To say Daemon felt bad would be an understatement, with the aura he'd gotten from Amory he has gotten a bit stronger and he had very easily beaten Edmure. He tried his hardest even going for a last-ditch effort and tried to launch a bubble of Aura that he transmuted into water at Daemon, however, it was easy to dodge and Daemon continued soundly beating him.
He didn't use his aura abilities on him, he was Lysa's brother so stealing his aura felt a bit wrong. It was over very quickly as well, the part he felt guilty over was watching the look of despair on his face when he saw that his father had left and wasn't watching his match anymore. He hadn't seen Edmure after that match though even though he didn't like him he didn't deserve that kind of treatment.
Right now he was sitting by Rhaella in complete disbelief as he watched the match between Petyr Baelish and Richard Lonmouth. Petyr had started the match as he always did by shaking his hand, every time he got knocked down he was helped up he Richard and each time Petyr seemed to gain the upper hand. Daemon didn't know what to make of it.
He looked towards Barristan "Ser Barristan do you know what is happening here" and the man nods his head, Rhaella looks towards him as well as she is interested.
"I won't reveal everything but I think it's safe to say Richard won't be winning this match" he says solemnly
"Richard has a unique ability called 'Noble Vow' which makes his aura stronger if he embodies the ideals of a true knight. This limitation makes Petyr Baelish his worst opponent imaginable, though I won't reveal any more as to keep the competition fair" he states.
Daemon raised his eyebrows as he saw Petyr finish off Richard by kicking him off the stage. It looked like he would be facing Petyr in the finals, while his aura is unimpressive he must have an aura ability of some kind that allows him to bridge the gap.
After the jousts Daemon heads to his room early as he tries to think about what Petyr's ability might be, he knows it can't be anything related to draining someone's aura as his aura doesn't change. If he was draining someone's aura then he should at least have access to more of it making him stronger and faster.
But he doesn't, instead, it seems as if his opponent is the one who gets slower rather than the other way around. He can't seem to make any progress in figuring it out so he just decides to meditate and then go to sleep.
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Petyr Baelish felt good about his life at the moment, for a long time he cursed that he and spat at the gods for making him so untalented in aura. But he was thankful now because he realised that instead, they had blessed him with a gifted mind. While he trained under the Black Fish he realised very quickly he'd never be able to master all the advanced aspects of aura, so instead he decided to start working on an aura ability.
After a water divination test, he found that he was a manipulator which suited him just fine, he spent over a year developing his ability and it worked magnificently. To start with anyway, he'd improve this until he became the strongest person in Westeros and it all started with this tournament. He'd win and once again ask for Catelyns hand, she was too perfect to be given to the savages of the north.
His ability 'Trustworthy Friend' was rather simple, it increased artificially increased the affection that someone felt for him. By doing this he's able to subtly influence them, he's been using this to suggest that they lower their aura output making it all too easy to beat them. He activates this by shaking their hand, however, the first handshake doesn't do much but he found that it will stop someone from trying to instantly knock him out. Each subsequent handshake will increase his control, however, it's only temporary and he can only subtly influence them. He planned to make this ability much more powerful where he could befriend the most powerful people in Westeros and have them at his beck and call.
Now he just had to beat the upstart bastard, he'd been following him at a distance for a while and noticed he seemed to have taken his place with Lysa which caused him to laugh. He could have her he wouldn't settle for second best, though it would be easy to use her to get to him in the match. He would win it was almost guaranteed.
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The match had finally come and Daemon stood in front of Petyr Baelish who had a pleasant smile on his face, the crowd was cheering as this was the last event to take place in the tournament with the joust concluding just before their match.
Daemon decided he'd end this as quickly as possible, not messing around with a dangerous and unknown ability, he'd rush him and knock him out of the arena. Petyr approached Daemon who stood there with his guard up.
"Daemon is it? I just wanted to wish you luck in the fight... I know you must not like me due to my past with Lysa but rest assured I plan to apologise, my heart was broken at the time a poor excuse I know but it lead to words I didn't mean coming out" Petyr explains with apparent sorrow as he holds out his hand for him to shake it.
Daemon can't refuse, it would be dishonourable to not shake his hand in front of everyone and make him seem like a villain. Daemon shakes his hand and they both go to their ends of the arena.
'Maybe I should give him a chance, the crowd wants a good show so I'll let him stay in the fight for a bit' Daemon found himself thinking.
The fight was announced and Daemon flared his aura it had grown rather impressively through the use of his ability growing an extra three inches in size, Baelish's by comparison was poor. Even when he first started training he didn't have such a poor aura. He snaps out of his thoughts when he sees Baelish charge at him and throws a punch, he easily dodges and punches him in the chest connecting 'Aura Tether' and throwing him to the ground as he yells in pain.
He struggles to his knees with blood coming out of his mouth and Daemon can't help but feel a bit bad.
"It's hard you know... realising that you can't get the woman you love because you're weak... I tried so hard to get stronger but it seems my frail body is forever cursed" he breathes out heavily.
"But this is not your concern... come let's fight and don't feel guilty if you beat me," Petyr says with a smile as he holds his hand up. One that Daemon finds himself automatically taking and helping him up.
Richard Lonmouth and Daemon Rivers were both earnest and believed in people, which made them prime targets for Petyr Baelish's ability who thrives on such qualities.
After helping him up he jumps back a bit giving Petyr some space to flare his aura again 'I think I should hold back a bit, he deserves a chance to stay in the fight' Daemon thinks to himself as he lowers his aura to a similar level to Petyr and charges.
