Chapter 8: Chapter 8 - Tournament of Titans (1)
Kal dodged the blade as it descended from above and quickly raised his shield just in time to hear the heavy thud of the arrow piercing into it.
He was currently grinning at the maelstrom of activity that was occurring around him, Thor was busy hammering away at Volstagg who in turn was laughing as Thor used a sword to hack into his friend's shield sending pieces flying away with each strike.
Kal quickly rolled to his left as the Lady Sif tried again to strike him with her own blade whilst he was momentarily distracted watching Thor. She followed her attempt with a series of increasingly fast strikes that had Kal been anyone else he would have been defenceless against and left beaten bleeding on the floor.
However, Kal was not just anyone, instead, he just sidestepped or dodged her attacks with ease, to anyone watching Kal's actions was beyond the norm even for Asgardians.
Sif grimaced in frustration, her blade was a whirlwind of motion and should have at least forced Kal to parry, but to her great frustration, Kal was also a blur of motion, simply he stepped, pivoted, or bent out of the way of her attacks. All with his sword held loosely in one hand and his shield hardly raised.
Now whereas Thor was laughing as he hammered away at his target a boisterous look upon his face, Kal's was one of pure concentration his eyes were constantly moving to track his opponent and her blade.
Suddenly he moved and Sif found herself overextended on a thrust, with Kal to her side and before she knew it Kal's blade was on the back of her neck.
"That is your head and I believe makes the match mine, well-fought Lady Sif." Kal offered in his usual polite tone with a smile on his face offering her a bow of her head.
"Indeed, it is, next time though you are mine." She returned his smile with one of her own and nodded as well.
Whilst she hated losing Sif had too much respect and honour to be bitter about her loss, besides losing to Kal was fast becoming the norm for many of Asgard's finest warriors.
She looked at Kal gone was the boy of their youth and what stood before she was young man and warrior.
He was 17 now, tall with board shoulders and musculature that could make even the most stoic maidens' blush. He had also grown to be quite handsome to her eye, whilst Thor was handsome in the brawny, blonde-haired, and big way, his little brother was leaner, with chiselled features, and had crystal blue eyes that one could get lost in.
Kal had also grown powerful in the years since that frightened boy she had met on that field, he was as strong as Thor, as quick-witted as Loki sometimes, and was as swift as Sleipnir. Making him a marvel of a warrior to behold.
He also did not seem to tire either, she had watched him practice all day without breaking a sweat, then train more at night and when she returned in the morning still seemed to have an abundance of energy.
"AH HA" Thor cried as tried to strike his brother from the side whilst he was distracted.
Kal merely ducked under the blow and swirled to face Thor. "You know brother, shouting AH-HA kind of gives away your attack?"
"Where's the fun or honour in hitting something not ready to fight back?" Thor laughed.
Sif stood back as did most of the other warriors in the training yard as Thor and Kal began their match, which was fast becoming a daily ritual between the two.
"30 on Kal" Fandral stated to his friends Volstagg and Hogun who were next to him.
"Your on, Thor will best his little brother as usual." Volstagg took the bet with a wide grin whilst shouting encouragement to Thor.
The third member of the trio Hogun merely shook his head and turned to focus on the princes battling it out, his keen eye-catching everything he could.
Sif watched in admiration as the two princes fought, such a display always reminded her of the difference between the Royal family and the rest of Asgard.
Whilst she had been nowhere near close to striking Kal even at her near blinding speeds, Thor's strikes were forcing Kal to block and parry, the sound of metal clanging rang clear across the courtyard. Occasionally, the two would become locked as their weapons met with each trying to break the other's guard with their strength alone.
Sif was pretty sure that had she tried to parry either of their blows her arm would fracture in a thousand places and even the blunted training swords they were using would go through her like butter.
The match ended as it usually did with a tactical victory for Thor, who managed to slip past his little brother's guard due to greater experience and landed a clear strike on his brother's head with the same force that would have cut Siff in half.
Sif called it a tactical victory as the strike instead of resulting in Kal being seriously injured or knocked unconscious instead resulted in Thor's sword shattering upon impact sending pieces flying everywhere. Leaving Kal only with a slight bruise on his forward where the weapon had struck, which faded as quickly as it appeared, his body healing the damage in the golden sunlight.
