Chapter 2: The Strongest Salamander
The Elementals had their annual feast where the great warriors of all Solis had gathered to present their abilities. Each contender had to get permission from the king himself to take part in the tournament. The Royals were an exception to this as they could enter the tournament without the king's consent.
It was mandatory that one who wins at last would have to challenge the Crown Prince. Since the Crown Prince was the next strongest elemental after the king, if the person wins over the Prince then he would be rewarded bashfully by the king. So all the contestants who participated in the tournament gave their best to get to the top.
The present king of the Elementals, King Seraph, was seated in his luxurious throne on the highest point in the arena alongside his queen. He was heartily enjoying the battle between a fire elemental and a water elemental. The fire elemental was at the verge of defeat. He could barely stand on his two feet as he swayed from side to side.
He was exhausted of his powers and the fact that he was all drenched was not helping him at all. As for the opposite party, he had a mask on which made the whole arena wonder who the powerful male was. He was wearing a white and blue attire, which accordingly fit to the magic he wielded. The fact that he was not at all tired by the fight amazed the audience.
It was the final match of the year which meant that if the so-called mysterious water elemental wins, then he had to battle with the prince.
A thud was heard in the silent arena as the fire elemental fell to the ground face-first. The whole arena cheered with enthusiasm as they were about to witness the next fight. The one fight awaited by the whole kingdom. The one where the strongest Salemander showed his power to his subjects to be.
"There will be a small interval of 15 minutes until the final battle starts" was announced by the host of the feast. The unconscious man on the sand was taken to the healing room as the victor of the battle made his way to his allotted room to rest.
The king was clenching to his throne as anger was evident in his eyes. The source of his anger was the same reason as every year, his son. He was nowhere to be found. He was always late for his turn which made the king frustrated as to how his subjects would remark on his son's incompetence.
The glistening drop of sweat which had collected at the top of his temple made its way down to his chin as the sand in the hourglass was falling down indicating that any moment, the battle might start. And the fact that his son was nowhere around was eating him alive.
If his son did not arrive now, then the match would be in favour of the present winner and he would win by default. What a shameful day would it be for the king, if his son doesn't show up?
Noah was swiftly wearing his black blouse and brown pants. Then he was rambling all over the place for his boots.
" Where are you going ?", the naked lady on bed who covered her curves with the soft material of the blanket, up till her collar bone asked as she was trying to get up with great difficulty due to the painful yet splendid pleasure she had experienced a few hours ago.
"I have... some important... work ?" he said as though even he wasn't sure of where he was going and put on his boots.
"When are we going to meet again, my love ?" She asked another question which was almost familiar to Noah.
"As soon as possible, my love" he said as he made his way to her and planted a light peck on her lips. Noah already made his way to the exit. But stopped in a sudden jolt as she directed another arrow of question to him.
"And when is that going to be, Rufus ?", she asked as innocence was written all over her face. Noah bit his lip as the lady addressed him with an unknown name. Yes, he had lied to her about his name, since the whole kingdom knew his real name. But his face was not as familiar as his name was to people of his kingdom.
Indeed the boy was the exact opposite of what his father, the king, ever wanted him to be. The taste of power and royalty had made him the man any woman would despise. No one, not a single soul in the city knew about this addiction of the young man of pleasuring himself of a different woman each day because he made sure that no one does. That was what he thought. But the royal family was not a group of fools to go unnoticed of the fact that the prince was fooling around.
"That, we will decide the next time we meet, Darling" he said, not even turning around to face her, leaving the women in a hell of confusion. But it was too late until she realized how she was used and then left all alone as he disappeared from her sight.
The bright sunlight pierced his eyes as he set his foot out of the lady's shelter. He was not unaware of the fact that today was the day of the feast. The almost empty streets of the city were a reminder to the fact. He ran in inhuman speed on the road that led to the arena. He slowed down as he heard the loud chanting of the impatient audience asking for the fight they deserved.
A proud smug made its way on his well sculpted handsome face to the fact that he had such influence on the battle. He made his way into the back of the battle ground but was stopped by a familiar voice. One of his cousins, Alec, ran to him and concern was written all over his face.
"How can you be so irresponsible on such a day? Do you realise how enraged the king is due to your actions? What were you thinking-". Noah interrupted him as he stated "Let's not make them wait more now. It will be my pleasure to give the audience the fight they demand and deserve at the moment. Aren’t I right, Alec?"
"Alright you brat, we will have the conversation later. Now go!" he said, giving the younger one a small pat on his shoulder.
Noah put on his armour and mask and made his way to the arena. As soon as he laid his eyes on his opponent, he recognized the masked man in a snap of his fingers. The energy radiating from the water elemental was so familiar to Noah that he was sure of the identity of the person right in front of him. He slowly started walking towards his opponent with firm steps. The crowd fell silent at the scene. They all wondered what the Prince was trying to do.
Noah stopped in front of the masked man. He slightly bent his masculine body to reach the ear of the opponent. The latter didn't even flinch. He stayed so firm to the ground beneath him, that even a tornado could not make him lose his stance.
