The air is thick with tension, the taste of copper and incense lingering from the spells that had sealed the arena minutes before. The sky above the Archery Fields of Thaloria are washed in gold and purple light, and the crowd gathered in breathless silence. This is not a contest of arrows anymore. It is a battle of wills.
The Archery Finals of the 115th Grand Thalorian Tourney has begun.
Two competitors. One from fire. One from frost. Lady Nelaessa of House Seafyre, daughter of flame and fury, stood tall in her crimson leathers, blindfold already drawn across her eyes. Her dragonbone bow, pulsing faintly with embers, rest easily in her hand.
Across the range, the mysterious Frostmark sniper, now openly nicknamed the Grey Ghost, stood without ceremony, his own blindfold tied with a prec