"You know if you keep breaking them, father is going to start making you pay for them." Loki quipped from his position lounging on a ledge at the edge of the courtyard whilst reading a book, having not joined in the practice.
"Hey, blame Prince hit everything really hard here. If he would just stop hitting me so hard, they would not break so often." Kal injected with a laugh, whilst slapping Thor on the back.
"I am not the one with the near impervious skin dear brother, therefore the fault is not mine," Thor answered back with his own laugh and landed a slap of his own on his little brother's back.
All of which just resulted in Loki just sighing, rolling his eyes and returning his attention to his book, muttering about the foolishness of swords.
With their match over the princes moved over towards Loki whose ledge at the edge of the courtyard was also home to benches, a table of refreshments as well as the group's belongings. The rest of the group moved over as well to join their princely friends as they rested from training.
Kal sat down and was quickly joined by his best friend Haldor who quickly grabbed a whole jug of water and drained the contents in a single swift motion. Kal's best friend looked exhausted he was panting furiously, drenched in sweat and Kal even without his gifts could hear his friend's heart hammer away.
Haldor too had grown over the years whilst he was nowhere near Kal or Thor's height he was still tall and clearly a warrior, he had strong powerful muscles, a slender frame, along with friendly brown eyes and straight brown hair.
"Fun match my friend?" Kal quipped to his friend with a smile.
"Not funny, Fandral is slippery and quicker than a person should be." Haldor gestured over to Fandral who had worked up a decent sweat and was currently being attended to by several servant girls.
"Really he always seemed rather slow to me," Kal stated with a grin, earning a playful shove from Haldor.
"Well, he's fast for normal people, you know, not whatever you are. Seriously how are you not sweating, you just fought your brother, five of Asgard's most promising warriors and have been out here since yesterday" Haldor stated with a chuckle in disbelief.
"Well because I am a son -" Kal started.
"YES, YES, son of Odin. Should I bow to kiss your feet oh great one?" Haldor teased his friend with a smile, earning him a small playful shove from Kal.
The two joke and spoke more, interacting with the rest of the group discussing recent events, the best fighting techniques as well as talking about the upcoming Tournament of Titans. A contest Odin had declared to designate who amongst his warriors would be the Champion of Asgard, naturally, all of the present group even Loki had signed up.
Eventually, the talk subsided and most of the group returned to training, except for Loki, Kal and Haldor. The former remained on his ledge reading his book, whilst the latter two were just happy to observe for a time.
Kal quickly noticed however whilst he was observing the whole field, Haldor's vision was stuck on a singular warrior, the Lady Sif. An event that was becoming increasingly more common over the years
"You know you could just ask her out. It would be less creepy than staring" Kal's statement caused Haldor to snap out of his trance.
"I, what, who are you talking about?" Haldor asked clearly flustered by his friend's question.
"The Lady Sif." Kal gestured over to her as she elbowed Hogun in the face causing him to fall to the ground.
"I was not, looking at Si-" Haldor began.
"Oh yes, you were. Seriously you have it bad for her." Kal shook his head in mock concern.
"I don't! Who told you tha- …. Oh, you right basta-…. You used that creepy sight thing on me didn't you." Haldor accused his best friend with a glare, he hated how Kal always seemed to know everything.
"I concede I did, elevated heart rate, your pupils dilated not to mention blood rushing to a particular organ. However, even if I had not it's sort of obvious, you stare at her all the time." Kal chuckled as his friend went scarlet.
"It doesn't matter, she doesn't even notice me. What maiden will next to the sons of Odin." Haldor lamented, gesturing to Kal who just shook his head.
"True you are kind of skinny compared to me," Kal stated in mock conviction.
"HEY" Haldor gave his friend another playful shove.
"Peace friend I jest. In truth, I think you undervalue yourself, besides me and Thor would only be a problem if we were interested in pursuing her which we are not." Kal stated in honesty.
"Really? I mean I know you are not interested but you've seen how Thor looks at her," Haldor lamented as he nodded towards Sif and Thor who were sparring.
"I have. I have also heard him speak about her too, and beyond the desire of friendship, he wants nothing more from her. Trust me." Kal reassured his friend.