"If you just wanted a fight, you could have asked me before. Why do you have to make a fool out of yourself in front of this huge crowd?" Noah said into the opponent's ears while snorting. In a blink of an eye the boastful Crown Prince was thrown to the walls of the battle grounds with a huge array of water which happened to erupt from the water elemental's hands.
"So you want to play the hard way, is it? Fine, as you wish!!!" Noah said and got back to his feet. The water elemental did not waste time. He started running towards Noah at lightning speed as he was concentrating his aura on his right hand which was glowing bright like sapphire. He launched in the air and aimed his fist towards Noah who was still dusting off the dirt from his hands. The water elemental and the Salamander were so close... just then the scene was covered by a sand screen which rose up due to the impact.
Every single soul in that arena waited in silence for the sand to fall down. And slowly everything was clear. The water elemental was groaning in pain as Noah held on to the fist of his opponent which was directed to him a few minutes ago. He had stopped the opponent's attack like it was just a fly. He tightened his grip on the opponent's fist which made the latter scream in pain. The audience were excited yet again at sight of the prince's inhuman strength
"I told you we could do this the easy way. You pissed me off and now deal with the consequences" said Noah in a dangerously deep voice as he threw the opponent to the ground like he was just a small stone he picked up on the street. Noah walked to the man on the ground who was struggling to stand back up on his feet. His eyes had a glint of pure rage, yet his face had that angelic smile. The duality of the young man was so scary that even the audience had to sew their lips.
"You know, having a monologue with you in between the fight is taking up most of my energy. So, let's drop the act now; shall we? Liam" he said with playfulness. The elemental on the ground chuckled to the younger ones cockiness. If it was not for the fact that both were royals, Liam would have been dead by now. The big bell was rung as an indication of the end of the match and the result was obvious.
Liam was on the ground struggling with a broken arm while Noah stood there, with not even a single bit of fatigue. It was declared that the prince had clearly won the match. It was the usual result every year. The king was somewhat relieved but was clearly annoyed at his son's lack of punctuality.
Noah went to the middle of the battle field as he heard loud chants and Liam was taken to the healing room. Noah raised his fist up as a sign of his victory as the crowd went wild with their chants ``Long live prince Noah! Long live the strongest Salemander!" as they repeated again and again making the young elemental in the middle of the arena smirk with pride. He was already bored by the chanting, so he went to the healing room to meet with his brother.
Liam was in the royal tub which had medicinal herbs and pure water in it. His wounds were in the process of healing. His arm was much better than before.
He was fascinated by the boy's strength which had increased in the past years to such a point that he could even surpass his own father. He was scared that Noah would turn into a monster with an unquenchable thirst for power. He worried about him as a brother that he was
He was scared of what kind of a person the prince would turn into if he became aware of the actual power he possessed. Noah was far worse than a boy in puberty. He never once worried about the consequences of his irresponsible actions. But, Liam knew that Noah wasn't a fool. He was anything, but not a fool. For he was the one who put up battle strategies for the army of their kingdom.
Solis was not the only kingdom which consisted of magical beings. There were other kingdoms too which were almost as powerful as that of the elementals. As for the fact that Noah was the one who would take the safety of the kingdom in his hands made Liam concerned. Not that he did not believe in the younger mage. Just that he was afraid that the boy was not yet prepared to take such a responsibility.
Noah entered the healing room of the royals with his armour still on. The man did try to break every bone in Liam’s body; not that Liam was any better. But what Noah had on his face was nowhere near to anger. It was pure concern. He knew his brother was wounded badly because he was not able to control his anger. He knew he had to learn to control his emotions. Since, for elementals, emotions play a great role in fueling their energy.
"How are you brother?" he asked the elderly male seated in water. Liam was not facing Noah. He was seated in such a way that his back was what Noah saw and had to talk to. He was not angry at the younger male. How could he be? He was his baby brother. He was the sole reason for Noah to remain sane amidst the strict rules of the royals.
"You think I am that weak? Of course I am alright, you idiot. And thank you for almost breaking my arm in the arena!" he said. He lied. He was not alright. His body had yet to recover from the almost tiring fight. Yet he didn't care. He got himself up and out from the water as he took the cloth nearby to dry himself. He put on his clothes and walked to his brother.
"I am not sorry for that. You pissed me off. I was trying to talk to you-" Noah said but Liam cut him off mid-sentence saying "Talk to me? More like acting arrogant with me. I was pissed too" he said with a sharp gaze which made Noah leave out a small chuckle.
"Fine. I was wrong. Now please man up and get over it. If you are one which I doubt" said Noah with a smirk at the corner of his lips. "You might want to take that back" Liam said as he trapped Noah in an armlock around his neck and choked him but in a playful way.
"Alright! Alright! I take that back!" Noah struggled and was finally released from the elder one's hold.
"What now?" Noah asked, although he already knew what the elder one would say. It was something they did every year. A smirk curled up on Liam's lips as he said,
"Now... It's time to celebrate your victory, Your Highness".
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone