Tirsday, 7th of Juno, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

Josias saw his uncle approaching him with a smile as he gave him a wave. Josias was at a loss as to what to do but he smiled back and nodded, acknowledging his presence. When Partogi had reached close to greet Josias, Timotheus had stepped in between the two.

"What business do you have here?" Timotheus said curtly as he stared down his father.

Partogi only frowned at the sight of his son in a western cassock. He refused to look Timotheus in the eyes, keeping his gaze trained on Josias. Though, Josias could see his uncle's eyes wavering slightly.

"Get out of my way. I have nothing to say to you." Partogi spat out through gritted teeth. "I'm here to speak to my son* (In Halak terms, a nephew from one's brother as a man is one's son) Josias. Not to someone who has rejected his own father."

"Funny, you should say that. I'm sure ompung thinks the same way about you."

At that comment, Partogi's eyes flickered as he immediately unleashed his aura and grabbed Timotheus. Timotheus in turn unleashed his mana as well. The people around them had started taking notice and some were even calling over a few Matanitao warriors to intervene. Though when the warriors had come, they sensed the mana and aura being unleashed and immediately figured that the dispute was above their level of competence to deal with.

Josias felt something different from his uncle's mana. The last he heard of his uncle, he was still a fourth star warrior. But this…

Parulian finally came in between the two to intervene.

"Alright, gentlemen, that's enough. You two are scaring the regular folks…" Parulian had instead used his own aura to combat their raging energy. "Also, congratulations on your ascension to the fifth star, younger brother."

With Parulian's interference, Partogi and Timotheus finally withdrew their aura and bloodlust. Timotheus looked like he was still going to say something but one look from Parulian was enough to quiet him. Parulian then turned to Partogi. "So what was it you wanted to say, brother?"

Partogi looked at his elder brother with a mixed expression. He looked like he was about to say something before he eventually sighed. Partogi only held his brother's arm and shook his head before he turned to Josias.

"I only wanted to congratulate Josias on his stellar victory during the match. He deserves all the glory for it." Partogi said as he pat Josias on his shoulders.

"No, the glory is all God's…" Josias said without a second thought before he realised he was talking to his uncle. He immediately tried to fix his wording, "I mean, like I call him God but if you see it from a certain perspective, within the framework of the old ways, the creator-..."

"Josi, it's fine…" Partogi said with a slight chuckle as he shook his head. "I'll take it that you accept my compliment then… That's good…"

Partogi's head then turned towards the spot where the children were watching a puppet show. His gaze softened a little and a soft smile appeared on his face before he closed his eyes and turned his gaze back to his older brother's.

"...I'd like to thank you for taking care of my little ones, abang…" Partogi said.

"You don't need to thank me for taking care of my children." Parulian said as he held his brother's shoulders. Partogi nodded but Timotheus refused to meet his father's gaze any longer.

Partogi shook his head as he sighed. "...Well then, I guess I'll be leaving…"

"That would be for the best-...! OW! Bapatua! Ouch!" Timotheus chimed in a comment to which Parulian pinched his side rather harshly.

"No matter what, he is still your father, Timo." Parulian said "Without him you wouldn't be in this world."

"Without God, I wouldn't be in this world. But it doesn't matter." Timo said as he crossed his arms. "For your sake I'll speak no more."

Parulian clicked his tongue at Timotheus' attitude. Partogi kept up his stoic and indifferent front to his son but Josias could see that his uncle's eyes were wavering and reddening slightly. Partogi looked like he wanted to say something more to his son but decided against it as he turned to leave.

Just as Partogi was about to leave, Johannes had called out to him.

"...Santabi, Tulang… (Excuse me, uncle…)" The large Johannes said rather timidly to Partogi. "I'm sorry to disrupt you like this and I'm sure you've probably heard of it by now, sir. But, uh… I wish to take your daughter as my wife… She… Maria's been very kind to me and I know how much you've loved her growing up and I just wanted to ask for your blessings, sir. Despite everything, you're still Maria's father and I…"

Partogi gave a soft smile to Johannes as he put his hand on Johannes' shoulder.

"You've grown to be a good and honest man, Jojo." Partogi said as he nodded. "I only ask that you take care of my daughter. I have heard that you two are going to be married. I don't know whether or not my father would even allow me to see that but I want you to know. I am entrusting Maria to you. Take good care of her."

"I will, tulang." Johannes said resolutely.

"Good man." With one final reassuring pat to Johannes' shoulders, Partogi turned and took his leave of the group.

In an instant the feeling in the air – at least for Josias and his family – no longer felt all that festive. Josias no longer wanted to play chess. Instead the group had gone to join the women and children in enjoying the puppet show. It would be good enough to kill some time until the afternoon match between Tanohisar and Tanjung Naria. At the very least good enough to wipe away the mixed emotions from the meeting with his uncle.

The puppet show was done in the style of the Banuan shadow puppets called the 'wayang'. Though traditionally done in one of the Banuan tongues, this particular puppet show was told in the Halak language. But judging from the puppet master's accent, he didn't seem to be a native Halak.

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The particular puppet show had told of the legend of Raja Marhillong Roha's – the eldest grandson of Si Raja Halak – many adventures in his exile from Matanitao. It was said he had travelled the wide breadth of the Halaklands before finally settling in a forest said to be owned by the Homang demon king.

For some reason that Josias couldn't explain, the daughter of the Homang demon ape king had fallen in love with Raja Marhillong Roha. Through a contrived series of trials and tribulations as well as a slaughter of a great many demon apes, Raja Marhillong Roha won the demoness' hand in marriage. Together they had several sons, the eldest of whom was Tuan Tartang.

Josias would like to just ignore such a silly story, but it doesn't help that the Sigumogo clan is descended from this demonic line. Tuan Sigumogo – the eponymous founder of Josias' clan – was the great- grandson of Tuan Tartang. Thus, if the stories were to be believed, Josias had demon blood running in his veins. But that was dozens of generations ago. Who knows what really happened.

Some other clans have stories of the old clan progenitors being married to a whole host of mythical beings. Beautiful angels from heaven, A wide roster of beautiful demonesses, nature spirits, water nymphs. The Hutanaga and Hutaraja clans were even descended from the Naganian snake men. That fact was very much confirmed as Josias had always heard stories from his grandfather of the various wars the Halak had waged with the snake-men.

Soon enough, the puppet play had ended. The audience threw coins into the puppetmaster's assistant's pouch as a form of payment. And with that, it seemed like the time for the next match had arrived between Tanohisar and Tanjung Naria. Josias had pondered whether or not he wanted to watch the match but given that the winner of the match would be fighting Goria in the semifinals, he didn't have much of a chance.

As the women and children took their leave back to the encampment area or continued to enjoy the festival, Josias and the rest of the men returned to the tournament field.

The second match between Tanjung Naria and Tanohisar was a relatively brutal slog. During the first half, it was a tight back and forth between the two teams with each losing a single warrior. However, when the second half came up, the Tanjung Narians became more aggressive in their assault.

The Tanohisar returned the pleasure in kind. Soon enough the match had devolved into a slugfest until finally – when the time had run out – Tanjung Naria had been declared the winner by technicality. There were still three warriors left on the Tanjung Narian side compared to the two on Tanohisar's side.

Tanjung Naria had won a victory, but the winners didn't dare to celebrate in mirth. It wasn't a victory worth the celebration despite the loud cheers of the crowd. Alvaro had instinctively shot a glance at Josias. Josias only gave him a smug smirk and rolled his eyes. Obviously, the Prince of the Sinaria didn't take too kindly to Josias' snide expression. But that was exactly why Josias did it.

And with that, the matches of the day were finished. Josias left the tournament field basically assured of his entry into the finals. He was determined to end his semifinals match as quickly as possible.

***

Freeday, 8th of Juno, 470th Year of the Fifth Era

Josias and his companions continued to watch the matches of the next day. It was the second part of the quarterfinals. As with the system the day before, there would be one match in the morning and another in the afternoon.

The first morning match of the day was the match between Saorma and Rumaparau. Obviously, the Gorians were there to support their Rumaparau ally. Based on Josias' own instincts from the matches he had witnessed, he had expected for Rumaparau to win the match. However, Saorma had a secret up their sleeves.

Before the match had started, Saorma was given permission to have 'sacred waters' of their own for the blessings before the match. A Saorma elder had blessed the waters and gave the cups for the warriors to drink. What happened afterwards during the match however was something that Josias considered to be less than honourable.

Josias didn't know what the Saorma had put in their drinks, but it had enhanced the fighting capabilities of their warriors greatly. Their aura and mana energy raged more intensely around them. They fought like madmen possessed. Their speed had increased and their strength had increased with perhaps a noticeable decrease to their coordination.

The match ended within the first half as the Saorma overwhelmed the Rumaparau. It was a brutal fight with only two Saorma left standing despite their earlier consumption of whatever concoction it was. Even those Saorma warriors left standing eventually fell unconscious with blood running from their noses.

Naturally, the King of Rumaparau had disputed the results of the match with the elders of Matanitao and especially with the king of Saorma. He had openly called the practice of consuming unknown 'sacred waters' as dishonest. He also called the King of Saorma a poor pauper capable of winning only through cheap trickery and treachery. He also pointed out the fact that not long after the match was held, the Saorma had also fallen due to the consequence of their own drink.

The Saorma had shot back saying that there was no explicit rule against such a practice of drinking elixirs before a match. They argued that in a real fight anything goes and that – so long as no direct unwarranted harm was afforded towards their opponents – it was licit.

Josias didn't know what else was said but it got to the point where several Rumaparau senior warriors were about to clash with the Saorma. This was obviously bad for the Saorma as on a whole they did not have the military capability that Rumaparau was able to showcase. Luckily for them – though unluckily for Josias because he desired to see the crafty foxes shown their place – the confrontation was eventually dispersed by a mediation from the Matanitao.

The Matanitao elders eventually decided to still rule the match in favour of the Saorma despite some of their number openly critiquing the decision. They apologised profusely to the Rumaparau but argued that since the Saorma didn't explicitly break any rules, it was an oversight on Matanitao's part. It would be unfair to penalise a team for doing something they were not aware was illegal.

To appease the Rumaparau, the council had offered them some form of monetary compensation. However, the King of Rumaparau straight out refused calling it a 'beggar's change' and instead opted to just walk out of the tourney field with the rest of his entourage,

And so another match was won by the Saorma through trickery and technicality. Truly a win for their elders more than their warriors. Josias could only shake his head at the thought. If things continued as they did like this, Josias wasn't even sure if Silua could come up with a countermeasure against the Saorma.

Regardless, all he could do is hope for the best. Between the dishonorable Saorma and the crafty yet still somewhat principled Nabolga, it was obvious who Josias would be supporting tomorrow.

***

As Josias had expected, the fight in the afternoon was indeed a showcase of Silua's genius and strategy compared to the background machinations of any elders. The fight between Hutabanua and Nabolga was a testament to the young strategist Silua's eccentric yet effective thinking.

Hutabanua had employed a more traditionally defensive stance against the Nabolga for the match. However – instead of opting for a more offensive tactic – Silua and his companions had instead sat down and practically ignored the Hutabanuans. If the Hutabanuans weren't going to attack, then they could do whatever suited them.

It had gotten so ridiculous that the Nabolga warriors even started playing games like thumb wrestling or traditional 'suten' (a.n: Rock paper scissors but with ant, human, elephant instead) games.

The crowd watching the match were of course confused but eventually they began laughing at the absurdity. This lack of action greatly confused the Hutabanuans who finally decided to take the bait and adopt a more offensive stance.

But to their chagrin, instead of engaging them, the Nabolga got up and moved further and further away from them. The match soon became a game of cat and mouse with the Hutabanuans chasing the Nabolga throughout the field all over the place.

Just when the match was about to be called, the entirety of the Nabolga team unleashed their auras and went for one member of the Hutabanua they had pegged for the weakest. When that one member was eliminated, the hourglass for the match had run out of sand. The Nabolga had carved out a victory on the technicality that they ended the match with more members left than the Hutabanua.

Josias laughed at the absurdity of it all. He changed his mind on the prospect of the semifinals between Saorma and Nabolga. If this was the kind of craftiness the Nabolga dared to employ, they might give the rules lawyers of the Saorma a run for their money. The Semifinals were fast approaching and they were shaping up to look like something far more interesting than Josias had hoped.

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