The Arena

The brutal ending

A screeching sound came from the cage diametrically opposed to Alera’s and four guards made their way to the middle of the arena. Asendriel turned his head, measuring them from head to toes.

‘I am sure everyone looks forward to his next fight, but I assure you, there are many more surprises to come. Guards, take him away!’

The guards followed Baruing’s command and surrounded Asendriel.

Alera watched intensely, waiting for the blood elf’s reaction and hoping with all her heart that it won't be a violent one. Baruing wouldn't allow that. Judging by the way Asendriel was left in the arena before the fight, it seemed that Baruing already heard about the blood elf’s threat. He wouldn't allow another insolence and especially a public one, but Asendriel simply turned around and followed the guards to the newly opened cage. Relief washed over her, but the sensation didn't last long.

‘My friends!’ came Baruing’s voice, ‘I know only one thing that may be better than a good fight!’

The crowd cheered, absorbing his every word.

‘Another fight!’

The tribune exploded again with frenetic screams.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Tellor! Our second blood elf warrior!’

The sound of Tellor’s cage being opened was covered by all the screaming and cheering. Alera watched horrified as the blonde blood elf stepped into the arena. Her eyes went from Tellor to the bloodied weapon left on the ground, to the cell diametrically opposed to her, where Asendriel stood. He was too far for her to see his expression, but she saw him grasping the metal bars.

Tellor stopped in the middle of the arena and without a second thought, lifted the heavy axe and looked around. He stood proud, his pale, blonde hair shining in the sun.

‘Do we have a challenger?’ Baruing asked, his voice circling the whole arena.

‘I challenge him!’

The answer didn't take long to come and the familiar screeching sound opened the path for a new fighter, and this time Alera didn't recognize him.

A human made its way to Tellor carrying a long polearm. He had short black hair and a dense beard was covering half his face. Like all the other men, he too had nothing covering his chest. Baruing believed that the faster the crowd sees blood, the more entertaining it is.

‘Very well. Commence the fight!’

As soon as Baruing gave the start, the two fighters started circling each other. No one attacked yet, as each was evaluating the enemy. After a full circle, Tellor stopped and positioned himself slightly sideways and held the axe with both hands over his chest. His face betrayed no thoughts and he looked closely at his opponent, measuring his every move.

He attacked first. He swung the giant axe horizontally with such force and precision that even Alera was surprised. She only saw Lorum use that weapon in a similar way and, even though Tellor used both hands, the effect was surprisingly close. The human blocked the blow but he was still pushed back.

He tried to attack back, but his strike was immediately met by Tellor’s next move. The elf was fast and his swings heavy. He pushed the human back several feet. He almost didn't give him time to counterattack.

The last attack almost disarmed the human and Tellor didn't waste another second. He pulled the axe and dropped it straight above his opponent. But, be it by luck or skill, the human managed to use his weapon to stop him at the last moment. He didn't block the blade, but rather the handler, right beneath the blade and Alera could swear she saw him smile for a second. Tellor must have seen it too. He seemed to hesitate, but the human took advantage of that single second and, pulling with all his might, removed the axe from the elf’s hands.

The weapon flew several feet from them and now Tellor had nothing to defend himself. Using the momentum from earlier, the human swung his polearm and thrusted the other end in Tellor’s chest. The elf gasped for air as he wobbled a few steps back and fell on his back and Alera could see the human charging and preparing to impale the blood elf. Everything was happening in slow motion.

Alera covered her mouth to diminish her screams, but no one would hear her either way over the crowd’s cheering as the human drew blood.

For a second, she thought it was all over and cursed Baruing for everything he’s ever done. Her eyes instinctively searched for Asendriel. The other blood elf was still looking in the middle of the arena. She didn't want to look back, but she felt a sudden change in the tribune. The crowd was chanting Tellor’s name.

She gathered her courage to look at him. He was lying on the ground, grasping the polearm with all his might, a little above the blade. The blade, covered in blood, was hovering over his shoulder as the human struggled to free his weapon.

He wasn't focusing anymore and this cost him dearly. Tellor kicked him in the stomach and due to the shock, the human released the weapon and stumbled, falling on his back. The blood elf got up and, before the human could move, he stabbed him with his own weapon. It was a clean hit, straight to the heart. The human died almost instantly and, with tears in her eyes, Alera realized this was the only display of kindness that one could show in the arena.

The crowd, however, found this thrilling and continued cheering for Tellor as he removed the weapon from the corpse. He stood straight with blood dripping from the wound on his shoulder and from his hands.

‘Amazing skill! As expected from the members of the Horde! A brutal ending!’

Alera could hear Baruing’s voice over the general cheering coming from the tribune. She was shaking with anger over Baruing’s insolent words. How could he? How could these fights still be happening? How could this man wield so much power over other men, forcing them to fight like beasts in a cage for entertainment? She looked to Tellor and the bitterness from all over his face broke her heart. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks and through blurry vision she searched for Asendriel. He was resting his head on the bars, dejected and Alera fell to her knees.

Asendriel, Tellor, Lorum and even this unknown man, they all had a life before coming here, but Baruing stole their freedom. They all probably had families somewhere, families they will never see again because of him. 

The rest of the day was eventless for the blood elves. The guards took Tellor back to his separate cage and several other fights followed after that. Alera saw new fighters and old fighters collide, each fighting for their lives. Around seven of them were dead by the end of the day.

The matches were over when the sun set. The blood on the ground turned to a dark color as the light was fading at the horizon and the bodies left behind were being disposed of by the guards.

Alera always wondered where she would end up if she would lose a fight. As far as she could tell, the Badlands were mostly deserted. It was a barren and parched land. When she got here, all those years ago, the only living things she saw on the way to the arena were some coyotes and several birds of prey circling the sky. At some point she could have sworn she saw some rock formation moving near the mountain base. Perhaps these were the earth elementals Safina mentioned.

But besides this, there were no signs of human beings and this scared her. They were surrounded by miles and miles of arid lands and the thought of her lifeless body being left to feed the wild beasts and her carcass being left to rot in the middle of this nothingness scared her the most.

She wanted to be more than this, more than an unknown body left in the wilderness.