The final dais rose up from the platform. It held the seventh contestant.

Lorem Ipsum cleared his throat.

“The first of the two is Dahlia Halloway, from the azure world of Earth!”

A loud cheering came from another section of the coliseum.

Dahlia Halloway was tall, stately, and looked every inch a super model. Her long red hair fell in waves radiating around her shoulders, accentuating her bright green eyes and lush full lips painted in a deep red color.

She wore a long sheath dress that accentuated every curve. On her feet were red stiletto heels, giving an extra four inches of height to her already impressive six feet tall figure.

If there was a perfect female representative of Earth, it was very likely her, or someone like her.

“However!” He held up a hand to pause the whooping and hollering that had started up again. “We also have a second contestant from Earth. Her name is…”

He paused for a moment. “Just a moment, Ladies and Gentlemen. Due to the nature of her arrival, I haven’t quite gotten her name yet. Please give me a moment.”

In several long strides, he had made his way to where Candi was standing.

“Hello Dearie. Mind telling me what your name is?” He leaned over and whispered good-naturedly into her ear.

“My name is Candace Farrah.”

“Candace Farrah. Candace Farrah…”

He mumbled it under his breath a couple of times to get the pronunciation correct and then turned back to the crowd.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the name of the mysterious final contestant for Earth’s position in our Avgo pageant. Her name is Candace Farrah, from the azure world of Earth!”

He waved his scepter again and Candi felt her own body rise into the air from her position in front of the other women.

Her eyes widened as she realized that Lorem Ipsum was actually using his own levitational powers to raise and lower the small platforms. They were not mechanical levers at all!

Her body naturally responded to the invisible levitational force. Her arms rose of their own accord and her toes pointed, executing a perfect ballet fifth position releve.

As she hung in midair in her white catsuit, looking like some ballet dancer standing on a music box, the loud cheer came up from another side of the room, chanting out the word ‘Earth! Earth! Earth! Earth!’.

Since Candi was fairly certain she had no fans who would have made the arduous journey to come to an alien world and sit in a coliseum to cheer her on, it was most definitely loud endorsement for the woman named Dahlia Halloway standing behind her.

As he finished introducing all the candidates, horns blared and strange otherworldly music began to play from a side platform that was to their right.

The band was an instrumental only band. There were no live players. The instruments were playing themselves, some bright happy tune that invigorated the crowd.

Within minutes, Lorem Ipsum had lowered Candi back down onto the stage. He moved towards her and whispered into her ear.

“We’re getting another platform for you so you can join the other contestants. When it gets there, just stand here and I’ll levitate you onto the platform.”

She nodded and gave him a grateful smile. He was treating her so kindly that she felt much more at ease, standing alone in the front by herself.

True to his word, another platform was brought out and placed next to Dahlia Halloway.

She stood and waited as he brought his hands up and levitated her body towards the platform. Once she had been gently deposited onto her very own platform, she was now part of the lineup.

The music finished its bright happy tune and the spotlight once again shone on the white haired faun standing onstage.

“And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The initial qualification round is officially starting as of—”

He raised a hand and brought it down.

“NOW!!!”

Suddenly, a glass cylinder appeared around them, encapsulated the round dais along with the women standing on it.

Lorem Ipsum laughed as a light gust of wind began to stir between his fingertips.

“Anemos!” He roared.

The wind hit the sides of the cylinder and began spinning, forming an invisible vortex.

All the women began looking up and around. The wind was now no longer a gentle zephyr. It was growing stronger and stronger.

The first thing to be whipped around the wind tunnel was the white ostrich plume from Helene Cordara’s head. It spun around and around, going higher and higher until it disappeared into the blue sky above.

Suddenly, the women gasped as their hair and loose jewelry began to whip around. Pieces of necklaces and loose gemstones flew from the women, spiraling upward.

The gentle zephyr was slowly turning into a hurricane-strength cyclone!

The women all turned horror-stricken eyes at Lorem Ipsum. They gasped with terror as the wind began to whip their fragile wings, sending red and black feathers and bits of yellow butterfly wings upward to join the long white ostrich feather that had been sucked up.

Since Candi had no wings, no fancy jewelry, and her hair was already windswept, it did not really affect her much, but beside her, Dahlia was in trouble.

Immediately, a round gem appeared and floated above each of them, sheltering their bodies with its glow. Everything began to be subdued and calmed as the winds lessened in severity to a gentle breeze.

Candi looked up above her and saw her little pink sapphire shining its scattered reflective light down onto her head. It had somehow appeared, without her summoning and it was protecting her from the gale storm.

Beside her, Dahlia Halloway was struggling to remain standing on the platform.

“Ahhhh! Help me!” She cried, reaching out as the wind began picking her up.

She was the only one without the protection of an Avgo stone.

In desperation, she reached out and tried to grab at Candi’s Avgo gemstone but her hand passed right through it.

Candi’s eyes grew round with amazement. The physical stone was not really there, it was merely a projection of the actual stone!

Beside her, Dahlia Halloway’s body began to be lifted by the wind.

“Aaaaaaahhhh!!!” She shrieked and reached out wildly, catching onto Candi’s arm.

“Candace, help me!!!” She screamed.