"You've been given a chance, boy." Morah whispered to Dorin before she walked to one of the four sides of the square, alone. Dorin saw a mark on the back of her arm as she walked away. It was a circle with one half completely black and the other empty.
Dorin and Lonn were now on opposite sides, with their group split between Morah and the Spire who were also opposite each other.
"The outside world is a dangerous place, and so this is your chance to prove that you are deserving of an ego without throwing away your lives against the beasts." The Spire spoke so that everyone could hear, including the crowd.
Dorin could see Ara trying to speak, but nothing came out. It looked as though her and the rest of the group were covered in a hazy mist.
"Your time will come, girl." The Spire grinned. "Veri, give them a book of ancestry."
The man in furs took out a brick sized book and gave one to both him and Lonn. Getting a closer look, the man looked to be a similar age to the Spire. He was as tall as Lonn, but not as bulky. The furs that he wore showed that he was probably a spark just like those two they had entered the city with.
The books were small in stature but had an impressive amount of pages, giving it a weight that felt undeserved. On its cover was an assortment of dice and coins.
'Ouch.' Dorin felt a prick on his skin as he touched it, and a drop of blood fell onto the cover of the book. It immediately flew open, its pages flipping too fast to see any of its contents.
Eventually Dorin saw a face that looked similar to his own, with harsh eyes that were filled with anger. The book then closed shut, and the word 'Walker' and a black die with a crack down the middle was all that was left on the cover.
"Another surprise." The Spire said.
Dorin looked over at Lonn and he seemed equally enamored with the book, running his hand over the cover with care.
"Dorin Walker, and Lonn Shae. As a spark you will be given power beyond normal understanding. An ego is the greatest weapon that one can have in this world. Only use it when completely necessary, or you may doom yourself and everyone around you." The Spire waved for his man again, and he groaned before running back towards the inner city. "Morah."
"Yes, Spire."
"Accompany Veri. He is known to dawdle."
"Of course." Morah gave Dorin one last look before running after Veri.
While they were waiting, Dorin watched as the Spire entered the mist behind him, joining the group with Rae. Dorin couldn't see much, but it looked to him like Rae was in pain. 'What is going on?'
On the other side was Ara, who had been seemed to be looking at Lonn intensely. She glanced at him with a horrid look. He looked away but her furious gaze was now etched into his mind. He did not envy Lonn, as she was known to hold a grudge.
"We're back, Spire." Veri spoke from afar between wheezes. "This one's heavy."
Morah held what looked like a simple wooden chest, but in Veri's hands was a pitch black cube. Veri looked like he wasn't going to make it, but he eventually managed to set it beside Dorin.
Dorin didn't want to touch it at first, but Lonn had opened his immediately. His face lit up, and it reminded Dorin of the kids throwing their made-up egos, like he was having fun for the first time in a while.
Reaching down towards the black cube, all it took was one touch for it to disintegrate. He took back his hand, but soon enough he saw a ten-sided die with golden numbers laying on a pile of black sand. The nine and ten were faded, but the rest of the numbers were bright as if it was brand new.
Dorin warily picked it up with his left hand and it attached itself to the inside of his palm for a moment. Looking down, there was now a black eight etched into the palm of his hand.
"Now we will create your arena." The Spire, Morah, and Veri all threw out a singular die onto the square, and they melted into it. The floor shimmered, and a fog rose from the earth that covered the square. "Before you two roll your ego's, know that this will only end in the complete surrender or death of either of you. If one of you decide that you wish to surrender before entering, it must be done now."
Lonn threw out a wooden six-sided die, which lit aflame to reveal a six made of ash in front of him followed by a smirk.
Dorin looked at the small black die in his hands, and felt as though something bad would happen if he rolled. As he hesitated the Spire clapped his hands, startling Dorin and he felt the die leave his hands.
Suddenly everyone looked down towards him, and the entire street went completely silent. He had rolled a one.