The Rainbringer

V. The Colosseum

"Raya stop!" Seria yelped in a panicked tone, "those weapons can't be touched by outsiders."

Raya broke out of her stupor upon hearing Seria call out to her. She had been so absorbed in looking at the grandeur she hadn't realized that she had walked towards one of the walls holding a variety of all kinds of bows.

"I apologize, I suppose I should keep in mind that I'm a guest here before touching anything." Raya truly felt embarrassed at her mindless actions.

"You just need to be a bit careful, this place is the center of our training, and these weapons we use against the archaic gods can easily be used against us too. So to prevent any unintended person from taking these, you have to be authorized by one of the Enochi to touch these or else... well let's just say the consequences are drastic," Seria told both her mortal companions while taking off the bow Raya was reaching for and offering it to her.

Awen still hadn't spoken a single word, he stood at the entryway with a contemplative look on his face registering the new bit of information and then asked the one thing that came to his mind, "what about the Fray?"

"The Fray are the guardians of the Oratorium, they are sworn to rest their lives in its cause, and they are also in charge of keeping these weapons in their best condition. The front line defenders of these structures don't need any authorization to touch the weaponry," Tarius replied.

Seria gestured for Awen to step inside the arena and turned back to Raya who was busy testing the weight of the bow and the elasticity of the string. "Come, I'll show you around."

Seria first pointed towards the statues that stood on the arches of the colosseum which neither Raya nor Awen had noticed yet. "Those are our fallen. Heroes who went down fighting for the world both mortals and Enochi alike. Their journeys began in the Oratorium, they gathered here in this same colosseum to regroup after every fight, after every victory and every defeat. They believed in the greater cause that they were fighting for and they were ready to put down their lives for it."

"Raya, Awen, you are both very brave, strong and willful, but you need to know that this fight isn't easy. Are you sure you're up for it?" Tarius spoke in their minds and somehow his voice sounded even more ancient and solemn than it usually did.

Awen and Raya shared a look and she knew that he was thinking the exact same thing as her. "We're sure, we will fight to our last breath. We will make Mojhu pay for doing what he did to us, to our families and to the people of our village... for what he did to you," Raya felt her chest heat up with every word. Awen nodded his head in agreement, the same determination in his eyes.

Seria looked satisfied at the will of the two friends.  "I hope you are successful in your quest for vengeance," she said with earnest, smiling warmly at them.

"Seria, show them the arena from above. Tell them about the Games," Tarius spoke.

"Games? What kind of games?" Raya asked.

"Patience, little one, I'll tell you all about them in a moment, but first I'll show you what a sight this colosseum is. Thousands of years haven't been enough for me to marvel its beauty," Seria led them to the second floor, right to its edge.

Raya heard Awen's gasp, who was a few steps ahead, right beside Seria. She took a couple more steps and looked down towards the arena. She was awestruck at the view. Seria was right, thousands of years really weren't enough to get used to the magnificence of the arena and the marble tiers in front of them.