In Boulderkeep Stockade, in the Thranvalis Arena, Tlandar remained seated in seiza position. He was meditating, remaining composed. The numerous Valkatlan laborers and helpers were removing the destroyed, Zor'Vakrex's hover platform. Its metallic body was about seventy percent melted, and smelled like burnt gasoline and strong, toxic fumes. "Tlandar, you did it. You defeated the last one with skill and courage, good for you," one of the Valkatlan laborers, an temsek male, said. "Thanks a lot" Tlandar said. He kept meditating, thinking on his current situation. "I still can't believe I'm here, in this pit, fighting for a planet, for countless peoples," Tlandar thought to himself. He was thinking over everything that he had experienced recently. "Just relaxing my nerves, I must keep centered, in mind and spirit, until this is over," Tlandar said. He remained seated in his seiza position. The combat pit was about cleared, and cleaned now, by the temsek laborers. The climbed up the stairs up and disappeared.
The Chieftain Box
Above the pit, in the Chieftain Box, Val'katl was talking with the last three Valkatlan generals who were going to fight with Tlandar. They were all of the asemeri race. They were Rigen'Vexar, the star-helmed general; Jorvak'Thalek, who was ninety percent android; and Antares'Korven, the gravitic, focused beam master. Antares had strong Xothek genetics, with fully developed, large bat wings, retracted inside his dark cape. The three Valkatlan generals wore large, black capes, spit in half, connected to their shoulder pads in the back. "Generals, its now time to decide if we're going to keep this plan up. Are you willing to face Tlandar together, all of you?" Chieftain Val'katl said. "We've talked about this during the intermission of the contest. We decided we must end this fight, once and for all. We should see whether this boy is really the Aurora Descendant or not. If he is, he should defeat us easily. We can't stand against the oracle," Rigel'Vexar said.
"As you see, I'm right. Its better to stop wasting time and opportunity. The boy is defeating all of you too easy because he's just fighting one on one. With the three of you, you can defeat him, and stop thinking this is the Protector of the Oracle. I don't believe in fantasies," Chieftain Val'katl said. "Sounds good. But lets not hurt the boy; he's too young and inexperienced. He should not fight in our forces, period. He's not made for war," Jorvak'Thalek said. "I agree. We're wasting too much time in here. Our troops needs us in the battlefront. Just one more round and that's it. Then we'll go back to lead our troops. This contest was never supposed to have started today. We make this contest whenever there's no real threats in the dominion. I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Antares'Korven said.
"Alright, fight Tlandar, all of you; do it quickly. Defeat him, he goes to the infirmary. You return to the trenches in the Plains of Leipira as soon as you can," Chieftain Val'katl said. "Understood, lets finalize this situation with Tlandar!" Rigel'Vexar said. "Go!" Valkatl said. Then the three Valkatlan generals got up their seats and talked to the host Vraek in private. Then walking down the stairs of the pit, descended down to the center of the pit. Tlandar opened his eyes immediately, "I see the three Valkatlan generals, they're ready to face me, together," Tlandar said. Then the host Vraek said, "Valkatlan people, the next and final round is about to start! Tlandar will now face the last three champions… Rigel'Vexar, Jorvak'Thalek and Antares'Korven. They are the last contestants, incredibly skilled and determined to topple the undisputed challenger Tlandar. May they seize their glory!" Host Vraek said.
Then a Valkatlan soldier began to hit a large war drum. The second Valkatlan soldier blew his war horn. The third and fourth Valkatlan soldiers, standing above the pit, wave two Valkatlan banners. The banners had drawn upon them the emblem of Val'katl Dominion… a left side facing golden griffon, six stars and two asemeri khopesh axe-swords crossed, on a dark green background. The spectators began to shout louder than previous rounds, and became very excited. Most of them got off their seats and moved closer to the railings above the pit to see closer. "This is the final fight, guys be careful and pay attention!" Akoros, the leading Salgaran spy said. Five more Salgaran spies were with him, near him. They remained undetected as their holographic projectors (small devices in their metallic collars) cloaked them with an image of a random, real spectator. The crowd was very large and they couldn't even being seen amongst so many spectators, shouting and yelling of excitement.
***
The three of the Valkatlan generals surrounded Tlandar. Each of them wore black, leather capes, large and split in half. Rigel'Vexar, who wore a kuprix helm with a six pointed star on top of the helm, drew out his large, metallic, kuprix, serpentine whip. It look like a metallic, segmented tail. He began moving slowly towards Tlandar. Tlandar stood upright, with his cedar staff resting on the ground. His eyes scanned all his surroundings in an sphere, and instantly analyzed every twitch of the opponents' muscles.
