Derek almost could not believe that this was the same place he had been to yesterday. It had gone from an empty plain arena to an overly decorated, lit space filled with lots of people.
There were different colors of light which were not on when Derek visited last, illuminating the Citadel's arena. The different stages had different light focus assigned to them, allowing the referees and spectators to see every move the contestants were going to make.
The lighting in the spectator area was kind of dim, making visibility in the arena clear as possible. Derek looked up to the glass box up ahead from where he sat, it still was dark and empty. The only difference was the table covers and refreshment that lay on the table waiting for the arrival of the dignitaries.
Derek hadn't intended to stay where he sat currently, he had looked at the stages from various angles and he surmised that the best position to watch the competition from would be one of the chairs just beneath the glass box reserved for the VIPs.
But the whole first years had been shoved into a bus and driven down to the Citadel and they had all been made to sit together at the spot that had been reserved for the students from their school.
The thought of absconding and finding himself a better spot than where he was crossed Derek's mind but he frowned upon the thought. As someone on their school colors, making the school look lawless was not the best of decisions.
Glancing around the arena, Derek could not make out any familiar face except his fellow first years that were seated all around him.
He realized that he had not seen Arya since they arrived at Bayland, the first years were spread out all around him and he could only see the back of the heads of the people that were seated in his front.
There was no way he was going to be able to tell which one of these people was Arya. He was not obsessed enough to recognize her from just her hair, especially when they were countless people with long black hair.
There was still shuffling of feet all around the arena, people were yet to completely settle. With the direction of the teachers and a few officials, the hall soon began to settle and after only a few minutes everyone had located their seats.
After everyone had taken their seats, there were a pop sounds and flags popped up above each stand. Each flag representing the school that sat in the area. The appearance of the flag was followed by a resounding ovation from the spectators.
The ovation lasted for almost five minutes and it was followed by excited murmur among the students.
"Hello students and welcome to Bayland" a loud voice reverberated from every corner of the arena. People had to look around, searching for the speakers where the sound emanated from as the person who had spoken was nowhere to be seen.
The lights on the center stage went dark and in the next second, it came on again focusing on a tall broad man in the middle of the stage.
The crowd erupted in another round of cheers, Derek began to wonder if it was a tradition for people to clap and cheer at any opportunity they got in this part of the world.
Amidst the cheers from the crowds Derek could see from the corner of his eyes a couple of staunch looking military men, they didn't carry any arms but the looks on their faces made it seem like they were armed to their teeth.
Behind the military men that came in, a group of four men and one woman followed, each of them was escorted by one person who dressed almost similarly to each of them.
Derek didn't need Maya to confirm that these were the five families which she had mentioned earlier. Though Derek wondered why people that were described to be the most powerful had military escorts with them.
But he didn't let the little details bother him much, he was more interested in the competition now more than ever and it was because of the families that had just arrived. He could only feel satisfaction in their arrival.
The route to the glass box inside the arena was separate from the corridors which led to the spectator zone inside the arena. Derek was only able to see them because of the small transparent windows that were up on the walls.
The military men that led the way stopped at the entrance to the glass box and moved aside for the group of four men and woman and their extras to pass through. Once inside the glass room, the men and woman walked to separate seats and sat down like they had rehearsed their motions earlier.
The others who had come into the room with them stood behind the chairs of their respective heads. Seeing this, Derek surmised that the extras must be their aides. They must be among the strongest in the family since the heads had decided to move around with them.
He could also see another figure enter the room a few seconds later but following the noise from the hidden speakers, his attention was torn from the VIP space and back to the stage down below.
"Erm… Hello people" the man at the center of the stage cleared his throat drawing the attention of everyone in the arena.
From where Derek sat, he could just make out the name on the tag on the man's neck. It read 'Host: Drake'.
"Drake" Derek repeated in his head.
"This competition has been a tradition and it has been conducted once every year for the past ten years. Today yet again, we are going to see new competitors rise from the ashes and make their way to the pinnacle" resounding applause followed the pause.
"Now" Drake continued when the applause had died down "As usual, all participating schools and parties have brought forth their representatives. The last winner of the competition, a student of Bayland and also a member of the DuPont family, David-" once again, the crowd did not allow the Host to finish as another deafening round of applause erupted from the arena.
A picture of David was projected up on the screen, the first years that had not experienced the last competition looked at the figure in admiration, joining in the applause.
A chant even began to form in the crowds, David, David, David. The crowd chanted in unison. The head of the DuPont family seeing this, smiled briefly, a feeling of pride enveloping him for a few seconds.