Tournike Ep 1 -

As he crested the ridge, the world opened up before him: the Scorchlands. A graveyard of old industry. Towering, skeletal cooling towers leaked steam into the gloom. Dried riverbeds were now canyons of broken glass. And in the distance, piercing the perpetual haze, the Spire of a Thousand Needles—a black, jagged tower that scraped the underside of the clouds.

That was the finish line. Fifty kilometers of hell away. tournike ep 1

Behind him, Sova screamed in frustration, then laughed. “Clever! I’ll find you before the Gate, Voss. Your name is now on my list!” As he crested the ridge, the world opened

The strut snapped. The crane arm tilted. She leaped just as it collapsed, firing a bolt wildly that skimmed past Kaelen’s ear. She landed hard on the ridge, rolling to her feet, but her crossbow’s magazine had ejected in the fall. Dried riverbeds were now canyons of broken glass

He didn’t answer. He just ran, the copper ring humming against his chest, and the Spire growing ever larger on the horizon.

Her name was Sova. She was ranked #4 on the Tournike Leaderboard. And she collected copper rings like trophies.

At the edge of the glass canyon, he paused. Someone had spray-painted a message on a fallen turbine blade: