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Explanation of Rank Board.
(What Does the Rank Board an in the Arena:
In the Forge Arena, the Rank Board is the official registry of recognized beast tars and their combat standings. Being on the rank board is not just a symbol of prestige, it’s a declaration that a tar is part of the official ladder of competitive combat in Emberfall.
To be placed on the Rank Board, a tar must:
Register for a Ranked Match: You must officially enter the ranked circuit by challenging a recognized combatant in a regulated match. Demo battles, like Zephyr’s first one against the wild Ash Scale Monitor, don’t count. Those are considered exhibition fights and don’t affect rankings.
Win a Public, Sanctioned Fight: A match must be observed, logged, and validated by arena scribes. The opponent must be another registered tar (not a wild beast) who already holds a position on the board or is entering it at the sa ti.
Survive and Leave a Mark: Performance matters. A close win may get you listed near the bottom, while a decisive, skillful victory, especially against a higher ranked opponent can shoot you up multiple positions. Spectator reaction, beast performance, and use of command skills all influence the score.
Be Evaluated by Arena Judges: A panel part magical, part bureaucratic grades the match. This system records tars battle record, tars beast’s condition post-match, and how efficiently they fought. Dirty tricks don’t earn much, but brilliance? That earns fast track placents.
Why Does It Matters?
Access to Elite Resources: Ranked tars get better gear discounts, invitation only breeding opportunities, and permission to enter higher stakes tournants to earn big amounts.
Prestige and Power: Guilds recruit directly from the rank board. Nas at the top can command loyalty or fear.
Protection: Tars on the board are harder to ss with. Assaulting a registered rank holder outside the arena is treated as criminal provocation by the free city.
For soone like Zephyr, stepping onto the rank board isn’t just about pride. It’s the first real claim of territory in a world built on fla, teeth, and dominance.
And from this point on, every fight he enters will either push him up... or threaten to bury him alive. )
Back to the story.
The clerk raised an eyebrow, now slightly more awake. He leaned back, reaching behind to flick through a stack of wax sealed tablets, each one etched with the arena’s morning match roster.
"Alright... Rank-F challengers, hmm... looks like we got a slot at the sixth bell. The opponent is a regular. Na: Dorian Slate, Rank-E tar. Beast type: Gravelback Pangolin, burrow specialist, armor plated from snout to tail. Difficult to injure, low aggression but high endurance."
Zephyr’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Book it. I can handle him."
The clerk paused with the stylus midair. "You sure, kid? That’s not like yesterday."
Zephyr didn’t flinch. "I know."
Yesterday, in that sa arena, he and Star had faced an Ash Scale Monitor, a powerful, lava blooded beast, yes but wild, untethered, without the advantages of a trainer’s command aura or tactical coordination. The Monitor had been strong, but predictable. It had fought on instinct. Its focus could be broken. Its attacks could be baited.
Zephyr had known when it would strike and how to finish it. But today... Today he would be up against a tar, soone with training, strategy, and the ability to issue live commands. Soone who wouldn’t simply charge but anticipate, soone whose beast would fight not like a lone predator, but like half of a unit of a living weapon sharpened by human direction.
This was a different kind of battle.
Behind his ribs, Star stirred, letting out a quiet growl, tail flicking against Zephyr’s back. His breath carried the scent of fresh fla, but it was shallow. Weak. The bandage over his flank pressed against Zephyr’s shoulder uncomfortably.
A small system prompt blinked into the corner of Zephyr’s vision:
[Ding! System Warning-
Beast Partner Condition: 72% Vital Efficiency
Status: Healing. Burn damage sustained.
Risk Factor: Elevated, Reduced stamina, limited Dash efficiency, impaired altitude gain.]
Proceed with Ranked Match?
[Y] / [N]
Zephyr stared at it, his eyes sharp as steel. "Yes, I want to fight. I just need one match to enter my na on the rank board. After that I will let Star rest for a few days."
The system chid softly, as if judging him.
The clerk scrawled a charcoal mark across the sixth bell line and handed back a stamped talon etched chip. It was Zephyr’s match token.
"Don’t say I didn’t warn you, Hollowback’s master," the clerk muttered, sliding the board aside. "Dorian Slate’s a grinder. Doesn’t go flashy, just wears his opponent down. You better hope your little beasts got fire left in him."
Zephyr took the token and turned away without answering. He already knew what was left in Star. Just enough...Enough for a fight. He needed to earn so silver coins fast. He needed resources. And maybe... just maybe, enough to start burning Ayan Vaelor’s world to ash.
Soon, The sixth bell rang, its deep chi echoing through the basalt spires of the Forge Arena like the final call of a warhorn.
Beneath the roar, the vent gates hissed open. It was thin slits in the ring’s obsidian walls unleashing jets of heat laced wind. Firelight burst into the bowl from beneath the sand, casting long, dancing shadows across the scorched floor. The arena groaned to life.
Zephyr stood in the western tunnel, alone but for Star on his shoulder. The young drake’s weight felt heavier today, his body still recovering. But his eyes held the sa ember edge as they had the night before, a readiness that outshone pain.
The stone gate creaked open ahead. Heat punched into Zephyr’s face, dry and biting. He stepped forward into the sand, boots crunching against the glass speckled floor, remnants of yesterday’s many battles, heat vents having flash lted the arena’s topsoil. The surface was jagged in places, smooth in others, a field forged in chaos.
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