Another day began, and I stepped out into the bright sunlight as usual, with an announcer yelling my name. "One of the crowd favorites, we have...Vite!" I rolled my eyes and didn't react as the audience cheered. Best not to encourage them. Instead, I traced out some letters in the sand, hoping that at least some of them would see my message. It read 'Go to hell'. I sat down next to it, smirking as the crowd went silent. Rich people could be vaguely amusing at times. Show them something unpleasant and unexpected, and they'll shut up fast. I watched the gate opposite me slide open for what felt like the thousandth time. Its dark mouth seemed empty, until I looked closer and noticed a tall-ish figure standing in the shadows. A strangely confident young man walked out of the chamber, looking to be not much older than I was. Another child that I would have to end. Great. I got up and travelled to the middle of the Arena, bracing myself for yet another battle to the death.
The guy could fight. For the first time since I had entered this Arena, I was at risk of losing a battle. My only tool here was the sand which had helped me so much in the past duels, and it was rapidly diminishing. Across from me, my opponent, who was launching fire from his body, was rapidly melting the sand into glass, which meant I could no longer control it. Sand wasn't the only thing the fire was impacting, however. A few vibrant tongues of flame had been aimed at me, and I had several burns at this point. How the man still had energy left was beyond me. This had to end soon, or I was done for. Rolling to the side as yet another flaming bolt came at me, I had an idea amid my nervousness about dying. Using my Gift to collect the last remaining sand, I formed it into a disc and forced it directly into the path of the newest onslaught of fire, immediately melting it into a glass disc not far from me. The heat was immense to have melted it so quickly, and it needed a while to cool. As I sprinted across the space between me and the newly formed shield I had made, my adversary managed to have a second of extreme accuracy and nearly decapitated me with a stream of flame. My hair was singed and my eyes felt like they were melting, but I didn't have time to worry about that. Frantically dropping to the crusty floor while the crowd cheered, I felt around for the glass disc and shoved it in between me and a new oncoming rush of fire, grimacing at the heat that burned through it. It was starting to look like this might be my last fight. My opponent slowly and cautiously began approaching, hands ablaze and a grim look on his face. It was a little obnoxious. He hadn't won yet, but he fought extremely well. Or, he had incredible endurance and power. Breathing heavily, I got back to my feet and slowly advanced, my glass shield in front of me. The other Crystalborn directed a torrent of flame into the disc, and I could feel it rising in temperature. Rivers of sweat were pouring down my body and my arms spiked in heated pain, making it difficult to concentrate. Finally, just as I thought I couldn't take any more, I reached the boy and rammed into him with the piece of glass. The distraction gave me enough time to jump at him and start raining blows from my fists onto his body, rapidly knocking him out to the great pleasure of the audience. They were chanting now.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
It was becoming annoying, honestly. I glared up at them, dressed in all their absurdly fancy clothes and hairstyles, then I looked back at the kid unconscious on the floor. My instincts cried out for me to end him, knowing that there would be a brutal punishment if I didn't. And yet...I couldn't do it. If he was still conscious and fighting, maybe, but to kill a defenseless child who had fought better than I would have imagined, that was something I simply couldn't take the guilt for. So instead, I lifted his body with a grunt and carried it painfully slowly back towards the Arena gates, then stood before them and did not move again. The crowd was rendered speechless by my defiance, and I could feel their eyes and the Emperor's on my back. I remained motionless. After a short time, the Emperor stood. I didn't need to look back to know this. He was one of those people whose presence would take up the entire area, and every one of their actions seems to be the most important thing ever to happen. Even his simplest movements, such as standing up, could be felt in the atmosphere. I braced myself, expecting him to give both me and the person in my arms a death sentence. Time seemed to stretch while we waited for his words. When he spoke at last, it could be heard all throughout the Arena and the stands.
"Open the gate."