Haldor gave Kal an appreciative smile and nod then returned his gaze to Sif with a hesitant yet more hopeful expression than he had before. Kal sincerely hoped his friend went for it, he thought it would be good for both him and Sif.
Haldor needed to know if a future was possible there and if not then he could move on from his infatuation, whilst Sif needed to know that she had options beyond the disinterested Thor.
A few moments passed before Haldor spoke again this time with a slight solemn tone Kal was not used to hearing from his friend.
"You know all this won't last right?" Haldor stated whilst nodding towards the training occurring before them.
"Of course, once the tournament is over, there will be less need to train," Kal stated confused at his friend for pointing out such an obvious fact.
"No, I meant all of this. Carefree days, training for tournaments, talking about maidens, all of it." Haldor stated seriously a solemn look upon his face.
"What are you talking about?" Kal stated in bewilderment, wondering where this was coming from.
"You're a prince and I want to be one of the elite warriors of Asgard." Haldor turned to face his friend with a sad smile.
"And you shall." Kal gave his friend a reassuring smile and a pat on the back.
"Thanks, but what I mean is that soon you and I are going to have some mighty heavy responsibilities and choices to make. And we won't be fighting in simple tournaments soon" Haldor sighed to his friend.
"I understand that my friend, is that what concerns you the danger of battle? My father says it's a mark of a wise warrior to worry about war but if it frightens you know that I will always be at your side." Kal declared giving his friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"I know that my friend, I'm not worried about that or battle even, I want to fight. I'm just worried about you is all." Haldor said with a gentle smile.
"Me, what do I have to worry about? Lest you forget I am impervious to harm." Kal started with a slight smugness to his voice.
"That is what I am afraid of my friend," Haldor whispered with a slightly resigned look upon his face.
However, before he could respond to his friend's words, Kal received a sharp kick from his brother on his back causing him to look at Loki who merely gestured with his head down the corridor he could see from his seated position.
Kal then sighed as saw who was approaching it was a few the ladies of the court, including Amora, her sister Lorelai, and the lady Sigyn causing him to prepare himself for the upcoming interaction.
Whilst Kal appreciated and respected many of the ladies of the court, as most were like his mother or the Lady Sif working for the best interest of Asgard, the approaching group were not among that number. No, the approaching group instead were made of the ambitious, the social climbers or else the ignorant.
Now, Kal would admit on occasion he did like the attention these young ladies gave him and knew his brothers felt the same but today he was not feeling up to pandering to them especially as he knew they where here for one thing.
"Oh, greeting Prince Kal, Prince Loki, and Lord Haldor, I can see you have all be engaged in rigorous training for the upcoming tournament," Amora spoke in her usual sweet voice that Kal both enjoyed and hated at the same time.
Her statement caused Loki merely to scoff and close his book, whilst Haldor just gave Kal a look that told him what his friend really thought about Amora's statement and general being.
"It's so nice of you to notice, Amora I am surprised you could tear yourself away from ….. who is it this week?" Loki responded to Amora with his usual sharp tongue.
Kal was not sure what caused Amora to scowl more, Loki's constant refusal to call her a Lady or his statement about her romances at court. The former Kal always felt was a little petty of Loki but the later he conceded Loki did have a point there, Amora went through the men of the court like she was changing dresses.
"So, what brings you to the trainyards today, are you here to practice some of the more martial skills of our people?" Kal was quick to intercede, not out of fondness for Amora more to simply avoid listening to her and Loki argue again.
"We are not my dear Prince, we are just here to watch the brave warriors of Asgard train for the tournament and to offer our assistance however possible." Amora response was given with such sincerity Kal almost believed her, almost.
Kal knew exactly why Amora and the others were here, they were here to try and get one of Asgard's most promising warriors to wear their favour and hopefully make the future champion of Asgard their champion first.
"The ladies are most kind," Loki spoke with a smile and sincerity that was about as believable as claiming Thor was the god of humility.
Kal remained quiet as he watched the Ladies of the court start taking their places either on the rows of benches at the trainyards edge or like Amora more subtly just inside the hallway and leaning on one for trainyards outer ledges.
He was suddenly surprised when he felt a presence sit next to him having been distracted by Amora he had not noticed that Lady Sigyn had moved to sit next to him.
She was a beautiful young maiden around his age, who came from a strict and traditional family as Kal understood. She was stunning almost Amora's equal, she wore an immaculate and beautifully woven golden dress and possessed radiant golden hair.
She was also quiet, reserved, and hardly ever spoke a product Kal believed was a result of her very puritan upbringing. She was by far the most proper lady at the court and never spoke unless directly addressed so her to brazenly sit next to him was strange.
Before he could talk to her, however, he was altered to Haldor's need of assistance by Amora's sister Lorelai standing in front of Haldor almost throwing herself on him.
"My dear Lord Haldor it would be a great honour for you to wear my favour in the coming tournament." Lorelai was leaning over Haldor whilst casting a glance at her sister.
"Oh that is very nice but you see- " Haldor's protest was cut off when Lorelai leaned forward and placed a hand on him.
"Please my Lord for me." She almost whispered and to Kal's surprise, Haldor subtly nodded and took the offered favour.
Once he had taken Lorelai removed her hand gave a quick bow and then scampered off giving her sister a smug look that caused Amora to scowl. Haldor for his part looked perplexed at what had just happened and confused as to why he had taken Lorelai's favour.
"Well seeing as my sister has found a champion in your dear friend, my prince. Would you do the same honour for me?" Amora moved forward like her sister had, but Kal was quick to react before she could lean over him.
"Oh, I'm sorry but I have already agreed to be the Lady Sigyn's champion." He quickly said wanting to avoid either insulting Amora or getting caught in her schemes neither of which ended well.
Kal turned to Sigyn who whilst shocked, quickly nodded agreeing with her Prince and blushed slightly as she gave Kal her favour. After which she promptly parted all without saying a single word, rushing off to a group of giggling maidens nearby.
Amora forced a smile to her face that didn't quite reach her eyes and Kal just as promptly gripped his stuns friend arm, and offering a quick apology pulled his friend back onto the training yard ground to continue to practice.
Leaving Amora alone with Loki, who was smirking at Amora enjoying the show of Amora being upstaged by her sister getting a champion first and then Kal picking Sigyn over her. However, Amora's gaze wasn't anywhere near him it was now fixed solely on Thor.
"It's never going to happen," Loki stated bluntly.
Amora merely scoffed and turned her sharp gaze on Loki, who had returned to his book. "Well, I guess you are not competing, so I need not ask you to carry my favour."
"Actually, I am, and I am deep in my own training," Loki stated holding up his book which he returned to reading.
Amora accessed Loki for a minute before making a considering face. 'Well, a prince even Loki is better than a Lord, so I can still shine there.'
"My dear prince, it would be an honour fo-" Amora started her voice becoming sickly sweet again.
"Not for all the gold on Asgard," Loki stated his eyes never leaving his book.
"Really, I sure I can't convince you?" Amora stated laying a hand on Loki's knee whilst her eyes flashed green with magic.
"You know you are supposed to only have one favour, right?" Hogun asked Fandral who was currently tying another Lady's favour to armour, as they prepared for the tournament to start.
"My friend, why be so cruel to limit only one maiden to the magnificence which is me," Fandral replied with a wide roughish grin.
Kal for his part was adjusting his cloak and trying to make sure he did not trip over it during the coming tournament. 'Seriously how does Thor fight with one, it's so impractical'
His musings were interrupted by the sound of cheering from above that caused the room to almost begin shaking. The noise was a clear signal that his father had commenced with the opening speech and that it was time to embark out onto the field for the tournament.
The tournament of titans was an event held irregularly throughout the history of Asgard, it was only held when the current King believed that Asgard required a champion to defend it and the nine realms in his place.
It consisted of three stages.
The first was the Test of Endurance, a continuous free for all melee that lasted an entire day, where competitors fought without rest and were eliminated if rendered unconscious or voluntary left the arena. It was common for teams of competitors to fight together in the early stages of the test before breaking apart towards the end.
The second was a Contest of Skill, a more structured event where the remaining competitors then fought one on one, with the matches ending only when one warrior conceded or was unable to continue.
Which led to the final stage, the Duel of the Titans. Where the two remaining combatants would battle one on one for the honour and glory to be crowned the victor of the tournament and the new champion of Asgard.
"Nervous little brothers?" Thor quipped as he placed his winged helmet on his head turning to face Kal and Loki.
"Never, I am not sure about, you and horn boy though?" Kal replied gesturing to Loki's very ostentatious golden horned helmet, causing Thor to start laughing and Loki to roll his eyes.
Loki for his part was still fiddling with the Lady's Amora's favour he had warped around his arm and was still confused as to why he had agreed to wear it.
"Oh very funny, it's a traditional helmet, and we will see who is joking after the tournament," Loki replied with a smirk.
As they were starting to walk down the corridor that led to the arena's battlefield Kal spotted Haldor had ended up next to Sif causing him to become a nervous wreck. Especially since he was wearing Lady Lorelai's colours on his arm.
"I see you favour the Lady Lorelai, an interesting choice I hope her favour aids you this day," Sif stated her voice was proud like always but Kal could see something in her eyes.
"Oh um yes, I MEAN no, well I am wearing it um, but it's just to be nice." Haldor stumbled over his words and even dropped his shield whilst talking causing him to pick it up again.
The act caused a rare smile to appear on Sif's face "Interesting." She quietly whispered only loud enough for Haldor to hear and Kal with his hearing as she swiftly departed through the arena's doors, to loud cheers at her appearance.
Haldor just stood there looking stupefied until Kal took pity and shook his friend slightly to wake him for his daze. Doing so caused Haldor's confused face to break out into a grin which Kal just rolled his eyes at and pushed his friend out onto the arena's field.
Soon it was just the princes remaining, protocol dictating that they be the last to enter the arena's field. Kal would be the first to depart as the youngest and waited a few moments to hear his father's announcement.
"And also competing today, are my own sons, the Princes of Asgard and future protectors of the Nine Realms. PRINCE KAL." Odin's voice boomed and he grandly gestured to the arena doors that Kal exited.
He entered calmly and winced slightly at the noise that greeted him, the roar of the crowd was deafening and Kal gave small waves of his sword to the crowd that caused the roaring to intensify.
As he entered, he also noticed that the royal box was occupied by more than just his parents and their council.
Whilst their mother was seated to Odin's righthand side, sitting to the left of their father was a very smug and equally stunning Amora. She wore a gorgeous emerald dress and fine jewellery that made her look like a princess of Asgard. Kal realised her presence was because Loki for some unknown reason had agreed to wear her favour thus requiring her to be seated with the Royal family.
Sitting next to their mother, was another figure that took Kal a moment to recognise it was Lady Sigyn who whilst Amora looked like a princess Sigyn looked like a queen. She wore a regal golden dress, held herself like a highborn lady was expected and where Amora looked smug at her placement Sigyn simply looked like she belonged there.
Kal was puzzled as to why Sigyn was sitting in the royal box at all but then remembered he had agreed to wear her favour which was currently wrapped around his upper arm. Kal quickly composed himself and gave his parents a salute and Lady Sigyn a deep bow.
The action caused, another roar from the crown and the Lady Sigyn to blush slightly returning a bow of her own, it also caused Amora's smug façade to crack for the moment as she was upstaged.
"AND PRINCE LOKI" Odin announced again gesturing to the door.
Loki's entry caused another roar of the crowd but one that was slightly less than Kal's had been. Loki accompanied his entry with a display of magic causing illusionary fireworks to go off above him and he gave grand bows to the people.
Loki quickly gave his parents a salute and then gave Amora a very reluctant bow before he hurriedly went to stand next to Kal. Loki's payment of respect had been so fast that the crowd hardly had time to cheer it before he was stood next to his brother a grimace still on his face.
"FINALLY CROWN PRINCE THOR" Odin's final announcement was almost drowned out as the crowd was already on their feet before Odin had finished.
Thor's entry dwarfed Kal's and Loki's entry easily, the roar of the crowd was so intense Kal could feel his bones shake. Thor milked it for all it was worth, roaring back to the crowd, waving at his adoring public and even throwing his weapon in the air then catching it again, causing the crowd to go wild.
Thor instead of a simple salute knelt before their parent and raised his weapon pointing to the Allfather whilst his voice boomed across the field.
"FOR YOU FATHER!" his announcement caused another roar as well as Sif to roll her eyes at her friend's action.
