You win Round One.

Lira and Aella lead you to where a large group of men are undressing or selecting a wooden weapon from a wall of weapons. You notice the men who stand ready wear only a loin cloth with their chosen weapons in hand. An older man looks you up and down, writes your name down, and selects a loincloth from a pile and hands it to you.

"We will give your clothes to Yvette to hold onto" Lira states looking expectantly at you. You look past them to see Yvette, Rene, and Dawn watch you with a combination of excitement and amusement, and then you turn to see Lina sitting at the head table craning her neck to watch you. She immediately turns to look at something else when she sees you noticed her, but you can tell she's just waiting for you to look away again. Shrugging your shoulders you strip naked and hand your clothes to Aella who just stands there staring.

"Aella...Aella" Lira says trying to get Aella's attention. "AELLA" she finally yells.

"Hmm...what...yes" Aella asks finally looking at her mother.

"You can go take the clothes to Yvette now" Lira smirks.

"Um...yes...the clothes...I'll just...I'll uh...just go do that now" she says turning quickly and briskly walking away. You take a moment to examine the loincloth. It is a single piece of leather with two straps of leather that look like they tie together somehow. Lira, noticing your confusion, takes the loincloth from you and steps closer. Smirking, she looks down for a moment biting her lower lip before wrapping the loincloth around your waist, and started tying the two straps of leather together. She pushes her breast right into your face as she looks down at you while she ties her knot. She takes a step back to examine her work, and seemingly satisfied nods her head to show it is on correctly now.

"You are very favored by the Gods when they made you it would seem" Lira chuckles.

"Don't get me started" you reply offhandedly as you start examining what is left of the steel wood weapons.

Going with what you know best so far you pick one that resembles a longsword. You run your finger along its edge noting it was too dull to do anything, and you quickly swing it around with a few twists and twirls to get a feel for its weight and balance. Surprisingly it is very well balanced while remaining lighter than any blade you've held so far. A dangerous combination for quick slashes and stabs, though you worry it wouldn't necessarily do much against simple armor in that regard. Still, putting an unbreakable rune on one that has been sharpened would make for a nifty blade for Jane you think.

"I must go sit with my daughter now" Lira says grabbing your attention "but I wish you luck in battle" she says lowering her head in a bow.

"Thank you Lira. Judging by the size of some of these men a little luck might go a long way" you reply bowing your head in return. You watch Lira walk toward her seat next to Lina, who you notice is no longer trying to hide what her motives are. The boom of a large drum sounds off and the crowd cheers excitedly as Lira takes her seat. She waves to the crowd for a moment before standing and gesturing for the crowd to quiet down. It takes a moment, but finally silence takes over the crowd.

"I know we are all excited for fun and feast so I will keep this short. Today my daughter Lina becomes a woman" she exclaims earning a cheer from the crowd again, which makes Lira call for silence again. "I can not express well enough how happy I am to see the woman she has become, and I wish nothing but the best for her as she walks through life's challenges as a proud Amazon woman" she exclaims again earning another cheer. This time she pulls Lina up to stand and pulls her into a hug. The crowd gets even louder when Lira holds Lina's hand in the air. For several minutes the crowd roars as Lina waves to them, before Lira finally quiets them down again.

"We start the festivities today with a tournament of skill in battle. Twenty men have joined to show honor to my daughter, but only one can ultimately win. We salute the honor and courage these men show today. We are also blessed to have the first outsider in centuries fighting for my daughter today" she exclaims. The cheer the crowd gives as you step forward to wave is a mixture of cheers with some boos mixed in. Nodding your head you step back accepting that it isn't surprising that not everyone is a fan of you immediately. Lira once again quiets the crowd down.

"So let us begin the fights so that we can fill our bellies with food and drink, and feel the warmth of a body next to you in bed" she exclaims with a big smile. With that another drum sounds and the crowd begins cheering and chanting as they wait for the first fight. Two names are called out, and two men step into the arena. One carries a pair of maces. He's of similar height and build compared to you. He glares at you before he focuses back on his opponent, and you feel the hairs on the back of your neck prickle a little from it. His opponent holds a shield with a sword similar to yours. An Amazon woman steps into the ring with them as they square off on opposite sides from one another. The woman checks if each is ready and when they both signal they are she yells for them to fight, and the two men charge at each other.