The fight is a lot more even this time as Petyr's punches are faster, Daemon dodges and catches them however since his ability gave him a sort of early warning as to what he was going to do, something that Daemon only got better at predicting as he used it. Daemon knocked Petyr down once again and he slammed his head hard causing a cut to appear above his eye which made Daemon feel guilty.
Daemon went to Petyr and helped him up once again their hands connecting 'I can't believe I'm doing this to my friend, I should be giving him a chance to win, he's doing this for love and he'd do the same for me' Daemon thought to himself with a smile.
He lowered his aura once again not even using 'Enhance' but going to 'Shroud' his most basic aura technique. The people in the audience thought him to be mad while Barristan one of the three people who had figured out Petyr's ability grimaced, The others being Lord Tully and Lord Stark.
Daemon found himself on the back foot barely able to defend against Petyr who was now winning, the only reason he could stay in the fight this long was due to his aura ability but he didn't think he could last much longer, Petyr seemed to be going all out so Daemon pushes his ability harder than he ever has before. His natural genius combined with his desperation seems to push his prediction ability into developing another sub-ability.
'I'm so close... I'm so close to winning then I can take Cat for myself'
'This boy is a fool, to think I'd apologise to that ugly girl she can be a mistress to me once I become Lord of Riverrun, only fit to bare my bastards'
Daemon finds himself starting to realise what was happening, his 'Aura Tether' allowed him to predict his opponent's move by studying their body and looking for the slightest twitches. It seemed In his effort to push his ability further he has now started to read the person's thoughts. Daemon was angry now and went to flare up his Aura however he realised he couldn't.
"So that's how it is... Your ability you used it on me the first time you shook my hand, I planned to knock you out right as the match started but after shaking your hand I had a change of heart" Daemon said in a low voice venom dripping from his words.
"You're smarter than I gave you credit for I expected you to be a meathead, but it doesn't matter the conditions have been met so you won't be able to use your aura above the level you have now. You're trapped in my ability" He stated with a malicious smile.
As Daemon continued to press forward, throwing punch after punch at Petyr, he couldn't help but feel frustrated. No matter how hard he tried, his strikes seemed to miss their mark, with Petyr's 'Enhance' ability allowing him to dance away effortlessly.
Daemon's 'Aura Tether' ability was the only thing keeping him in the fight, giving him precious moments to dodge Petyr's swift attacks. The new aspect of 'Aura Tether' seemed to be working, but it only served to fuel Daemon's anger further. Petyr's taunts and disrespectful thoughts about Lysa were like fuel to the fire, and Daemon's determination to win only intensified.
His mind focused on the fight, and he continued to dodge and block Petyr's attacks, seeking an opening to land a decisive blow. But with every passing moment, Daemon's frustration grew, and he found it increasingly difficult to control his emotions.
As Petyr's mind wandered, thinking of all the things he would do once he became lord, Daemon could no longer hold back. Then he thought of Lyanna as the final straw and how he'd mount her like a wolf bitch, and he snapped. His whole body trembled in rage as he faced Petyr his eyes shifting from their usual purple to a crimson red.
While few could see this those who could be shocked, Barristan and Rhaella amongst them "He must be related to us if he has the 'Crimson Eyes' I've never heard of a person outside the Targaryens who had them and even in our family they are rare" Rhaella states with shock in her voice.
Barristan found himself speechless the boy was a monster having all that talent and 'Crimson Eyes' he'd become one of the top Aura users in Westeros. However, he seemed to almost buckle and fall to the floor when he saw that Daemon once again flared his aura, something that should've been impossible due to Baelish's Manipulation ability 'No one can break out of a manipulator grasp once the conditions are met... unless' Barristan thought as his eyes widened.
Down in the arena, Daemon flared his aura it being over twice the size of Petyr's. Petyr had a sour expression on his face "How are you doing that! You shouldn't be able to do that! I had you! You were mine!"
Daemon walks over to Petyr and backhands him throwing him to the floor his entire face is bruised where Daemon's hand hit. Petyr looks up at Daemon and sees the cold expression on his face but what surprises him even more is that he reaches down to help Petyr up, he wastes no time in activating his ability once again but his smile doesn't last long as he's promptly punched and thrown to the floor again.
Petyr moans in pain as he holds his nose and rolls around on the floor, he looks up to see Daemon helping him up again. Petyr activates his ability but without pause Daemon hits him, Petyr's frustration grew as no matter how many times he used his ability it wouldn't work. Petyr's face was a bloody mess as he could barely move his aura was about to fail and yet Daemon still helped him up grabbing his limp hand and lifting him to eye level before once again punching him.
Daemon sees that his aura had just fallen meaning he must've passed out, Petyr must've used all the aura he had in the last few minutes of the fight.
'I wish I could say I'm sorry for this... but I'm not' Daemon thought to himself.
'Spoils of War'
Daemon had never used this on someone who had such low talent before and such small reserves he could only guess that it would make the year of his training worthless sending him right back to his beginning levels of aura. Daemon couldn't say that he cared much, he deserved it. Daemon's eyes turned from red back to purple and he suddenly felt exhausted.
The crowd cheered and went wild for their champion and Daemon did his best to smile and acknowledge the crowd. The ceremony was pretty boring he stood there with the winner of the archery contest and the jousting contest and received their winnings. 20,000 gold dragons was more than Daemon had ever seen in his entire life and he had no clue what to do with it.
For now, he asked Lysa to keep it safe in her room as he didn't trust the security of the servant's quarters. Right now he was sitting next to Rhaella something that was considered an honour but his mind was elsewhere.
(AN: I got nothing to say except I hate littlefinger.)
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