone not taking part in the battles that were going on at the time to watch the unfolding event in full view of everything going on. 

"Okay, we're going to be starting the battles as soon as possible, we're hoping that seeing some fights will calm the audience down a bit," The small announcer alien explained from his position in front of the group. "Scheduled up first are Xyalla and Vadton, could you please step forward?"

The bulky alien with the potbelly that supposedly had overwhelming psychic powers and was, in some way, fragile stepped forward along with the heavily armoured Vadton. 

From looks alone I had no idea how this fight would turn out. Both of the two aliens were physically imposing, and there was no way to tell how powerful their abilities would end up being. Despite myself, I was beginning to feel pretty fired up. 

<Honestly, they couldn't have chosen two creatures who were any more different from one another,> BB weighed in. <You're right in having a pretty open mind on how this fight might turn out, if Vadton manages to close the gap then Xyalla could be done for fairly quickly, though if they can't get past any telekinetic defences then it's going to be a psychic beatdown instead.>

Honestly, no matter who ended up coming out on top, it was going to be an awesome fight and I was more than ready for it. 

The two fighters were flashed away in another burst of white light, so I made my way over to the bean bags to get myself a good seat. 

"Any ideas on who might win this, Yr'Arl?" I asked as the feline alien sat down next to me. 

He tilted his head in thought. "I wish to say Vadton, but I am uncertain if I am biased due to his armour being such a similar method to my own Spectral Armour," He said honestly. 

"Vadton will win this," Akash cut in, sitting on the far side of Yr'Arl. 

"What makes you so sure of that?" I asked. 

"You shall see, human, you shall see." 

The two aliens reappeared in dual flashes of light at separate ends of the fighting zone. 

"In our first bout of the day, we have Vadton, the armoured knight who seeks to bring honour to his homeworld by being the first of his kind to join the Guard, against Xyalla, a psychic master who can stop an entire unit in their tracks with their manna alone!" Belana's voice rang out through the stadium. "The rules are simple! Force your enemy to surrender or knock them unconscious. Bodily harm will be allowed, but if the force you use is deemed to be lethal to your opponent you will be immediately disqualified!" 

That made a lot of sense, I imagined they wouldn't want any of their brand new initiates to be cut into pieces by something like Vadton's spear before they even had the chance to come up against a Null Space Invader. The rules were basically the same as those that we had been using in our spar matches, so I felt fairly prepared in that regard. 

"With that said… let the first battle of the Grand Entry Tournament begin!" 

The moment Belana stopped speaking Vadton darted forward, his dark spear raised in his hand. The blade was launched forward at speeds that were hard to keep track of, and embedded itself just to the right of where Xyalla was stood. In a mist of shadowy darkness Vadton disappeared from one location and reappeared where the spear had fallen, his hand now wrapped around the shaft. 

It seemed as if he could instantly teleport himself to wherever his spear landed, without the need for the lengthy windup and runic display that a normal teleportation spell rquired. 

With a spin, he brought the blunt end of the spear around toward Xyalla's head, but the powerful telekinetic was ready for the assault. 

With a raised hand he summoned an invisible shield that stopped the spear handle in its tracks. No matter how much Vadton struggled to force the spear forward, the armoured alien knight couldn't break through the psychic hold his opponent had on the handle. 

With a mighty telekinetic push, both Vadton and his spear were sent hurtling across the fighting arena. But Vadton didn't seem as if he would go down so easily. He threw the spear again, directly down into the ground, which allowed him to teleport out of his haphazard spin to land on his feet. 

Clearly, after hearing that Xyalla was supposedly fragile, Vadton had thought a direct frontal assault would have been the best way to take his opponent out, dealing with the alien threat before they even had a chance to get going. I probably would have made the exact same choice in the same situation. 

But now he watched warily from afar. The fight was only just beginning.