The courtyard of Aerinthal seemed suspended in anticipation,
As if the very air itself held its breath.
Kael Gravemont stepped forward,
Golden hair catching the sunlight like molten threads,
Piercing blue eyes fixed unwaveringly on Princess Aelina Skyfall.
The wind responded instinctively,
Circling him with a reverent grace,
Lifting dust and banners as if the elements themselves awaited his command.
His posture was regal yet deceptively relaxed A noble born into power,
Every gesture precise,
Every motion a lesson in control,
Aelina met his gaze,
Her silver-blue hair cascading around her shoulders,
Her deep-neck gown accentuating the elegance of a warrior honed to perfection.
She raised her arms,
And the air around her coiled and shivered like living strands of silk.
Ready to lash with lethal precision,
Even the most skilled students of the Royal Academy would have envied her mastery,
Yet the citizens and royal guards watching sensed this was no ordinary duel,
It was a testament to elemental supremacy.
Kael inclined his head slightly,
A gesture of acknowledgment.
"Air versus Air.
No tricks,
No hidden advantages.
Shall we?"
"As you wish, My lord,"
Aelina replied,
Her voice steady,
Carrying the weight of challenge as the wind tightened around her fists.
The duel began,
Aelina's first strike came swift and sharp,
A compressed blade of air slicing through the space between them.
Banners tore,Dust spiraled,
The ground shivered under the force.
Kael moved with near-imperceptible grace,
Bending the blade's path with a flick of his wrist no counterattack,
No extra element, Only wind yielding to wind.
The strike passed harmlessly, Spectacular yet futile,
Ademonstration of pure precision.
Then Aelina's eyes blazed with determination, a spark that could rival the sun.
She stepped back,
Launching herself skyward with a trail of whirling air currents spiraling like silver ribbons behind her.
With a sudden, precise thrust,
She smashed downward.
The arena floor split apart beneath her fist,
A chasm fifteen meters long and twenty-five meters deep swallowing dust and debris in its wake.
Wind tore through the courtyard,
Carrying stones and banners like paper.
Kael anticipated part of the strike,
Deflecting the worst but a thin crimson line appeared across his right cheek.
The crowd gasped,
Even a scratch on Kael Gravemont was a mark of extraordinary skill.
For a heartbeat, The world seemed to pause.
Kael's playful smirk vanished, Replaced by a chilling, demonic calm.
The air stilled unnaturally.
His aura expanded, a storm barely contained,
Blue eyes darkened to molten red, Hair lifting as if alive,
The ground itself vibrated beneath him.
Debris spun into miniature tornadoes,
The arena trembling under his presence alone,
He drew his long sword,
The blade humming as it absorbed the currents of air around him,
Right foot back,
Left foot forward,
Knees bent,
He became a conduit of elemental force,
With a deliberate nip of the blade,
Kael released a monumental strike.
The air around him twisted into a colossal vortex,
Spiraling upward with a deafening roar.
Ground cracked further,
Banners shredded,
And the thirty meter arena walls collapsed under the pressure.
Yet through the chaos,
Kael's focus never wavered he had no intention of harming Aelina.
The gusts of wind continued to tear through the arena like living entities,
Bending reality itself to his will.
"You pushed me harder than I expected,"
Kael's voice cut through the storm,
Low, Resonant, Commanding.
Let me show you the next level of control.
With a sudden pivot, He began to circle her, Moving faster than the eye could track,
Dust swirled into a blinding haze as Aelina strained to locate him.
Air Slash,
Aelina erected a defensive wall of wind,
A shimmering barrier of pure force,
Kael's blade didn't merely strike;
It carved through air, stone, and steel alike.
The force shattered her control,
Sending her tumbling backward but Kael caught her effortlessly,
One hand steady on her waist.
Suspended in his arms,
Her cheeks warmed despite herself.
She glimpsed the aftermath the arena roof scorched and buckled from the pressure,
Clouds above shredded by turbulence,
And the chasm widening into a gaping scar across the ground.
The crowd erupted in a thunderous roar, Chanting Kael's name,
Then honoring Aelina's courage and beauty the testament of a warrior who dared stand against the heir of Gravemont.
Even Queen Serenya Skyfall,Perched high in the gallery, Felt her heart tighten,
Awe and fear coiled together in her chest.
This was no mere duel it was a royal demonstration of elemental mastery,
A spectacle worthy of legend.
Kael leaned closer,
Their faces mere inches apart,
His voice a silken whisper above the storm,
"I believe I have won this duel."
The demonic aura faded replaced by the calm elegance of the heir.
Dust settled,
Leaving both warriors victorious in their own right.
Lady Elenora Gravemont tugged lightly at Kael's eara grounding reminder.
"Eat first, my son.
You've proven more than enough today."
Kael's expression softened.
Even after a display bordering on godlike mastery he was still her son disciplined,
Guided, and humble under the weight of his own power.
Later, in the quiet of his chambers,
Kael shed his cloak stepping from a steaming shower,
Towel wrapped around his waist.
He reflected on Aelina her Courage, Precision,
Elegance in every strike.
That single punch that drew blood lingered in his mind, igniting admiration, curiosity, and something deeper.
A knock broke his thoughts.
The door opened slowly,
Revealing,
Queen Serenya Skyfall.
The duel had ended, but the challenge, respect, and simmering tension between kingdoms remained, unspoken yet unmistakable.
Outside,
The winds whispered across Aerinthal, carrying echoes of destruction and restraint, power and mercy.
Kael Gravemont, heir of all five elements,
Had showcased mastery of one alone and yet it was enough to leave kingdoms in awe.
The true storm, however, was yet to arrive.
To be continued…