Despite the initial charge the fight starts off slow, with both men circling each other. Occasionally one will swing at the other only to be stopped by the shield or parried by the maces. The swordsman seems a bit more confident in his stance and maneuvers, but that doesn't mean he'll win you don't think. You notice an older man standing close to you so you take the opportunity to greet him and ask what rules are involved. The older man explains the rules are very simple as there is really only a few. If your opponent surrenders or is knocked out the fight is over immediately. Pointing out the stone circle surrounding the fighters he tells you if any part of your body touches outside of the circle you lose, and noting the Amazon in the ring, if she declares a winner the fight is over as well. Usually she will only stop the fight if one or the other is unable to surrender, or if she sees one or the other has a clear advantage. Like locking yourself behind your opponent with your blade to their throat he explains. Other than that anything goes. You thank him for the quick lesson and get back to watching the fight.

You get back to watching just in time as the mace wielder rushes in to swing with one mace that the shield stops, but connects on his opponents leg with the other causing him to lose his balance. Immediately the mace wielder rams his body into the swordsman knocking him to the ground on his back. The mace wielder wastes no time raining blow after blow down on the prone warrior, who struggles to protect himself with the shield having abandoned his sword to hold the shield with both hands. Finally the shield wielder calls out his surrender the mace wielder relents and steps back as the drum sounds out again as the Amazon lifts the winner's hand into the air.

The crowd cheers relentlessly as the victor roars with pride, before quickly rushing over to help his opponent up. They shake hands and exchange a few words as they walk back to the sideline. You notice the loser give a quick sad look towards Lina having lost his chance with her it would seem. Soon the drum booms again and you hear your name called out along with another name. You step into the ring with the other man, and try to hold back your surprise at how bulky your opponent is. He wields a big two handed sword and looks similar to professional weight lifters in your old world. You see him staring at you with rage in his eyes as he paces back and forth waiting to be released at you. It is easy to see this guy is going to charge directly at you, so getting an idea you reverse your grip on your sword and smile at him to antagonize him a bit. It works well as it seems like he's only waiting through sheer force of will until the fight begins.

The Amazon woman steps into the ring again and you signal you are ready, and you hear your opponent grunt his readiness. She yells for the fight to start and just as you expected your opponent charges at you with his sword held back and to the side to swing a roundhouse strike at you with all of his might. You stand in place sticking with your plan as he comes. Time slows as he gets close and starts his swing. You drop down spinning yourself in a 180 as you do, while your reversed grip allows you to stab your sword between his legs. His swing misses you by a mile, while his legs trip up on your sword making him fall face first to the ground. You quickly spring forward keeping your reverse grip on your blade and land your knee on the small of his back keeping him pinned to the ground, and you hold the tip of your sword at the back of his neck.

You hear the drum sound off again and see the Amazon woman declaring you the victor. She rushes up and pulls your hand into the air. The crowd remains deathly silent seemingly not sure how to respond to such a quick fight. Looking down you see your opponent roll onto his back still trying to figure out what happened, and the surprise on his face seeing you declared the winner is evident. You quickly step to him and offer your hand to help him up. He takes the offer and you pull him up letting your hand go as he gains his balance. Several seconds pass that feel like an eternity as he stares at you completely stunned, but to your relief you see him smile followed by him stepping forward to pull you into a big hug. You feel your ribs protest right before he lets you go. He grabs your wrist and thrusts your hand up into the air. As if waiting for that exact signal the crowd bursts into a loud cheer, and this time, maybe by being drowned out, you hear no boos. Looking towards Lira and Aella you see them clapping excitedly, and Lina looks like if given the chance she'd jump you right now.

"I'm glad that wasn't a real fight" your opponent says jokingly "I'd be walking around without a head because I'd have had no chance to know I was dead" he adds laughing as the two of you walk back to the sideline. Looking around the crowd you can see your girls clapping and waving at you. You do happen to notice the man from the first fight who wielded the maces doesn't seem particularly happy you won, but like before you know not everyone is likely happy you're part of this. Eight more fights take place for the first round of the tournament. You don't see anyone really stand out, but you do know whoever your next opponent is they won't likely telegraph their attacks like your first opponent did.