Shattered Sanity

(Battleground Arena Four, Riven’s POV)

Riven sat quietly inside the warm-up room of Battleground Arena Four, with Sky-Cleaver resting beside him while Cedric sat opposite him looking considerably more serious than usual.

"Are you ready for this fight, Dawnriver? Do you need anything from me? Anything that I can provide before your bout begins?" Cedric asked, as Riven calmly shook his head.

"Are you sure you want to fight using your halberd instead of a sword? I heard that you killed a Night Panther using a sword, while the halberd is rather new to you. Will you be fine using it?" Cedric asked, as his gaze briefly shifted towards Sky-Cleaver.

"I’ll be fine, House Leader. The only thing I could have needed from you was an Aether Pill, but if you say that they aren’t legal to take before a fight, then I suppose I have nothing else to ask from you," Riven replied, as Cedric immediately nodded.

"Yes. Aether Pills, or any other form of strength-enhancing medicine, are absolutely forbidden during Academy bouts and can have you immediately disqualified. You must rely upon the natural Aether reserves inside your body to win," Cedric explained, as Riven nodded before letting out a long sigh.

Truthfully, Riven much preferred having Circuit beside him at that moment instead of Cedric, especially since the frail strategist understood the plan they had developed better than anyone else.

However, unfortunately, Circuit did not even possess a ticket for the exhibition bout, much less the authority required to accompany Riven into one of the private warm-up rooms reserved for fighters and House leadership.

’What a shame.’

Riven thought, as he glanced towards the closed door and wondered what Circuit was doing while hundreds of other students prepared to watch the fight he had helped Riven prepare for.

"Also, don’t worry too much about the result. Winning will certainly help House Argent establish some momentum for the year, but as long as you provide a thrilling enough fight, I’m confident the students will leave here fired up regardless of the outcome," Cedric said, as his expression finally softened.

"After everything that happened during recruitment, this House needs something that can bring everyone together.....

So I only request that you give them a fight worth remembering.

But regardless of whether you win or lose, I think we’ll have the morale we need to take down Aureate and charge ahead," Cedric continued, as he tried to remove some of the pressure from Riven’s shoulders.

However, Cedric had misunderstood the source of Riven’s pressure entirely.

Riven cared little about establishing momentum for Argent, and although he certainly had no desire to embarrass the House that had selected him, its reputation was hardly what occupied his thoughts.

The name he carried mattered considerably more.

Dawnriver.

Whether he had trained with Sky-Cleaver for years or barely a day, whether Gary possessed more experience than him or whether everyone watching expected an incredible performance, none of those things mattered to him as much as his surname.

He was entering the arena as Riven Dawnriver, heir to one of the Four Great Ducal Houses of the Valdrak Empire, and the thought of humiliating that name before hundreds of spectators bothered him far more than disappointing Argent ever could.

’I can’t embarrass Father.’

Riven thought, as he slowly cleared everything else from his mind and focused upon the fight awaiting him.

"House Leader, we’re ready for Riven," Gwen informed from the doorway a moment later, as Cedric immediately rose from his seat.

Riven stood alongside him and secured Sky-Cleaver at his waist, before Cedric approached and gave him a firm pat across the back.

"All the best. I’ll be watching you from behind the judges’ panel. If you feel like you can’t win through offense, focus on defending and keeping yourself in the fight," Cedric advised, as Riven listened carefully.

"If the fifteen minutes expire without a decisive victor, the judges will determine the winner through scoring, and those decisions can sometimes be unpredictable. Don’t throw away the fight because you believe you need to force a finish," Cedric added, as Riven nodded.

"I understand, House Leader," Riven replied, before turning towards the passage leading out of the warm-up room.

He drew Sky-Cleaver from his waist and supplied a small amount of Aether into the ancient weapon, causing its collapsed frame to rapidly extend until the halberd reached its full length within his hands.

Riven tightened his grip around the familiar shaft before walking through the passage, as the noise from the arena grew louder with every step he took.

Then he stepped onto the battleground.

The reaction was immediate.

Hundreds of voices erupted throughout the arena as Riven emerged from the passageway, with cheers descending from every direction while he instinctively looked towards the surrounding stands.

’Holy shit.’

Riven thought, as his eyes widened slightly.

’There are so many people watching me.’

Nearly five hundred spectators filled the seats surrounding the battleground, which was almost half the population of Ashfang Village and easily more people than Riven remembered ever seeing gathered together in one place.

Knowing that practically every person inside the arena was currently watching him caused the hairs across his arms to rise, while an uncomfortable wave of goosebumps spread across his skin.

His heartbeat accelerated alongside his breathing, as the sudden pressure of being watched by hundreds of strangers began affecting him more than he expected.

For all the pain his reconstructed body had endured and all the confidence associated with the Dawnriver name, nothing had prepared Riven for the strange pressure of walking into an arena filled with hundreds of people who had paid specifically to watch him fight.

’Calm down.’

Riven thought, as he deliberately drew a deep breath through his nose before slowly releasing it.

He repeated the process several times while continuing towards the center of the battleground, gradually forcing his breathing back under control even as the cheers continued around him.

’Remember to always move with grace...’

The familiar instruction surfaced naturally within his mind.

Riven straightened his posture, relaxed his shoulders and raised one hand towards the spectators cheering for him, acknowledging them with a restrained wave while maintaining the composed appearance expected of a Dawnriver heir.

The nervousness had not disappeared.

His heart still beat considerably faster than normal, and the knowledge that hundreds of eyes remained fixed upon him still felt strange.

But none of that showed on his face.

*Step* *Step*

Riven eventually reached his designated starting position and planted the lower end of Sky-Cleaver against the ground, waiting quietly for his opponent to arrive.

Several moments later, another eruption of cheers spread across the arena.

Gary Ironveil emerged from the opposite passage with an Academy-issued longsword secured at his side, rolling his neck from one direction to the other while lightly bouncing upon his feet as he entered the battleground.

The reception he received was almost as loud as Riven’s.

However, unlike Riven, Gary appeared considerably more comfortable beneath the attention, as he waved towards several sections of the crowd before continuing towards the center with the relaxed confidence of someone far more accustomed to being watched.

Riven quietly studied him as he approached.

The Academy-issued sword immediately caught his attention.

’It’s just like Circuit said..... it means, I at least have a shot at victory.’

Riven thought, as that sight reassured him more than any encouragement Cedric had offered inside the warm-up room, because the weapon hanging from Gary’s waist meant that at least one crucial assumption behind their strategy had proven correct.

Gary noticed Riven staring at him and responded with a small grin before giving him a playful wink.

Riven tightened his fingers around Sky-Cleaver.

The noise surrounding them gradually became less important as Gary stopped at the opposite starting position and drew his longsword, allowing the blade to settle comfortably within his hand.

"Don’t hold back on me today, Dawnriver.

These people have paid good money to see us fight, so.... Let’s not disappoint them."

Gary said, as Riven merely snorted in response, before assuming a fighting stance.

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