He made his way alongside Jantar through the old Citadel to his chambers. He did not speak for a long while because he felt frustrated by the position that Bakalit had put him in. His tribal alliance’s future hinged upon a contest he likely would lose.

  Jantar closed the door and stood with him in the Chamber. ”The Loyal Band are builders and artisans. They are not warriors.”

  “Do you think I do not know that?”

  “Bakalit trapped me and forced my hand. If I had refused, I would have lost any advantage before we even began negotiating an alliance. They want a spectacle to prove their strength. I had to give them what they wanted.”

  “So we must make a spectacle of our own and find some contestants.”

  “Contestants? Where from? I do not have any fighting pits. I have no active training grounds. I have a good workforce but not an army.”

  “Then you must find what you can. You have loyal and courageous followers. Let us see if there are any willing to compete in the ring. Your Loyal Band are working at the Arena now. Go to them. You can ask for volunteers.”

  He hesitated because he was trying to think of a better way to select his contestants.

  “Let them decide,” Jantar added, as if reading his mind. “They did not follow you to be kept safe from everything. They followed you to build a new world and building it requires great strength.”

  Jantar was probably right. “All right. I can do it that way.”

  They walked through the Citadel and out into the city. The sun was high now, beating down on the stone streets. Ahead stood the Arena, its perfect circle of ancient stone a grand monument symbolizing the peak of the old Ashok world. Inside, the Loyal Band were working. They were clearing rubble, laying new stone for the seating tiers and polishing the great statue of a fight between two Cleeda beasts.

  Wooden scaffolding, positioned against a wall, provided him with a vantage point over the arena. As he reached the platform, the men and women looked up and moved in to become a crowd in the arena in front of him.

  “Ascended One,” one said and raised his hand to his forehead, and the others did the same.

  He looked at their faces, smudged with dust and sweat. He saw their hope, their belief in him. “I have an announcement and a request. We will hold the Games of Trazia tomorrow. The Thirstakers, the Burners, and the Wardens will be entering their competitors.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  His followers clapped and cheered.

  “I have also entered you, my Loyal Band, into the Games.“

  He looked out at the faces in the crowd. He saw fear there, but he saw pride and loyalty too in their smiles and nodding.

  “The old rules will govern the games. The contest is to take place in a ring on this sand. You win by throwing your opponent from the ring, or by knocking them out in unarmed combat. The games will run in a series of single-elimination bouts. The champion will receive a gold medal and the honor of the Ashok people.”

  He had to be realistic.

  “I will not lie to you. The odds are not in our favor. The tribes are sending their strongest and best-trained fighters and there will probably be more of them competing in the games. I realize what I’m about to ask is not easy. I am looking for volunteers. Please stand forward if you will compete for New Trazia.”

  No one moved for a long moment. The only sound was the wind whistling through the ancient stone of the arena.

  Then a man took a step forward. His name was Linar, a stonemason with arms like knotted rope and a grim set to his jaw. “I will fight in the sand for you, Ascended One.”

  Another man joined him, a carpenter named Oran, who had lost two fingers on his right hand.

  One by one, more stepped forwards until there were eight of them. They stood together, a small group, looking not at him, but at each other.

  “If one of you wins, I will be very grateful.”

  There was a chuckle from the contestants - because he could not be being serious?

  “Your courage honors us all! We will be providing food and drink at the games, for the contestants and all who come to watch. Let the other tribes see our strength is not just in the ring, but in our hope for a greater Ashok future!”

  They cheered and clapped him as he descended the scaffolding.

  “Come, Jantar. Let‘s see the competition.”

  They left the Arena and walked down to the city gates, through them out to the campsite beyond. There was an enormous collection of tents and wagons spread out before him. The sounds of hundreds of people and animals filled his ears. The smell of fires and cooking hung in the hot afternoon air.

  Bakalit’s tribe were in training. They had a ring set out on the grass. In its center two men grappled, their movements powerful and direct, each trying to force the other to the ground with pure strength. Bakalit was there, shouting at them and clapping enthusiastically.

  They moved on to the Burner camp. Their training routines were in full swing too. In their ring a man spun away from a grab from his opponent, and further on, another man launched a flurry of quick punches at a wooden post, the blows landing in rapid succession.

  “Speed and aggression,” Jantar said. “They are formidable.”

  Last, they walked past the Wardens camp. They were practicing weaving and dodging. A tribesman lunged and her opponent jumped aside at the last moment. They sought to wear the opponent down and endure the entire fight.

  He turned away from the camps, the sounds of sparring behind them. “Let’s go back. I’ve seen enough.” It felt like he had set his contestants an impossible task.

  When he returned to the Citadel, there was a group waiting for him. They were his volunteers, but there were a couple more now.

  “Ascended One,” said Linar, raising his hand to his forehead in salute. “We are ten now! We shall not let you down!”

  He looked at them one by one. Ten contestants. He felt pride and gratitude warring with his high political ambitions. “I know. I’m honored by your courage and I won’t forget this.”

  He really needed one of them to win.