"You will defeat you, like all warriors before you," Rigel'Vexar said. Then he blew his metallic, kuprix, whip at Tlandar. He evaded to the side, as he revolved three hundred sixty degrees. Behind him was Jorvak'Tharek, whom had closed his distance to Tlandar. He was ninety percent android. He snapped a kick at Tlandar from behind, but he evaded by counterrotating, and blew the android on the abdomen with his cedar staff. Then Tlandar rolled towards an empty place in the pit. Antares'Korven, possessed strong Xothek genetics, spread his large bat wings, and flew all over the pit, harassing Tlandar aerially. He wielded a seven feet tall kuprix, metallic lance. The head of the lance spread out two sharp prongs and became a trident. He pursued Tlandar all over the pit in the air, spinning his kuprix trident. Tlandar just evaded all their attacks, rolled and perfomed aerial jumps; twisted his body in the air and in the ground, in all directions. He blocked all the attacks, redirected them with his cedar staff, as fast and precisely as he could.
***
"Surrender Tlandar, you've got no chance! You're weak, just like all the warriors who fell before you!" Antares'Korven said, as he landed on the ground, with his trident resting on the ground. Then Jorvak'Thalek, the Valkatlan general with ninety percent android body, was skilled in emiting and controlling focused gravitational beams. He emitted a tractor beam with one hand at Tlandar, lifting him a few feet off the ground. Tlandar couldn't move. Then pulled Tlandar towards him with his tractor beam.
***
Back in the spectator seats, the Salgaran spy Akoros reacted with anxiety. "Tlandar, fight them off! Don't surrender now!" He said. The adjacent spectators laughed at him as the whole crowd shouted at the champions.
The Chieftain Box
Back in the Chieftain Box, Chieftain Val'katl watched with anxiety, concern and amazement. "Tlandar, do something!" He said. "He looks he's about to lose this fight," Vraek said privately. "This is the decisive moment! Tlandar, defeat them! I want to see it!" Val'katl said.
Jorvak's Thalek's Defeat
As Tlandar was getting closer to Antares'Korven, a though raced through his mind. He saw the hologram of Astashica. When it first appeared to him. He glanced, in his mind, at her appearance. He remember the pledge he made to Chieftain Salgar, who believed in him. Then suddenly, his Aurora Descendant energy activated… "You I'm here; I'm fighting for you!" Tlandar said, as he visualized the hologram of Astashica in his mind. He received supernatural strength, of a griffon. He resisted the gravitational beam and slowly, regained his mobility. His strength was increasing, becoming more powerful than the tractor beam emitted by Antares'Korven. He grabbed the heavy android creature, and rend asunder his metallic arms off, and straight kicked him away, forcefully. Tlandar shouted and revolved his cedar staff in all directions, as he too revolved in all directions, scanning the environment.
Antares'Korven's Defeat
Rigen'Vexar, the star-helmed general and Antares'Korven closed in on Tlandar. Antares'Korven tried to whack him, but Tlandar deflected his kuprix trident, counterrotated, and hit him in the head with his cedar staff, with one hand. Tlandar's move was very fast and Antares didn't see it. He was knocked down to the ground. Antares had a large, open gash in one of his temples and was bleeding heavily. "You defeated me, Ascendant!" Antares said. He couldn't get off from the ground.
Rigel'Vexar's Defeat
Only Rigel remained standing. He wielded his kuprix, urumi whip. He again whacked Tlandar with his metallic whip, which looked like the tail of a serpent. The tail of the whip wrapped around Tlandar's wooden staff. Rigel took away Tlandar's cedar staff form his hands, using his whip and hurled it away, using all his strength. "What are you going to do without your weapon, Tlandar?" Antares said, as he walked slowly towards him. "I'm stronger than that weapon!" Tlandar said. Then Tlandar stood in front of him, in fencing position, with fists up, and one fist almost in front of Antares. Then Antares whacked Tlandar with his metallic whip all over, in spheres and spheres, but Tlandar evaded all the blows, every single one of them. He close distance with Antares and grabbed the whip and rotated counterclockwise, applying an immobilization to the weapon-wielding arm.
Antares then also counterclockwise rotated, in several circles. Both of them revolved, rotated, and counterroated, and counterclockwise rotated, until Tlandar received a divine opportunity. Antares' whip was lost somewhere in the dance of circular outmaneuvers. It finally resulted in both of them, closing distance, blocking and deflecting each other's strikes with their forearms. Until Tlandar got the chance to powerfully, with a renewed strength and spirit of a thousand lions, performed a palm strike on Antares chest, sending him flying backwards, and hit himself against the pit's wall. The impact had knocked him off.
Finale
Then Vraek the host said, "It is final! The winner and champion of the Thranvalis Contest is Tlandar Varn Sareth, the Protector, from Verdantis Nexus! He has defeated all the eight Champions of Val'katl!". Then the crowd shouted and screamed in excitement. Tlandar walked the stairs, climbed up to the first spectator ring and walked slowly, victoriously, towards the Chieftain Box. Chieftain Val'katl, had been standing up all the time, since the final round began. "Tlandar, you did it! You've won the Thranvalis Contest! I'm proud of you, my son! Welcome to the Valkatlan Forces, and from now I recognize you as the real, true Protector of Astashica, and the Aurora Descendant Oracle is true," Val'katl said.