The squires made their way down the red road, eight in total. Each having earned their right to be a part of Rage through their journey through the Red Red Road forts. All squires had earned their prestige and proven they had skill to battle before the lord that stood above their kind. The one who had risen and built a path for them all to follow in doing so.

  The squire Razor Leg was the first through the gates into the courtyard of Lord Red Razor's armory. They looked around in awe for a moment at the courtyard covered in spikes. Stands stood to their left and right bristling with sharp points as if daring them to come closer to be pierced. At the center of the courtyard was an empty dirt courtyard. The only thing in the dirt yard was a line of spikes that seemed to threaten all with a promise of pain and blood if they tried to cross it.

  Though the threats of spikes that surround them were not what got their attention. No, it was the observation platform opposite the gate they entered that drew the attention of all eight squires. For upon it was their lord himself, Red Razor Armory. His presence hovered over them as a physical thing of wraith.

  All eight squires without exception made their way forward and bowed before the lord. Whose physical rage left them in awe of his majesty. For a moment they were left to stew in silence, then he spoke to them. "Good you have come; I was tiring of waiting." "Red razor armory," he said, his voice tinged with his ever-present rage. "Now two of you to the field; the rest wait for their turn." Red Razor Armory demanded of them, to which they quickly obeyed.

  So it was that two squires randomly out of the right themselves faced each other across the tilt yard. While the other six scattered themselves across the nearby stands to watch the first match of the tournament. The first two squires to fight were angry undead grass spiders called Red Thrust and Bloody Leaper. Razor Leg had heard of the two as he talked with others of his kind walking the red road.

  Red Thrust was known for standing on his back legs and pulling his front legs up to use them as spears to try and stab his enemies to defeat with a well-placed thrust. Well, the Bloody Leaper was very different, as he used his legs for agility, jumping around building up momentum until he could bring sharp fangs to bear on his opponents. This had caused him to leave quite the mess when he defended the red road, leaving a red paste where greater insects used to be.

  So while both were skilled warriors, neither was suited for the type of rushing attack that the tournament was set up for. So it would be interesting to see how both adapted to the setup of the tournament. The two took their positions on opposite ends. The Bloody Leaper flexed his legs while the Red Thrust practiced his thrust with one side while maintaining his weight and balance in the other leg.

  The two squires quickly got themselves ready under Red Razor Armory's impatient gaze. Then at an unspoken signal that the two somehow knew had been given, they both moved forward while on opposite sides of the spike fence. Bloody Leaper did so with tiny jumps, while Red Thrust charged forward with his right side and back legs while his left legs were held up to thrust.

  As the two came close to the point of contact, Bloody Leaper made a giant leap and came down on his side, but his fangs extended to the right. Red Thrust met Bloody Leaper's fang with a focused thrust of his left leg. The two sides met with a loud clashing sound echoing throughoutthe tournament grounds.

  For a moment silence reigned as the two made it to their opposite sides seemingly unhurt. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Bloody Leaper's right fang falls right off, a clean slash clearly visible to show why. Bloody Leaper, now angry, turned around, eager to start the next fight, to which Red Thrust happily obliged, his natural anger meeting Bloody Leaper's.

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  The two did as they did before, though Bloody Leaper's jumps were far higher, and he came down with far more force. When the two met, Bloody Leaper did it with his other large fang and with far more force. The resulting sound of clashing blades echoed far louder than before. The following silence hung even heavier than before, but like before, Bloody Leaper lost a fang, his last one.

  All knew that Bloody Leaper's fangs were his favored weapons. So Red Thrust had effectively disarmed him. So the round had gone to him; with that knowledge known, Red Thrust turned to leave the tilt yard. Bloody Leaper let loose an angry hiss, making it very clear he was not willing to accept defeat so easily. Though before he could do anything more, Lord Red Razor Armory made his decision known.

  "You have lost; now go to the benches." "Lord Red Razor Armory," he said, his voice carrying the weight of both his rage and his authority. Bloody Leaper obeyed, though all the squires heard the pleasure in Lord Red Razor Armory's voice. Though none of them were sure why he was pleased with the match or either squire's performance exactly.

  Lord Red Razor Armory watched the two squires leave, and two more began making their way down to take their place. He had been pleased with Bloody Leaper's action, for the only right response to defeat was rage, as that was what had allowed them to rise to where they were now. He looked on, hoping the squires would continue to show they were worthy of being here.

  The two squires face each other across the tilt yard. Lord Red Razor Armory knew both of them, as he did all the squires who were part of this tournament. The one to his left was a centipede called the Blood Heads, and the one to his right was a spider called the Red Wall. Their names were both earned as usual for squires by how they fought.

  As Blood Heads used the elemental side of their species to his advantage. He would routinely create false heads along his body, then use them in battle to either attack from or to fool his opponent as to which way Blood Heads was actually facing. A rather tricky tactic for one of their kind, which would not be all that effective in the tournament as it was set up.

  The other squires also used a rare tactic for their kind. He relied on a defensive strategy, which was using a shield made out of twigs and his legs to hold his opponents at bay. He did this until he had a perfect moment to strike with a spare leg, which we then used with devastating effectiveness, from what little Lord Red Razor Armory had heard of his fights.

  So the two stood on opposite sides as the two squires before them had. Blood Heads practiced making false heads for a few moments while Red Wall maneuvered his shield a few times, trying to see the best way to hold it for the blow that would be coming. Then, just as before, the two stopped their short practice session, and at an unheard signal, charged at each other along the small spike wall.

  The two built up a fair bit of momentum before the clash, and so it was that when one of Blood Head's false heads crashed into Red Wall's shield from his centipede body that his false head crumbled against the shield with a mighty grinding sound, and the two just barely kept going past each other. Though one broken face head was not enough to take out Blood Heads, and Red Wall did not have the timing yet to counter after taking the hit on his shield.

  So the two turned around on their opposing sides and charged once more to the same results. They then did it again and again. Eventually Blood Heads' sides were covered in crushed fake heads. Though finally on the last run after a dozen of such runs, Red Wall had his timing down and delivered a counter thrust that went into Blood Head's lower body, which, after taking more damage in his upper body, managed to unbalance him.

  Blood Heads flipped himself over from being unbalanced. It was clear at that point after having so much of himself crushed and Red Wall now having the timing down to deliver a powerful counterblow that it was over for Blood Heads. So just as before, Red Wall turned to leave the field, knowing of his victory. Blood Heads disagreed and twisted his body, growing six new false heads at once to show he was able and willing to continue.

  "No, you have done well and have earned your name many times over. Go to the bench and recover." Commanded Lord Red Razor Armory, to which he was obeyed. The lord found himself pleased once more at the squires unwillingness to admit defeat. He found himself leaning a bit more forward from his observation platform, wondering how the rest of these first-round matches of the jousting tournament would go.