The capital arena was where the twelve novices stood in the center of the fighting ring.
The stone bleachers held hundreds of spectators.
Priests, nobles and commoners filled the seats to watch the Church select its future weapons.
Phase Three of the Ascension Tournament demanded combat so the elimination bracket decided their fate.
Winners received prime ecclesiastical postings and losers received a one-way ticket to the southern war front.
Elector Mordecai sat in the front row resting his hands on his crystal cane, he stared at the dirt without blinking, waiting for a mistake.
The detection artifact hummed hidden inside his white robes.
Raziel stepped into the combat circle for the first match against a second-year healer.
The boy trembled holding a wooden practice staff in front of his chest, he lacked offensive magic and relied on passive survival.
Raziel didn't want to hurt him but he needed to win without displaying his Umbral core to the Elector.
