The Arena

No one is listening

The crowd exploded in cheers, but Alera didn’t hear anything except the clash of metal on metal and the last screams her victims let out.

Even prepared to fight them head on, the remaining prisoners still fell in front of the blood elves’ rampage, but with each body that covered the ground, the others were becoming more powerful and harder to beat.

With final slashes from Asendriel and Tellor, the enemies circle was finally broken and the blood elves ran towards the arena wall. The others were right behind them, waving their weapons and trying to inflict at least a wound on their prey.

Alera and the others weren’t unscattered. Little superficial cuts covered their arms and chests here and there, but nothing serious since they didn’t even notice them.

The wall was getting closer and closer and with each step, the hoard’s moral went up a little more, seeing them almost cornered, but when they were only a few feet away from the rock wall, Asendriel turned around while Alera and Tellor went left and right circling the prisoners.

They didn’t give them a single moment to react as they charged in their ranks, weapons pointed forward. Fighters started to fall and chaos erupted between them. The blood elves attacked, slashing left and right, no matter the target.

The wounds began to multiply on their bodies, becoming wider and deeper and the blood elves responded in kind to the attackers. They were growing tired and Alera felt her daggers getting heavier with each move and with each drop of enemy blood that covered them. With the corner of her eye, she noticed Asendriel and Tellor slowing down. A mere moment was enough to spell death for one of them. Taking advantage of their fatigue, one of the fighters, a dwarf, made his way behind Tellor, but Alera reacted faster.

Tellor spun around staring at the source of the noise that came from behind him. Sweat was dripping from his blond hair, leaving trails in the dust that covered his face as he glared in shock at the dead dwarf. Alera’s knife opened a red cascade under his jaw.

But even that sparred second was not without consequences for Alera. Two other fighters jumped to her right, their weapons held above their heads. Her reflexes kicked in and she jumped backwards avoiding a fatal blow but at a cost. Blood started flowing from her arm, as one of the weapons described a long, deep cut beneath her shoulder. She felt her blood warm, but she remained focused, striking back, aiming for the heart. To her surprise, the other prisoner fell as well, along with her victim, a long sword with jagged teeth buried deep in his stomach. She saw a flurry a black hair that waved in front of her like the wings of a raven as Asendriel pulled his sword out and stormed the enemies in front. He almost cleared a path through them, killing two more in his charge and pushing others down to the ground.

Then, after a few seconds he turned and Alera barely noticed the small gesture he made, pointing up. She understood right away and, turning back, she ran towards the wall. Tellor noticed it as well and, as they both reached their meeting point, they stopped next to each other and leaned against the wall.

Asendriel was just a few steps behind them and, as if reading his thoughts, they both put their hands up, improvising a stepping stone for him. Asendriel jumped while several prisoners were chasing after him and as soon as his foot hit their palms, Alera and Tellor pushed him up with all the might they could muster.

But as she realised his plan, Alera froze in place, staring at Asendriel and following his every move.

In a few seconds, he had climbed the arena wall, looking directly at the tribunes, instead of jumping behind the other fighters. Several things happened at once..

The crowd’s cheering died out almost instantly, as the members were confused. The guards stationed nearest spun around with surprise written all over their faces. Alera and Tellor were staring from beneath, unable to make a single move and the other prisoners froze in place as well. Baruing got up from his massive chair, shocked, but he was the first to snap out of it and in the heavy silence that covered the arena in just a few seconds, his angry command resonated louder than it should.

‘You idiots! Capture him!’

Alera could have sworn the ground had vibrated beneath her as Baruing’s furious voice circled the whole arena. She along with the other prisoners were still frozen in place, but the guard closest to Asendriel sprung into action. He unsheathed the short sword that stayed quietly on his belt and ran towards Asendriel.

Alera felt her heart beating like crazy, trying to break free between her ribs and just then the situation became worse.

Asendriel attacked back, tackling the guard. They both fell down in the tribunes as Baruing’s customers started screaming and running away. Baruing himself barked several other commands, but Alera couldn’t make them out with her eyes glued to the blood elf above.

It didn’t take long until other guards got there and stopped the fight. It took three of them to remove Asendriel, but they couldn’t stop him entirely. He shook them off and managed to break one’s teeth and roundhouse kicked another one. The third one, followed by two other guards managed however to get him on his knees and pin him down.

‘Nobody move!’ came Baruing last command. His voice was so threatening that even his guests stopped running and silence once again gained ground. Alera turned her head and looked at him. The wrath that burned in the back of his eyes made her heart sink into her boots. It was as if she was just a child again and had refused him the first time. And to her horror, Baruing was glaring right in her direction.

‘Take the prisoners to their cells! All except the blood elves!’

He didn’t scream this time, but, somehow, his words were even more menacing. In almost no time, the guards stormed the arena ground, herding the prisoners back to their cell, as per their command. The prisoners dropped their weapons almost instantly after Baruing started shouting and now walked silently flanked by guards on each side.

But six guards remained behind, and with their swords pointed at Alera and Tellor, cornered them, with their backs against the wall. Alera desperately wanted to look at the other blood elf, but didn’t dare.

Two guards put their weapons away and revealed two pairs of heavy handcuffs. They were wide and thick, carved in stone and the chain that bound them together was the same. Without saying a word, both Alera and Tellor were put in chains and led inside. With her head lowered, Alera knew exactly where they were taken.

She only hoped that Asendriel would be taken along with them. She feared the worst for him and in her mind she cursed at him. She wanted to scream and started praying once again to all the gods she knew and heard of to spare Asendriel’s life. In her panic, she even offered her life as a sacrifice, but no answer and no sign came to her that someone was listening.