The Vagabond nodded. “Surely not,” he replied. “But you see, with the eight of you as bait, and information leaked to him regarding your location, he will surely travel day and night like a shark to fresh kill.”

As the clansman looked to each other in wonder, Ji Longfeng laughed raucously. “Tonight, you are our guests,” he told them. “Let us feast as if this were our last night on earth, for it may well be.”

So it came to pass that, two days hence, The Vagabond and the eight representatives of each clan arrived at the place called Bloody Plain. The Mistress of Chaos was revived and awakened amidst her enemies. She immediately drew her daggers. “Though I slept, it was an enchanted sleep, and I heard all you said. I shall not participate in this game.”

The Vagabond ignored her, and instead began chanting a strange incantation while drawing a large circle in the dirt with his carved stylus, “This marks the dueling ground. None shall leave until one is declared The Ultimate Dragon. So be it.”

And, much to the surprise of each of The Dragons, they could not leave that circle, try as they might. “By the power vested in you by your clans,” The Vagabond told them, “each of you is to swear that whoever loses this contest, or is slain, shall compel his clan to seal itself off from The Land, and desist from further warfare.”

At this, The Vagabond removed a smooth Jade Tablet from his pack, along with a small Jade Vial. “On this tablet I have inscribed each of your true names. Now, when you drink of this elixir, and place your palms against the tablet, your oath is sworn. If you do not do this thing, none of you shall ever again leave this circle.”