Roxane

Chapter Four

Fifty hurdles, fifty women, fifty dragons.

Roxane found this event a lot more entertaining than the first. They hadn't gone in a random order this time. Thanatos had been put first in line. The dragons had been put in a line to the right of the riders too.

"Up first, we have Thanatos of Death with her dragon Gorgophone the Murderer." The judge said.

Huge mirrors had been placed around the arena, and small fires had been lit in front of them. Now the reflections of the fires reflected into the other mirrors, and it lit up the whole area. Roxane could just make out the judge - a slim figure, her black leathers polished and unused. Her lucious brown locks were pinned up behind her head, but strands hung down in front of her face.

And then there was Thanatos. She left her line and mounted her dragon. Gorgophone didn't budge. Not until the judge blew a horn, and a sand hourglass started counting down.

That was when Gorgophone jumped, her wings spreading out in a ferocious beat, and then another beat after that. And then Thanatos tugged on her dragon's reins and headed to the hurdles.

Fifty feet in the air; the hourglass drained slowly; the crowd was held back in anticipating silence. Thanatos sure knew how to hold a crowd in expectation. Just as they all went to blow out their breaths from lack of oxygen, Thanatos dove. Gorgophone weaved between and under the hurdles, never once touching the sides or top or ground.

The crowd was... ecstatic. Roxane could barely think over the noise. She had only once witnessed such noise - that time Thanatos had brought her to the annual Dragon Show, and the best flyers in history had competed.

Thanatos was wind and light and air.

She was flame and darkness and life.

She was at the starting line - no, she was at the end line.

Even Roxane clapped that time. She beamed at Thanatos, even if she couldn't see her.

Thanatos stood up on her Gorgophone's saddle, and bowed, her nose touching her knees, her arms outstretched. The crowd turned into white noise to Roxane. Even long after Thanatos had landed and walked to the waiting area, Roxane stared after her. She stared at the small woman with brown hair that was pulled back in a tight braid; the skin-tight, blue leather shirt, the brown riding pants, the plaited metal shoulder pads, the knee length boots, fur lined and covered with a layer of iron. The person Roxane wished to become.

Peeling her eyes from Thanatos, Roxane fixed her attention on the youngest rider in their group, currently flying under the 22nd hoop.

"And there she goes! She's under the thirtieth hurdle! Will she make it?" The judge was yelling. And it kept going, everyones a bit different.

"Here is Haides the Unseen, and her dragon Stillios!"

"Ah! Just as suspected, Ophelos makes it to the end!"

"Foul! She touched the edge, and she is eliminated from the hurdles!"

"Well I hope she's alright, that fall was nasty! Learn to control your dragon!"

"And here is our last contestant! Please give a round of applause for Achilles the Warrior and her dragon Zotikos!"

Roxane laughed and clapped and booed and cheered for thirty minutes. And when Achilles went, she was on the verge of falling asleep. But she forced herself to stay awake and watch as Achilles shot through the hurdles, narrowly missing one of the first ones, dodging several closely as she advanced.

And just as her dragon lurched forwards, the timer ran out.

"Down from the sky! You ran out of time! And that wraps up this event, riders head to the relay track!" The commentator started explaining the next course.

Several families were leaving the stands, children asleep in their arms, and then small dragons flew overhead, small bundles strapped into the saddles, and bigger dragons flanking the smaller dragons. Roxane considered leaving. But she knew neither Eirene or Thanatos would be too pleased at that. And she wanted to see who would win in real time.

So she watched as the women walked towards the relay track, some stretching their legs as they stepped, some just laughing and talking to peers. The teams weren't pre-made, but the women split so that they weren't with people of their age, strength or *experience*. Roxane thought the groups were still unfair, though. Eirene was placed with one of her sisters, Thanatos with a bunch of newbies, and all the other groups were similar to those. There were five groups of ten people.

Each group huddled with the other members of their group, and they had five minutes to discuss taktecks. Once they had finished talking, each competitor went to different spots on the field. Ten spots at each group. Each marking ten metres apart from each other. At the first marking in each row, there was a spear. A long, shiny spear, the newest invention of spears, not in distribution yet. A red strip of leather was tied around the base of the spearhead, a marking of a product in production.

A blast of a horn echoed through the air, and each woman softened their knees, and turned to face the person behind them. Another sharp note and the first person in each line picked up the spear. A third - Roxane didn't know where to look. Eirene took two long strides and hurled the spear to the person in front of her. It hit the line spot-on. The women snatched it up and copied. They weren't in the lead, but they weren't in the back. Four people in, and the groups started dividing. The first line was way in the back; the third woman in that line had tripped picking up the spear as she ran. The second group was in the middle, their speed consistent, but not flawless. The middle row was three women from the end, two people in front of the group behind them. The fourth line was tied with the second row, somewhere near the middle. The last group was in second last, each member picking up speed.

"The first group is picking up speed!" The commentator yelled, and the group cheered. "The middle row is still in the lead, one woman to go, the last row on their heels!" Roxane had stopped breathing. Her fingers clutched the bench beneath her, her eyes darting from group to group, and just as the middle row was at the end - Thanatos took one step, tripped, and as she fell she whipped the spear to the end line. And the last line won, the middle groups' spear landing a second later. It had only been one minute, but it had felt like a lifetime. Roxane let her breath out, and relaxed her tensed muscles. The teams that didn't come first all looked dejected, some of the members sitting down, some wandering away from the others, some hugging their friends. The team that won though... They were having a full on party. They only stopped when the judges peeled them apart to declare the winners.

"This round was difficult to judge," She said. "But only ten made it out. This time, I will not be saying everybody's names. I will only be saying the names of the participants that are moving on. Aileen the Torch of Light, Eirene of Peace, Ikaros the Follower, Ophelos of Help, Usiris of Good Tidings, Thanatos of Death, Jonas the Dove, Sofia of Wisdom, Eunike of Good Victory and Fotios of Light will be continuing. Everyone else, we thank you for your attempt at winning, your never ceasing hope at survival. But now is the time to say goodbye. Everyone please give a round of applause for our Solstice members." Roxane clapped, but kept her eyes on the group of ten women heading back for their dragons. Thanatos was tight in the competition. Five people were ahead of her.

But if Thanatos was worried, she didn't show it. Not as she parted from her group and went to give her friends hugs, the ones who wouldn't be continuing. And when she returned, and mounted Gorgophone, she only waved and grinned at the crowd.

It was just before dawn when the third round started.