A Legend's Tale Season 2

Part 5 - Bastards, Orphans And Deserters

In the Arena of the Capital, all of the gladiators sit in the cantina again. Ryker takes his food and sits next to Elaine and his other comrades are talking about the big day. They have heard confirmation that the queen will arrive in the city in several days. As usual, she will probably also pay a visit to the Arena and watch a game. One comrade can't wait and proposes to break out the moment the queen would visit them, then they might also get a chance to kill her and Lucille. Many gladiators were sentenced to the Arena thanks to the queen's mercy so hatred for her is something Ryker hears almost every day. He himself doesn't feel hatred, not for anyone. He often would think about how he would feel if one of his soldiers would tell him a story about how his whole squadron was killed and how luckily he was to be the only survivor...and blame some fictional creatures for it. Ryker is dead set however and forbids everyone at the table to do anything when the queen visits the Arena. They will strike at night when the city is asleep just like they had agreed upon. One of these nights, they will sneak out of their cells a final time to arrange the final things but until then, they remain ghosts. The names of the fighters of the day are announced and Elaine is among the chosen. Ryker is not thus Elaine does ask if he would cheer for her, which he will.

In the preparation hall, Elaine puts on her light armor as usual and her very own bow. A bow with black and red marks on it, her favorite colors. Ryker has every bit of faith in her since he knows she can handle herself. Like Ryker, she's one of those gladiators who just won't waste away. All the comrades look through the bars of their cells at the fight that they are about to behold. Some of course wage bets as they all have their fighter of choice. Ryker never keeps his eyes of Elaine, how she swiftly stands there and calmly checks her surroundings. Up high at the balcony of the mayor only sits her lover Norman, the helpless dog according to Ryker. The moment the horns sound, Elaine swiftly runs around, spins and shoots two other gladiators at the same time. It was like she was dancing over the field as chaos was around her and how she somehow managed to jump through loops to avoid the blood. It was one of the most beautiful things Ryker has seen...and for a brief second he forgot that the world was ending.

At the crystal lake, Joshua is practicing in the water as Donovan observes. He is to perform certain moves that oddly look like some sort of fighting tricks in slow-motion. Joshua feels a bit more powerful every day. Not only powerful because of his strength but because of the feeling he gets from learning new things, the feeling of acceptance and achievement. He always liked working at the butcher shop with his father but this is something of a whole new level and he can't ignore that. Donovan is also very content as he sees Joshua performing these arts, always instructing him on what to do and what not. Every day in and every day out. As the sun stands high in the sky and when the stars replace them. Joshua keeps on training and practicing as much as he can. Through rain, through winds, through scorching heat of the sun and the cold breezes of the night. He runs through the forest, he sits in the water, he greets all of the other wizards as they are becoming more and more friendly towards him. Every night he dreams the most satisfying dreams and every morning he jumps out of his tent with all the energy a wizard should need according to him. Each and every day he pushes his limits, each and every day he tries to become more than he was before. Until he finally succeeds in running from his tent all the way to the vantage point at the cliffs by the Distant. Right at that moment, as he stands there at the cliffs with the wind going through his body and the sun rising in the distance, he truly feels like a hero.

One night, Joshua walks through the training grounds of the camp enroute to the main tent where all the wizards gather for dinner. Donovan catches up with him and notices how he has become more confident and happy in general. Before he gets to dine with the others however, Donovan tells him that the Master wishes to see him. This takes Joshua of guard, he has never been asked to do that before, what could he want from him? Donovan laughs a bit as he sees the panic on Joshua's face but he urges that it's alright. Joshua slowly walks to the tent of the Master as he has no idea what to expect. As he enters, he sees how he's meditating. Joshua feels like he's interrupting but the Master quickly snaps out of it and welcomes him. Joshua feels as if all his confidence has instantly left him when standing in front of probably the most powerful being in the world. The Master sees it on his face and laughs as he assures him that there's nothing to fear. Often newcomers fear a great deal when they are summoned to him, they all believe that all the old age has made him grim and ominous. Yet young people as Joshua often forget that even the oldest ones were also once like themselves. It's the younger generations who once decided to treat them differently. The Master makes it very clear: he doesn't want to sit here in front of Joshua like his superior, he wants to sit here as his fellow companion. Joshua finds it strange to adjust but somehow he finds himself more at ease now. The Master smiles and asks about how he feels, how the past weeks have been going, how his relation with Donovan is, etc. Joshua responds positively on pretty much everything. He finds himself improving every day and his relation with Donovan has gotten increasingly better. The Master is very pleased, pointing out that Donovan always has been the sort of man to think of many things at once. After a while, he asks about Delphine. Joshua doesn't really know how to answer that. The more he progresses is training, the more he becomes distant from his sister. There was that one night where they had the argument by the lake about their father. The Master listens very carefully. Joshua eventually asks why he wanted to know, to which he simply says that it's his job to stay aware of everything. Joshua understands but somehow gets the feeling that the Master wanted to hear some specific things. Eventually he tells Joshua that he's happy that they could have had a moment alone, now he should be off to enjoy dinner with the others. He has most certainly deserved it. Joshua smiles and leaves, still wondering what that was all about.