Death can easily be administered to anyone regardless of how successful they were in life.
A god agrees with the nihilist in this story.
There are many tragedies in this story. Many fortunes arising, too.
But the god and the antichrist don't car...
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The Fight
The Crimson Stadium, Chartariese, Saprea
She stared at their shape, the crowd's, turning golden and crimson under the halo of fire that was the rising sun and breathed the fresh breeze stroking her face, breathed Saprea in. How had she lived for so long without its swelter, without the cooling caress of the morning wind, without the whinnying of the horses in the streets.
Imperial trumpets blared from both sides of the steel gates. The sunlight danced, bleeding down on Claude. The walls distorted the sounds, transforming the cheers and shouts into the howls of carnivorous. I suppose that wasn't so far from the truth. They were all there to watch somebody spill their blood anyway.
In the morning it was hot but it was still windy in post-summer. Thousands of people were still searching for seats to watch the show; prolees and grandees alike.
"Don't just stand there, m'lady," a healer said as he descended into the darkness of the sloping passage behind her with a box of first-aid supplies in his arms.
Claude swiveled her head around, hitching up her skirts to follow him down. She went to a room inside the passageways under the stadium and slapped on her armband. It was similar to the red ones that prolees wore but hers was white with a red cross to symbolize that she was a medic volunteer.
The members of House Cayne led strange lives, as they were often both servants and masters like many other houses of healers. Many were apprenticed to powerful lords or wealthy grandee civilians, workings as nurses, healers, and glorified beauticians. Her cousins from lower branches of her house even owned a large chain of apothecaries and health centers. Being the most talented of healers in Saprea, members of House Cayne served the royal family while lesser healers of other houses served governors or worked in the local hospitals, or in various arenas, healing fighters such as Claude had just volunteered to take part in.
The leading lady of House Cayne was the physician to the royal family, Maddalena Cayne. Lady Cayne was old, and she'd die eventually, which meant that Claude would be the next Lady Cayne. But with her duty as a lady-in-waiting, she decided to let her brother become the head of their house. Titus would ask their aunt for permission to leave Saprea in order to resume apprenticeship at the palace soon enough, he promised. After all the weddings and such.
Claude had asked Titus to volunteer with her but Titus seemed singularly interested in the progress of this affair—at least so she judged from his manner, for he made no comments. It was only after the official announcement that the fight would take place, that he asked her opinion respecting the volunteering.
Claudine walked to Desyrae's room where her sister was braiding her hair while crying. All Arsinomé wanted to do was shake her sister's shoulders until she ran out of the strength to convince her not to fight.
"It's starting in ten minutes," said Claude.
"Do you have a death wish?" Arsinomé whimpered. "I know you said that you'd rather die than marry Prince Cassius, but do you have to die so brutally?"