He didn't have to ask twice. The people's fear of him outweighed the strangeness of the order, so the gates were opened. I let out a sigh of relief as I was allowed through, without even getting beaten by the guards and their Crystalglass rods. A rare occurrence indeed. Of course, I made sure to smile provokingly at them as I passed, taking the opportunity given to me to be as annoying as I possibly could. Small victories were the only kind I got in the Arena.
No other cell room was offered, so I brought the other person into mine. The cells here were simple, just small stone rooms with mold on the walls and cracks climbing up them into the ceiling. A faint glow could be seen coming from these cracks, due to the Crystalglass that they put in the walls to keep us weak. This room would have to work, but it could become a problem if the handlers didn't give us double food rations. I sighed and set the boy on the floor, then threw the ragged old blanket that we were provided with over him, wondering why I had chosen to save him. Had it really been worth it? It was only one less death to be responsible for. A guard suddenly came up and rattled the bars of my cell, before sliding in two small platters of food.
"Here you go, kids. Enjoy this meal, it could be your last." He laughed, obviously thinking it was hilarious that we were constantly threatened with death. One eyebrow raised, I merely stared back at him and waited until he walked away down the hall, muttering under his breath. Meanwhile, I started on my plate. It was bland, nothing more than a slice of bread and a small hunk of unidentifiable meat, with a tin cup of water on the side. Settling into a seat against the wall, I looked at the other person in my room. Not too bad looking, he had short brown hair and a mostly average face. Indistinguishable in a crowd, most likely. As I sat there watching him breathe, I almost regretted punching him so many times to win the fight. Almost. I downed half my cup of water, then inspected my own reflection in what remained. With a shrug, I tossed the water onto my new cellmate, who awoke with a start. Upon flinging his hands out towards me, he managed to make a few sparks come out but nothing more.
"This whole building is veined with Crystalglass. You won't be able to do that in here." I intentionally kept my voice low, to avoid startling him any further. Leaning against one of the cold, stone walls, he yawned and stretched, as though this was just an average day for him. I couldn't believe my eyes. He was in a cell that weakened him with a person who had been trying to kill him recently, and he was casually stretching and yawning as though he was safe in bed. It just kept getting stranger and stranger. Shaking my head at the floor, I waited impatiently for him to finish eating. Quietly, he finally said something.
"Why am I not dead?" he said it without concern, as though death would have been only a minor inconvenience for him. The kid was like nothing I'd encountered before. Trying to sound nonchalant, I said back to him, "You fought well, and won your life. At least, that was my opinion, and the Emperor himself seemed to agree."
At the mention of the Emperor, his face blanched. Justifiably, too. Most of those who interacted with the Emperor didn't look back on the experience fondly. This other prisoner tried to play it off smoothly, though, and questioned me with seemingly false confidence in his tone.
"What does the Emperor want from me? Was I just too attractive to let die?"
"He simply said that you could live." I gave him a disapproving stare. Better to leave my own part in the situation out of the explanation, at least for now. I still wasn't fully sure why I'd spared him. It was weird how he could be so casual about our situation.
"Anyway, have you got a name?" I thought I might be able to tell where he was from based on his name, but I was wrong. After chewing some of his food from earlier, he replied.
"I'm Jerric."
That was a strange name. One I didn't recognize and couldn't place the origins of. Not surprising; my education was somewhat lacking.
"Where are you from?"
Before responding, he took a sip of the water in his cup, then delayed his answer for some time. The quiet was fine by me, but at last he ended it, leaning his head back against the rocky wall with a slight thud. "One of the smaller cities on the coasts of the Pine. Rayica."
So, he was from nearly the same place as I was. Quite a coincidence. Even his clothing didn't say much about him, which wasn't abnormal in the Arena. Jerric just had a bland leather tunic and some nondescript trousers, the standard arena outfit, so his original clothing must have been taken. Whatever I was going to say next would have to wait, because while I had been thinking about all this, Jerric had fallen back asleep. Shaking my head, I remained alert and let him be.