Kal merely smiled and shook his head at his brother grandstanding but heard Loki next to him whisper bitterly "Show off."
With that Thor took his place next to the Lady Sif and the Warriors Three reading themselves for the Allfathers command to begin.
"You are all proud defenders of Asgard, titans amongst the warriors of the cosmos, but there can only be one champion. I hereby command that this Tournament to begin!" Odin struck Gungnir on the ground commencing the start of the test of endurance.
Kal exploded forward like the rest of the warriors on the field and quickly became embroiled in the grand melee that was occurring.
He quickly discarded his shield as it was little use to him and gripping it in his left hand flung it forward like a discus causing it to shatter against a veteran warrior that collapsed at the impact.
As he hit the floor unconscious a shimmer of light emerged around him causing the warrior to disappear safely removed from the melee.
The test of endurance was arguably the most dangerous part of the tournament as not only did it last for a whole day but it was also a mess of limbs, arms and blood. As any warrior over the age of 15 could compete, meaning that the arena's field was packed with warriors.
Kal saw Thor craving his way through the ranks of more experienced warriors, clearly forgetting the endurance part of this stage, as he gleefully swung his weapon with full might causing men to go flying.
The Warriors Three were more subtle the three walking in tandem back-to-back creating a circular area which they controlled, allowing them to both rest for moments and remain in the fight. Each one supports the other in a true display of camaraderie.
Sif was busy weaving through the ranks of the gathered warriors, her movements were precise controlled and well aim. Not a movement or action was a waste of energy, each time her blade moved it caused pain, each footfall brought her closer to her targets and each raising of her shield blocked a potential blow.
Loki was busy doing what he always did in a fight, cause problems. Loki's illusions danced around the field causing warriors to waste their strength striking phantoms. Whilst the real Loki waited and struck only when he was sure he would hit his target, then disappearing again before someone could catch him.
Haldor was close to Kal he was doing very well, whilst he was no Sif or Thor Kal was impressed by his best friend so far. Haldor's strikes although rare were precise and struck with such force that men crumbled beneath them, a few warriors some more experienced than him had already fallen to his friend's blade.
Kal for his part was a blur of motion that to watch. He was so fast that watching would cause one's eyes to hurt, he stayed mostly in a small area to be close to his friends, but his movements were so meticulous that not a single blade, limb or arrow came close to hitting him.
Kal's sword was fast becoming the main dispatcher of foes on the field, which whilst Kal was revealing in, was causing two problems for him.
The first was that warriors were actively starting to avoid him making it harder for him to stay near his friends.
The second was the blade itself was starting to bend, each strike and blow Kal delivered was so forceful that the weapon was starting to chip and even bend slightly. Meaning that he would soon need another or else fight barehanded which was not idle when surrounded by the elite warriors of Asgard.
Kal's distraction at the state of his weapon caused him to miss a very large Einherjar at his side who struck him with a very large axe.
Kal winced slightly as the weapon struck unlike other times he had fought in practice duels, the weapons in this tournament were not blunted and held an edge, along with the usual enchants that came with them.
Kal was quick to react his hand moving to grip the Axe's handle and he slammed his head into the attacking Einherjar who just collapsed at the strike. Kal then pulled the weapon from his side and looked down at the damage.
Kal grinned as he saw only the smallest of cuts and bruises that quickly healed 'Impervious indeed this tournament is mine.'
He hefted the Axe and then flung the weapon across the field striking an opponent that was about to strike Haldor from behind.
"Thanks!" Haldor yelled as he quickly parried a strike from another attacker.
'This is going to be fun!' Kal grinned to himself as slammed his fist into a warriors chest that came running at him sending the man flying.
The test of endurance lasted all through the day and the night, with the crowd ebbing and flowing as the first stage of the contest dragged on.
The arena's field was a mess of blood, sweat and vomit, as the few dozen warriors that remained continued to battle it out the only 'team' that was remaining was the Warrior's Three that was still standing back-to-back.
Even Kal was starting to feel tired, only a little in truth but he was starting to feel his muscles beginning to strain as a result of continuous action. For the first time since his childhood, he was short of breath and was starting to breathe more rapidly.
Kal saw a blur in the corner of his eye and turned to parry the incoming strike, the blow came from Thor who looked up and was slightly surprised to see Kal. The thrill of battle had made Thor slightly berserk and not truly seen his target.
Both had avoided each other thus far not wanting to fight their brother before they had too and in honestly both believed their match would come soon enough anyway in the final stage of the tournament.
However, Kal's blood was up the same as his brother and merely smiled at his brother and pushing back his brother swung his now severely chipped sword to strike Thor, who quickly recovered and parried.
The two stood a few feet apart, eyeing each other then suddenly moved forward pushing off the floor with a force that the ground shook. Both swung their weapons with a roar and aimed for each other's heads too.
However, the sound of Gungnir striking the ground sounded the end of the Test of endurance and caused both Kal and Thor to halt at the last second.
Kal's blade was almost touching his bother neck whilst the point of Thor's blade was less than an inch from Kal's eye. The princes merely grinned at each other and lowered their blades.
"You are lucky little brother, a few more seconds and you would not be fighting in the Contest," Thor stated whilst straightening up.
"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you big brother." Kal grinned whilst casting away the now useless blade.
Odin began addressing the crowd and announcing the remaining warriors, but Kal drowned that out heading to the edge of the Arena where benches, racks of replacement weapons, and food had been placed.
He spotted Haldor who was looking slightly the worse for wear, as Sif examined his skull a large gash was visible above his left eye.
"Ow!" Haldor complained as Sif applied a healing salve to the wound.
"Silence else I will not aid you," Sif stated forcibly holding Haldor's head firmly in place as she worked.
"I take it, it was a good fight," Kal stated as he approached his friends and offered Haldor a drink, which his friend accepted.
"It was a deed worthy of song dear Kal!" Volstagg stated gripping Kal in a half hug from behind whilst he eat a leg of chicken.
"It was nothing," Haldor stated looking bashful at the praise.
"It was not! You should have seen this one Kal. The lady Sif was about to be struck from behind by an honourless cur, when who should dive to take the below but are very own Haldor!" Volstagg boomed.
His statement was backed up by both Fandral and Hogun who agreed with the valiant act, causing Haldor to become almost crimson at the praise and was doing his best not to look at Sif.
"It would have been better if he had not used his head to block the blow," Sif stated in her usual nonsense attitude, however, Kal could see a small smile had formed on her face.
The group's discussion was cut off by the sounds of trumpets and caused them to raise their heads to look up towards the royal box that now had a golden project of the table that listed all the remaining warriors.
"Now, the first match of the Contest shall be," Odin flicked his hand forth causing the table to glow as two random names were selected "Fandral against Agnar."
Fandral merely gave a little smirk as he looked at his opponent, the aforementioned Agnar was an aged warrior with a great white beard, wearing blue armour, who was almost Heimdall's size and wielded a very large longsword.
"I shall be back soon my friends," Fandral stated as he moved off to the centre of the arena to fight in the first match, giving bows and blowing kisses to the maidens as he went.
Kal watched the first bout intensely and despite Fandral's statement of a swift victory, the match was not over quickly.
Fandral may have had youth and speed on his side, but that mattered little against Agnar who's strike and speed in full plate armour surprised Fandral. The aged warrior moved like an avalanche, slow at first but soon became fast and overwhelming.
Despite being elderly, Agnar was still a warrior and thousands of years of experience were now on display.
What was worse was that Fandral was indeed striking the aged warrior but his blows seemed to be like an insect stinging a raging bear.
Eventually, however, Fandral's blows started to mount up, each scratch and cut caused Agnar to slow a little and tire as his power was used up to heal him, and after a solid hour of fighting Agnar finally relented.
The aged warrior fell to his knee gripping the hilt of his sword in both hands whilst panting heavily and shaking his head, as his aged voice sounded out between laboured breathes "I yield."
Fandral who was also exhausted reached out a hand which the aged Agnar took "Well fought, my friend."
"You as a well young warrior, if I was a century or two younger I would have had you," Agnar stated as he stood towering over Fandral
"Of that I have no doubt" Fandral gave Agnar a respectful bow, causing the crowd to roar in appreciation of both his victory and respect.
He then returned to his friends with a grin on his face but collapsed on the bench as soon as he arrived.
