The X803 Ishgar/Othrys Annual Tournament

"Hello citizens of Ishgar!" called the announcer. "Today is the first ever Ishgar/Othrys Annual tournament! And I'm sure it will be a sight to behold, on par with the Grand Magic Games!  Hosted by our generous new allies in Othrys, their King, Typhos Saturnalia, will now lead the progressions."

The young king stepped forward from his balcony. He was wearing his formal attire, his battle armor. Joining him were his two bodyguards, Noah and Altar, as well as his sister, Proserpina, and her bodyguard Vega. Other people watching from his booth included, surprisingly, Aether Cade, former guild master of Dragon Gunfire, his mother Miriam, and Jason Gaebolg, the young king's half brother. As the three were all citizens of Ishgar, Typhos had hoped it would further his goal in brokering peace between Ishgar and Othrys. "Greetings!" he exclaimed through the microphone lacrima. "I welcome you to my country. I would just like to state how pleased I am that so many of you have decided to see this spectacle of mine.  I hope that our two civilizations can live in peace, now that we are rid of the dreaded Svartalfar.  Now, let the games begin!"

"Now, first it's time to introduce the mages competing on Othrys' side," continued the announcer. "We have, in ascending rank based upon their role in this country's military, the World Scorcher Ragna, the Undetectable Largo Doomkaiser, Air God Velocity, Blue Devil Alexius, and the Demon of Destruction Jaco! This sure is an interesting lineup of mages indeed!"

It most certainly was. None of the mages representing Othrys looked human. The five mages sat down in their seats near the edge of the arena, crossing their legs. They all looked calm, and collected, except for Velocity, who couldn't keep still.

"I should be down there," said Adze from the Othrys half of the spectator stands. "Why wasn't I chosen to represent us!"

"Because Adze," said Librum, "you're only ranked ninth. These are our top five commanders."

"Yeah Adze," said Reaper, "I'm ranked sixth, and you don't see me complaining about it.

"Besides," began Haven, "I prefer assured victory over possible any day. If we lose this tournament, Ishgar might think we're weak and invade.  Our past would give them justification for doing so.  I wouldn't be surprised if this is why they agreed to the tournament in the first place."

Adze was fuming with rage. "What do you think Manos?"

Manos looked at Adze, then at the others, and began to speak so quickly and incoherently that no man on earth could have possibly understood what he was saying, then he suddenly went silent, stopping in the middle of his sentence.

"This is why no one likes to talk to you," said Reaper.