"More than a few people have made their fortune from the imperial tournaments. Biggest example would be Sanver Oglov, a former gladiator who caught the then minister of war's eyes. The man went on to be an imperial guard, then their commander, and later the new minister of war when his predecessor retired.

His success story remained the inspiration of many youngsters confident in their martial skills." - Nila Veslvine, resident of Sabaya from the time of the Second Empire.

"Hmm… that one's got some skills," commented Aideen during the fourth group's battle, which drew Lucea's attention to the figure she had pointed her finger at.

The first three groups had ended rather uneventfully. The first and third groups were dominated by one particularly skilled participant each, who demolished the rest with brute force. The second group lacked any particularly skillful ones and the last warrior standing did so more by luck than skill.

By now the fourth group was down to ten participants. Three pairs were engaged in closely matched duels. Three of the remaining four had ganged up on the participant Aideen pointed at, yet made no headway even so.

Said participant wore a hooded cloak, which obscured their face and figure. Despite the covering, everyone could tell that the figure was small in stature, likely a head shorter than Aideen or so. That made the way they expertly wielded a longsword as long as they were tall all the more impressive.

With movements that looked very practiced to Aideen's experienced eye the cloaked combatant parried away one of their opponent's spear. They then ducked under swing from another's sword, and leapt over the low stab the third attempted with their lance.

To raucous cheers, the cloaked figure landed lightly on the lance's shaft, which made its wielder bend forward involuntarily. The next moment that man was thrown backward with a broken nose as the figure smashed his face with their wooden longsword.

The remaining two participants were swiftly dealt with as well, as the cloaked figure cleverly entangled their weapons together before they flipped over them. Their longsword was forcefully brought down on the shoulder of the spear wielder, before a quick turn smacked the padded blade against the swordsman's neck hard enough he fell into a fit of coughing.

Since the others who were focused on their duels were not done, the cloaked figure took their chance to rest for a moment. Before a couple minutes had passed, one of the dueling pairs had finished.

The cloaked figure dispatched of the duel's winners in mere moments, then did the same for the other two winners once they were done, and emerged as the last person standing in their group.

"I see what you mean," said Lucea as she nodded in agreement to Aideen's earlier words. The cloaked figure's three-on-one feat was an impressive display of skills indeed, and the Empress already thought that whoever that participant was, they were certain to get many offers by the time they were done.

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"Doubly impressive considering the physical differences," remarked Tesruq from his seat beside his wife. "That person's one fifty or so at most? And judging from the build, definitely not a dwarf, so either a goblin or a small human."

Which was impressive when one considered that easily half the participants in the tournament - including several beaten by the figure - were therians, often of large frames and hulking physiques. To see one triumph over their natural brute force by pure skill like that was a refreshing sight.

From the remaining twelve rounds of group fights, several more talented participants clawed their way up from the rabble. Others found themselves ganged on and fell to their opponents.

Yet even for these unfortunate participants, Aideen noticed that some nobles or ministers talked to their attendants while pointing towards them. She also noticed more than a few of those participants soon appearing beside some nobles or ministers, likely having accepted a job offer from them.

They were impressed enough, it seemed.

Since the event was meant to last only one day, after an hour-long interlude where dancers and other entertainers performed to allow the participants time for rest and lunch, the next round began.

The cloaked participant Aideen noticed faced the winner of the third group, a female lion therian even larger than Artair had been. Their contrast in size made the fight look very mismatched, as the therian woman wielded a pair of axes each almost as large as the cloaked participant was.

And yet the fight went about in a way none of the spectators expected.

Undeterred, the cloaked participant evaded every one of their opponent's powerful blows, in moves that looked almost as if they were dancing. Then after they had taken a measure of their opponent, they charged, their small, slender body weaving through the pattern of strikes made by their opponent.

Often they dodged a strike by a mere hair's breadth, yet their steps remained confident, and as they closed, they thrust their sword at their opponent's throat. The therian woman dropped her axes and clutched her throat as she wheezed and coughed violently, while the cloaked figure stood tall before them, sword raised in victory.

The next match saw the cloaked figure faced with the victor from the first group. If the last match looked unfair at a glance, this one was even moreso. The man who stood across the cloaked figure was a massive elephant therian, more than double their height, wielding a pair of massive tower shields on their arms and a wicked flanged mace with their trunk.

As if that was not enough, the elephant therian soon displayed his mastery of magic, as boulders the side of a person's head flew up from the soil beside him and charged the cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure dodged left and right, as one boulder after another came at them. Their lithe form avoided the boulders easily enough, but with their opponent covered by a pair of massive shields, they had difficulty in returning the favor.

Steady as a fortress, the elephant therian man turned to keep the cloaked figure in their front arc, while their mace.waved menacingly. Boulders never stopped hurling towards the cloaked figure all that time.

Finally, the cloaked figure saw a chance, and leapt towards the side of a boulder as it flew past their body. Using their legs to propel themselves diagonally off the boulder, they landed on another boulder, and used that one as a springboard to jump higher.

The audience - and the elephant therian - thought that it was a move done out of desperation, as in mid-air there was nothing for them to step on. Two more boulders were hurled that way by the elephant therian.

Yet contrary to his expectations, a thin pane of ice formed in mid-air, right beneath the cloaked figure's feet, and they used it to leap further ahead, on a trajectory that would bring them past the elephant therian and drop behind him.

Noticing the threat, the elephant therian swung his mace towards the cloaked figure's head. They reacted by forming another ice platform, which they stepped on upside-down to propel themselves faster than their opponent expected.

As they passed one another, the cloaked figure landed a direct blow to the back of their opponent's neck, which caused the soldier who served as adjudicator to declare their victory. The flanged mace had passed so close to their head, however, that it snagged and tore their hooded cloak off, revealing their features for all to see.