Queen of Ash

Connections

Emerson

The Arena was already bustling with people, any one of them could be watching me. I pulled the hood of my cloak lower over my eyes, the most identifying parts of a person. I shrouded my face into darkness, bending the light around my face to contort.

The Arena was closed off to all blanks and most half-blanks. The only people guaranteed to be let in were heirs and their close friends. The main archway was spelled by the Lilura heirs, the same who enchanted the gate going into the Royal Sector.

The doorway worked just like the one in the Royal Sector, it only let in heirs. The only way a blank or half-blank could get in is if they were considered to be part of an entertainment group or if they were selling within the outer ring of the Arena. Even then the spots were limited, and they were only allowed in after extensive background checks were down.

However, getting into the Arena was the easiest part of my plan. I couldn't help but smile as I knew I was about to out smart the entire Region.

I watched as entertainers and vendors wheeled wagons and carts into the outer ring door. Only blanks and half-blanks used that door. That door was also spelled. Only the people with certain names could walk through that door. As they walked into the door, heirs left copious amounts of space between them and everyone else. They couldn't stand walking near them, as if being near them would weaker their magic. I rolled my eyes at their ignorance. I bounced on the tip of my toes. I scanned the crowd, it was time.

I made my way from the alley towards the massive Arena. Most of the guards were stationed by the outer ring door. There were only two stationed by the main entrance, neither of them I knew.

No one of common birth had ever gone through that door, it was just as protected as the Brande Estate. I moved quickly between people that were also making their way into the Arena. The clouds of dust helped shroud me into the crowd. I glanced to my right and just as Lelon said I saw the wagon of the King's distant blood line.

Right on time.

The heirs were so lost in their own conversations they didn't even throw a glance at me as I casually walked into their group. I kept my hood low, but I walked with a sense of purpose into the group. Half the battle was pretending you belonged, if you believed it most people did too.

I stood in the middle of the group as we moved to the grand entrance. The head of the house waved his sigil ring to the guards without a passing thought, they just kept moving. They didn't even check to see who was all in the group because they thought they were so well protected.

Fools. All of them.

The people who were easiest to fool were those that grew compliant in their safety.

When we passed through the marble archway, I slowly made my way to the outer part of the group and slipped out. No one even noticing me.

The Arena was old. It was probably built when the city was, meaning that it was at least seven hundred years old. You could tell by the amount of crumbling stone that once used to hold the Arena together so solidly. I closed my eyes and recalled the maps of the Arena that I had spent days studying.

There were three concentric circles that made up the entire Arena. The outer most circle was all of the merchants and vendors that were brought here to run a profit, the circle after that is where all of the contestants stayed below in the dugout and where all of the people watched from row of stand above. The inner-most circle was the most dangerous. This is where the actually fighting took place. There was a shield the separated the two circles. The King couldn't afford for anyone to get hurt from the dangerous fights within.