'This may be more difficult than I thought' Kal looked around the field at the other competitors and realised apart from his brothers and his friends, there was not a single warrior left not at least a thousand years old.
Kal was pretty confident in his ability, he was practically invulnerable and thought that should be enough to carry him through the contest where his lack of experience could not.
'Practically' though was the word that stuck in his head, was he like Agnar just a beast that could be felled with time and continuous strikes. And what about the others how far could raw skill or power carry them when faced with centuries if not millennium's worth of experience.
Kal soon got his answer, Thor, Sif, Loki and even Haldor won their first contest but the first of the young warriors to be eliminated was Volstagg who was soon followed by Hogun.
Volstagg had the misfortune to face General Tyr himself in his first match which ended very swiftly. Volstagg had charged at Tyr with all his might, and Tyr merely parried Volstagg's blow and backhanded the youth with his stubbed forearm.
Causing Volstagg to spin once and land unconscious on the floor, ending the match in less than a minute. Tyr had then twirled his sword once in his hand then rested it on his shoulder and departed the arena's field to the roar of the crowd.
Whereas Hogun had fought a brutal sluggish match with another aged warrior named Rongor, who Kal knew as an old friend of his father. The two had pulverised each other and Rongor had one by simple fact that he had collapsed unconscious after Hogun did.
Kal's first match was a quick affair like Thor's had been. Kal had merely dashed forward and after a few dodges had landed a blow so hard the experienced warrior he had been facing had simply crumpled under it.
The rest of the matches however were now becoming slow affairs as each match was quickly followed by another resulting in every warrior present becoming tired and sluggish with each fight.
Muscles were straining to keep up the effort and the lack of rest was starting to take its toll, even Kal was starting to feel drained and he saw Sif almost asleep on the bench at one point.
Eventually, it came down to the final ten warriors and to Kal's pride, Thor, Loki, Sif, Fandral and Haldor were still amongst the contestants.
"The final stages of the Contest, and with only 10 left we are going to start fighting each other." Haldor gave Kal a grin, his friends face covered in bruises. "I promise to go easy on you."
Kal chuckled at his friend's statement, Haldor looked like he survived a war he was battered bruised and bleeding in several places. Whereas Kal apart from his cloak being torn and his armour being a little scratched he was perfectly fine, the few wounds he had received had healed quickly.
"I will try to be gracious in defeat." Kal bantered back.
"We have reached the final stages of the Contest, and soon we shall witness our grand victor however before we proceed we should honour the greatest warriors of Asgard," Odin announced standing up from his great seat.
His statement caused the crowd to begin cheering again, however instead of the deafening wall of noise before it was a cacophony of sound, as the crowd began competing with itself to chant one warrior's name the loudest.
Thor's name was clearest and most shouted by the crowd but Kal could also hear his name as well and much to Haldor's pride he could hear his name on occasion as well.
"I wish to state before we proceed that you have honoured Asgard with your courage and skill, whilst there can be only one Champion, know that you are all deserving of glory and honour." Odin gave a small bow of his head to show his respect.
The remaining warriors returned the gesture with deep bows of their own, Kal had not idea what Thor or Loki was feeling but his chest was swelling with pride and desire to show their father that he was worthy of the title of champion.
Odin then struck Gungnir once more to begin the final matches, the final list appeared before them and glowed as two names were selected.
"Now, let us proceed the next match shall be Prince Kal against -" Odin's voice trailed off as the other name appeared.
"The match will be between Prince Kal and Prince Loki."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Luke5921
Luke5921 (Authors Notes)
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
I hope everyone is having a good time and that 2022 is great for everyone around the world.
I am really amazed at the response, over 200 follows and over 10,000 views. I am so humbled and very motivated to keep up my writing.
So, I hope you enjoy the first of this two-part story arc.
Now originally, I planned the tournament to be a small single chapter butit'ss turned into a two-part arc as when I wrote it all out it was super long. I mean stupidly long, so cutting it in half
Now the tournament of titans is actually an event from marvel comics also called the Tournament of Champions. Odin called it to name Asgard's champion so I thought I would borrow the name and write my own version.
Well, I seriously hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it's my first time trying to write fight sequences so I hope they are not a complete mess and that my cliff-hanger ending leaves you wanting more to see Kal vs Loki.
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