With the sign-up complete, Kai lingered near the edge of the Forne Coliseum's practice yard, tucked in the shadows of a crumbling statue of some long-forgotten champion, or possibly even a god.
The yard buzzed with activity even at this hour, trainees sparred, and weapons clashed. There were no bursts of flame or frost lighting up the training pits. No magic that left the fighters' bodies.
Each strike was a reminder that, despite his power in the shadows, his undead army, the battlefield of the tournament would demand something raw. Brutal. Personal.
'No external magic,' he reminded himself. 'No summoned skeletons. No shadow magic. Nothing elemental, either. Flight would work if I'd managed to get it to work. Strengthening magic will have to do. Maybe something else if I get creative.'
He scanned the sand-pitted area, sizing up the others who had already enlisted.
