I''m a brainless corpse, Reza thought, rushing through the streets to make it to the amphitheater before the games began.


    He had not expected the gates to be packed with travelers at such an early time in the day, with the sun having only risen less than an hour ago. But hundreds of people clogged the entry into the city. It didn''t help that the Legions now had a camp holding each of the three gates into the city; they added a second layer of protection and time answering questions. It made his journey double the time he had hoped for.


    Reza rushed through the streets, weaving through people and carts to get to the amphitheater. He finally turned the corner onto one of the main streets in the Northern District. The theater appeared, and the grand building was formed from massive rune-covered blocks of white marble streaked with black through each one.


    Around it the street was packed, forcing Reza to push his way through people and apologize the entire way.


    Echoes Abyss, this is annoying. "Excuse me, I need to get through." Reza pushed through another tight squeeze before finally finding room to move down the street. The theater came ever closer before he eventually turned off the main road, the packed street. Reza made his way down the darkened street; the crowds were much easier to navigate as this did not lead to the entrance to the contest.


    "How that many people thought they would get into the contest is beyond me," Reza said. The theater could hold maybe thirty-five thousand people. Reza felt almost double to triple were trying to make their way to the contest, many with their wraiths following along. He turned again and finally turned next to the amphitheater. He walked to a closed side gate, hoping to use it to reach where the contestants needed to be.


    Reza walked up to the gate and knocked. He waited a few moments before trying again. "Anyone there?"


    There was silence behind the gate, and the only noise he could hear was the distant shouts of the people trying to get in.


    No time to waste. Reza pulled on his power and summoned Elana to the top of the wall. He flared his power and switched positions with her, releasing his power and jumping off the wall into the grounds of the amphitheater.


    Reza turned round as a grey uniformed man rushed towards him.


    "What is this nonsense? Everyone must go through the main entrance, no exceptions." He pulled out a two-foot-long cudgel. As he moved closer, a glowing blueish wraith in their uniform appeared beside him with a similar weapon.


    Reza raised his hands. He felt a small drop of sweat on the back of his neck. He did need to deal with this right now. "I''m not here for any trouble. I''m lost and trying to find out where to go before I am late."


    The guard stopped a short distance away. "Lost is about right. I''ll escort you out now and ensure you''re banned from seeing the contest."


    Reza moved to stop the guard from moving. "I''m not here to see the contest. I''m fighting in it."


    The guard looked unconvinced, his club still ready to smack Reza.


    "If you don''t believe me, bring me to one of the priests of Sorana. They should be able to clear all this up." He didn''t want to continue with this. He just wanted to get to the contest. But he didn''t have any hard feeling that the guard was doing his duty.


    The guard''s stance relaxed. "Come with me. We will figure out if you''re telling the truth." The man motioned with the cudgel for Reza to walk forward, and he joined a few feet behind him.


    Reza continued to walk away from the shouts of what was probably the main entrance he was talking about. The grounds were empty; unsurprisingly, there were no doors or open areas to move into the theater properly.


    "What am I looking for, and how far is it?" Reza asked over his shoulder. The man and his wraith had their eyes on him.


    "Around this corner, there will be a doorway. Go through that, and it will lead us to where the contestants gather, " he responded curtly.


    The door was indeed there, and Reza moved through it. It led down below the theater. They walked in silence for a time before he could hear voices. The stairs finally opened into a massive room where hundreds of people stood. It was evident that these were the other contestants, as just about everyone held some weapon. Reza examined a few of the closer people. Interestingly, on further examination, the weapons were not real but made of a dark grey, almost black, wood. It became evident that everyone had the same similar grey wooden weapons.


    Surprising, I expected blunted weapons for the contest, not wooden ones. He needed to get his hands on some of them quickly before he went to fight. It was never good to try a new weapon without practice. Each weapon always had a different feel, and the weight of wooden weapons would vastly change how he handled them.


    "Where do we go?" Reza asked. He hadn''t noticed any of Sorana''s priests and priestesses. And unfortunately, none of the contestants near him were people he knew. Would there be anyone in his first fight he would recognize? The rumors from the last few days were that hundreds of people had signed up, but many people he knew had not signed up, except for Sabine and her brother.


    "This way," the guard continued through the crowd, and Reza followed. They met no resistance; most of the combatants just moved out of the way. Reza tried nodding to a few, but they kept to themselves, with few talking to anyone.


    It didn''t take long for Reza to see a priest of Sorana sitting at a large desk near another set of stairs. Reza did not recognize her. She was much younger than the priestess he signed up with. Her black hair was cut very short, barely an inch long.


    The guard walked up to her. "Found this one jumping the wall into the grounds. Says he''s part of the contest."


    Reza moved up to the desk. “I am Lord Marius Reza. I am to participate in the second bout.” He bowed to the priestess before stepping back again.


    "Let me check the records," she went through a pile of papers before grabbing one and reading down the line.


    Reza wasn''t nervous. The list had his name on it, he was sure. But there was the little nugget of doubt that it would turn out not to be there that ate at his stomach at the moment.


    The priestess took her time but finally placed the list down and looked back at them. "Ah, there it is. His name is on the list. You may return to your post." She said.


    The guard bowed to her and marched away without another word.


    "Now, let''s not make any more mistakes." She turned to him, placing her cold blue eyes on him. She told him and motioned for him to follow. "We need to get your weapons changed out before the oath."Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Reza followed. "What oath? I never heard anything about that."


    She looked back with a confused expression on her face. "The oath of the contest. Every fighter must make the sacred oath that they will become the Archon should they win the contest. It''s binding to make sure we find the proper champion. Sorana insisted that the oath be added; thus, everyone is required."


    She laughed and brought him over to a couple of hulking figures behind a large counter in the corner of the room. A doorway stood behind them, but Reza could not ascertain what might be behind it.


    "Another contestant," she turned to me. You may choose any weapons you require for your fight. No real weapons are allowed. You will exchange your weapons for replacements, which will be returned after the bout."


    Reza pulled the two daggers out of their sheaths and handed them over, but he hesitated with his sword before hanging it over, too. One of the men took them and walked through the doorway, and the other moved over.


    "Want two daggers and a sword similar to those? Or something else?" He asked as he motioned over to stacks of grey weapons on multiple tables.


    Reza thought for a moment. Fifty fighters, having something else with some length might be preferable, but he was always better with the daggers. Better keep it simple.


    "As many daggers as you’ll allow and the same style sword, please. Never know when I might need to throw a couple." Reza said. He would keep two in the sheaths and start the fight with two daggers in hand.


    “I can give you five,” the man said. He moved over to a table, grabbed several grey wooden daggers, and set them on the counter between them.


    Reza picked up two. They were much heavier than he expected, not far from his daggers. "What kind of wood is this?"


    "Just Oak, it''s soaked in an alchemical solution that hardens the wood to an iron-like property. We can sharpen them to use in a real fight, but the whole process to make them is expensive." He looked over at the priestess, and Reza followed his gave. She was in conversation with another priest and didn''t seem to be listening to our conversation. "I don''t get why the priests wanted this weapon; it''s probably three times the gold to arm all of you for the fighting, while blunted weapons would have sufficed. Though these weapons have some advantages, they are stronger and will barely break under pressure."


    Reza gave a low whistle while he weaved the long dagger through his fingers. The weight felt balanced. He might even say that it was better than his. Something about them made him feel lighter, more energized. It might just be how strange they were, but he was curious nonetheless. "Are these your creations? Marius Reza, by the way.”


    Reza held his hand out, and the man shook it. "Kelburn and my partner over there is Hellion. We created it or, better yet, stumbled upon the process. We were trying to make iron stronger for our forge, and a length of wood fell into the solution. Came out like iron after I noticed it in there a few hours later."


    He laughed, spinning one of the daggers on the counter.


    "Never thought anything would come out of something that costs much more than iron." Kelburn shrugged. "I started making them as a side project, and then the churches came. They ordered hundreds for their guards. That pesky rule they have about metal and sharp weapons. These give them much better weapons, bends the rule enough that they can wield these weapons."


    Reza spun the dagger. The seamless beauty of the wood spoke to him, and while they were not sharp, the blade felt superior in his hand to the daggers the Legion had provided. These were weapons he would enjoy using.


    However, as he examined the sword, he was not as pleased. The weapon Lord Sulli had given him was superior to this wooden version by a considerable amount. It was not an inferior blade as he continued to examine the wooden blade; it would be considered better than the legion''s iron blades. It spoke more about how impressive the black sword was, and that was before Reza figured out the mysterious power that lay dormant within the blade. He placed the sword into his sheath and returned his attention to the blacksmith. "Where''s your forge?"


    Kelburn raised an eyebrow. "Burners corner. We''re the first forge on the street with all the other forges. If you ask for Kelburn, anyone can point out my shop."


    Reza held his hand out again and shook Kelburn''s hand again. "I may have to order some daggers from you, sharpened, of course. These may be some of the best weapons I''ve held."


    "Very nice of you to say. We will easily be able to fill any order you may have. But you can order them here if you like. We will be here for the entire contest. Just let me know, and I can get the process started."


    "I will do that. The fight today will be a lovely test, and I will be able to make a decision afterward and tell you my thoughts." Reza moved off, taking the daggers with him. It was time to finish this oath and see what he could do with forty-nine other fighters.


    A loud whistle shot through the room. Reza''s eyes scanned the room, looking for where the noise came from. Across the room, on a large stage, five black-robed priests stood above the crowd. He recognized the young orator from the announcement and his wraith standing stonily beside him.


    "Combatants, it is time for the sacred oath," he said, his voice easily heard across the room as if he were standing next to Reza.


    The other priest''s wraiths joined them on the stage, glowing an eerie yellow. Their color made the hairs on his arms stand up.


    "The priests of Sorana and their wraiths will stand witness to the swearing of the oath. Understand this: if you do not say the words, you will not be allowed to participate and do not think we will not know who swore an oath. Sorana eyes are on the contest, and nothing will be beyond her sight." The young priest explained.


    Reza looked around and saw that many did the same thing. Everyone in the room probably had thoughts similar to his, as shown by the expressions on their faces. Sorana watched them as they stood there and would for the length of the contest. But more than that, the contest had become very real. Someone in this room would be the next Archon for her.


    "Please follow the oath and say it exactly as I do." The young man began the oath. "We who are about to battle shall lay down our life for the good of Sorana. We shall take up the cause of Sorana forevermore. I will endure to be burned, to be bound, to be beaten, and to be killed by the sword. But I will not break, I will not desert my service to Sorana, I will die in defense of her and our city."


    Reza hesitated for only a moment, as many did, before proudly making the oath. It was just another step towards this impossible journey he had set himself on. The pledge itself was not as strange as it might have been. It was very similar to his oath with the legions in many ways.


    "Now, the first bout will begin." He paused again before continuing. "As there were so many people that signed up for the contest. We have decided to combine many bouts; the first two will now be one hundred people in the first fight."


    Murmuring began throughout the crowd. It was a shocking announcement. Fifty fighters would have been almost impossible to make it to the last five, cutting everyone''s chances in half.


    He held a hand up, and silence swept through the crowd. "Also, only one fighter will move on to the next round. We will have only ten contestants to fight duels."


    This got the crowd into an uproar. Reza understood their anger, as he had a similar feeling. These changes should have been made public before the room swore to Sorana. Everyone was stuck in a contest where the rules had been changed after they had sworn themselves to the contest. Many people''s odds had just been significantly slashed in a single moment. Hell, even my own aren''t looking great. I am a better one on one fighter, not a melee fighter.


    The legions never even expected him to fight in the proper lines. They sent him with his small group of soldiers to do their own thing, closing into the enemy lines and killing when Reza felt they could. He just shrugged. Life in the legion taught you that things could always get worse; better to just get the job done.


    Sabine appeared through the crowd, and he joined her, pulling her into a hug. She held a bow with two quivers full of arrows on both hips. Her equipment was finished with a bandolier of throwing knives crossing her chest.


    "So isn''t this a joyful trek through the abyss?" Sabine asked. “The only silver lining is that if you can get through this mess, you’re that much closer to the Archon."


    Reza laughed, feeling a little better by her words. "I need your optimism. Always looking at any situation and finding the good in it."


    "Well, in this situation, you have to. We made the oath. I don''t want to think what could happen if we break it." She gave an exaggerated shiver.


    "Of course, and I get to be in the first bout. Lovely," Reza said. He looked at the people around them, but it wasn''t like they had numbers on their clothes to tell who would be fighting.


    "And you''ll take them all out; just watch you back." She grabbed his shoulder for a moment before letting her hand fall. "We both need to be smart so we both get through to the next round. I better see you there."


    "I will. Be smart yourself," Reza wanted to say more, but what else could be said that hadn''t already been?


    "Fighters of the first and second bout, please make your way to the exit. "The young orator said from his perch.


    Reza looked around and saw a few people around his making their way forward and to the right of the stage.


    "I will see you after your fight," Reza said, and he followed a couple of others to the large opening.